12 Pop Culture-Inspired Dates To Boost Customer Engagement

Enterprising e-commerce merchants constantly have this question in their mind; how do I continue getting my products in front of potential buyers? With the exponential growth of e-commerce – now making up to 15% of total retail sales, the opportunity to set up an online store has never been bigger. But sometimes, you need new sources of inspiration and fresh ideas to keep your marketing fires burning.As our previous post in this series, we continue highlighting dates that aren’t on the official calendar but are opportunities to boost customer engagement over the next three months. Weave in unexpected details about your business for community engagement, run compelling promotions or even share a special detail about your brand related to a specific holiday – the possibilities are endless. 

Pop culture inspired dates in August

Girlfriend’s Day – 1 August 

For the ladies, this holiday is meant to be a celebration of female friendship. Partners can also use this day to honor their female romantic partners. Take this day to remind them how awesome they are and encourage your community to spend quality time with their partners. Tip for retailers: if you’re working with products more targeted to ladies, encourage your audience to share a kind word, their stories or offer promotions on products that come in pairs (shoes, hair ties, etc). Girlfriend’s Day would be a fantastic opportunity to encourage your current customers to either invite their friends or offer a one-for-one discount on a range you’re selling. Get involved on social media with some of these hashtags: (#NationalGirlfriendsDay #NationalGirlfriendsDay2019 #GirlfriendGoals)Special mention for August: If you’re in Jakarta, Indonesia, we’ll be speaking and exhibiting at Meet Magento Indonesia – one of the growing e-commerce community events in Jakarta. Find out more here. 

Book Lovers Day – 9 August 

On this day, honor all bookworms, book lovers or even the act of reading itself! Retailers selling items associated with a book reading habit (e-readers, couches, bookshelves, tea, and coffee), this is the perfect time to demonstrate their value.The more literary-minded can even look at giving your social media presence a more literary angle. Drop some literary references in your social media or run a fun contest to see who can come up with the best literature-related pun or reference; engagement possibilities are endless!

Left-Handers Day – 13 August 

“About 10% of the world’s population is left-handed. Despite this, most equipment and day-to-day articles are designed and manufactured for the use of right-handed people – those who use their right hands to perform tasks.”If you were born left-handed, you might be feeling a little left out as a majority of tools and affordances used in day-to-day life are made for right-handed people. Well, UK-based community Left-Handers Club commemorates this feeling of being different on 13 August. This special holiday aims to raise awareness of the needs and challenges of left-handed people. Either showcase your team members by highlighting your left-handed colleagues or create a special edition of a popular product for left-handed people (if available) on social media. Use the hashtag #LeftHandersDay for engagement.

Dog Appreciation Day – August 26

On this day, share photos of dogs throughout your office or highlight your team member’s dogs! If you sell anything related to dogs or pets in any way, this is a perfect way to showcase the impact on which your products have had on your customer’s pets.

Bow Tie Day – August 28

The bow tie is an accessory that has withstood the test of time and hence represents class, timelessness, and elegance. Retailers selling menswear or accessories – this is the perfect opportunity for a social media promotion or in-store promotion. Play up the elegance of a menswear product range or emphasize the characteristics of what a bow tie evokes – classy elegance with a touch of fun.

Pop culture inspired dates in September

Emma Nutt Day – 1 September 

In the 1800s, teenage boys worked as telephone operators. But they didn’t perform well talking to real people. They were impatient, swore and were unempathetic – qualities not suited for a phone operator. Fed up, Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the first practical telephone hired Emma as the world’s first female telephone operator. She had patience and a cultured soothing voice, leading the way for women to rapidly replace boys as telephone operators. Emma Nutt Day is commemorated on 1 September to celebrate women and decisive female leadership. Share the story above as an example of women in history-making a difference on your social media channels, or highlight female leadership within your organization.

Swap Ideas Day – 10 September 

Observed annually in September, this day is designed to share a creative and helpful idea with someone and trade them for their ideas in return. Poll your audience on social media for comments on a company idea you’re looking for some feedback on; product names, colors or even designs. 

Ask a Stupid Question Day – 28 September

We’ve all had questions we wanted to ask but didn’t as it sounded embarrassing. Well, a group of teachers in the 1980s realized their students weren’t asking questions and decided to take it into their own hands to create a safe space for them to do so without judgment.In the spirit of the earlier Swap Ideas Day, this is a great opportunity to either engage in a #AskMeAnything, poll your audience on things they always wanted to know about your business, industry or company culture, and encourage open sharing about something important to your business. It’s an ideal opportunity to demonstrate your shop’s commitment to honesty and transparency in your communications. 

Pop culture inspired dates in October 

National Coffee Day – 1 October

Some organizations run on coffee. At Parcel Perform, this is no exception. Next, to tea, it’s perhaps the hottest beverage in the world. However, for enterprising retailers and social media managers, it’s another quirky opportunity to promote their brand to their audience. AdWeek compiled a list of brands using #NationalCoffeeDay to slyly showcase their brand personality and products. Not like brands using the holiday need to be related to food and beverages. You’ve got software companies like Spotify inserting in a playlist, retailers like Bath & Body Works showcasing a particular product range, or Nissan somehow able to make a day about coffee relate to cars. 

Handbag Day – 10 October

Created in 2013 by Purseblog, a blog that follows the fashion and handbag industry, Handbag Day is a day to celebrate the love of handbags and the role they play in many people’s lives. “Handbags are more than just fun accessories to carry and collect; they hold our most precious items and often provide a dose of confidence or an ounce of comfort when we need it most.”If you’re a fashion retailer catering to women’s clothing, this is an obvious choice for social media engagement. Get your audience to post about their handbags or ask them what their handbag means to them. 

Dictionary Day – 16 October

Dictionary Day is held in honor of Noah Webster, the man who is considered to have fathered the American Dictionary. His mother ingrained in him a love for learning and communication; a love exemplified in improving how information was transferred from generation to generation. Celebrating Dictionary Day is all about broadening your minds and exploring the love of learning! Enlighten your audience about some lesser-known words either related to what your brand represents or a product line.

International Animation Day – 28 October

You may have heard about the growing importance of video in a marketing strategy. 6/10 people would rather watch online videos than television – they are processed by the brain 60,000 times faster than text.International Animation Day is all about celebrating the love for animation! Cartoons, animated films and yes, videos. If you use video (animated or otherwise) in your e-commerce marketing mix; either to showcase a product or a promotion – this is the time to highlight it in your social media mix. 

Strong marketing ideas can come from unusual sources

Not sure where to turn to for marketing ideas? Look up these pop culture-inspired days. See what others are doing to mark these dates Choose those that are most related to your brand (either directly or metaphorically) and plan out your engagement strategy. It can be as simple as a social media post, or can even be a more comprehensive campaign. 

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