Social media didn’t invent today’s hashtag holidays. Rather, several of these holidays have been celebrated for decades and only gained their holiday hashtag traction on social media within the past few years due to savvy marketers. 

Popular holiday hashtags that you may be familiar with include #NationalDonutDay or #NationalPuppyDay. Some holiday hashtags are meant to generate awareness or promote a cause while others may be completely nonsensical. However, when holiday hashtags are positioned properly they can create a great opportunity for your business to reach a new, different, or specific audience.

With the holidays fast approaching it’s great time to start looking at winter hashtags and popular holiday hashtags that can be incorporated into your brand’s social strategy. Before we look at a few examples of popular holiday hashtags and winter hashtags let’s look at a few things to consider before your brand participates.

Three Things to Consider

Before you jump on the hashtag bandwagon, begin by asking if the holiday hashtag is relevant to your business. It is not uncommon for people to unfollow a brand, especially on Instagram, if the content is completely irrelevant to the brand or business. Your goal should always be to speak to your target audience and incorporate hashtags tastefully.

Next, make sure that your business is using the correct holiday hashtag. Applying hashtags to marketing is still fairly new and hashtags can go through modifications and changes over time. If you're unsure if the hashtag you've found is the right one to use, test it using one of these methods:

1. Dive into message and sharing data to determine if the hashtag you've found has received wide circulation and exposure
2. TSearch the hashtag on the social platform you plan on using to be sure there isn’t a misnomer, or has content tied to it you don't want associated with your business.
3. Use both methods to measure the true impact and exposure.

Don't forget that some social platforms perform better with multiple holiday hashtags or different ones entirely. One of the most effective social media marketing tips for incorporating hashtags is to follow the best practices of the platform itself to ensure you're not turning off any part of your audience. 

Finally, be sure to pay attention to whether or not the holiday hashtags you’re looking at using overlaps with a major event or holiday. The volume of traditional and non-traditional holidays naturally results in some overlap between hashtag holidays, global events and national pride holidays but you'll want to be sure you're not selecting something that is competing in a way that would be detremental to your campaign. 

Popular Holiday Hashtags

Depending on what your business specializes in, the fourth quarter of the  year has several popular holiday hashtags that include #InternationalCoffeeDay to #NationalTacoDay and #NationalPumpkinDay.

Not all your hashtag campaigns need to drive sales. You can also come up with a plan that helps drive engagement from your followers. One clever idea is to invite people to share their favorite international spot they have had coffee for #InternationalCoffeeDay (which happens to be Sept. 29)

One winter hashtag that is definitely worth paying attention to is Small Business Saturday at the end of November. The hashtag is #ShopSmall and it is especially relevant to small and local businesses. Another hashtag you could use include #SmallBusinessSaturday, a hashtag tied to Small Business Saturday which falls after Black Friday. Just remember there is a lot of momentum and additional marketing that goes into the #ShopSmall hashtag so it could reap good results for your business. And, because the #ShopSmall hashtag isn’t tied to a specific day, you could create a longer campaign through the holiday season.

Does your brand have plans to ramp up for the holiday season ahead? Are you ready to use popular holiday hashtags or winter hashtags Try out some holiday hashtags and see if it is the right strategy for your brand.