December: Christmas buzz is in full force, businesses are in frenzy mode and your audience is in holiday overdrive. Don’t let 2019 end without helping your audience to develop goals and make a positive change for the year ahead. Whether it comes to preparing for lots of family time, enjoying (or surviving) the summer weather, or gift buying, people are busy. With so many different companies competing for the attention of your audience, it’s essential you hit people with smart, targeted messages. That starts with strategic content marketing.

December is a month full of celebrations, and there is no shortage of topics you can address on your content. From the holidays to the weather, you will be dashing through your planning and writing in no time. We’ve hand-picked five content concepts that you can make your own to fit your business on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs, emails, and other marketing channels. We believe one of the best ways to build a connection with current and prospective customers is by posting content worth sharing. Use these ideas as a jumping-off point to add a few new things to your content calendar this December. Take a look at our content suggestions and add them to your editorial calendar!  

December in a snapshot

• Plan a fun advent calendar, even if you are a B2B business.
• Don't forget to promote shipping dates if you are a B2B Business.
• Treat your VIP customers to make them feel extra special. 
• If you are operating extra hours for the holiday or are closing down for a break, don't forget to let your customers and followers know.
• Any extra offers happening to make your customers lives easier, let them know (this could include; free shipping, free gift wrapping, extended returns)
• No matter the holiday celebrated, there is a lot of gift giving in the month of December. Think up new and interesting ways to showcase gift giving.
• Are you supporting any local charities and/or events this holiday season? Make sure to take lots of pictures and write posts about the events you attend! You can help support your community and promote different ways others can give back.
• Speaking of holidays, help out your followers by providing easy DIY gifts ideas for their friends and family.
• National Thank You Note Day is December 26. Write about the importance of holiday thank you notes and tips for getting them done efficiently.
• Provide some tips for throwing a successful New Year’s Eve party, as well as how to handle liability issues that can arise from unruly party guests.

FIVE FUN DAYS TO CELEBRATE AND SHOWCASE YOUR BUSINESS

Letter Writing Day (December 7)

• Because there’s nothing like a little snail mail.
• Do you typically send out a holiday card to your customers and partners? Think about a way you can add a personal touch for Letter Writing Day.
• Show your appreciation by sending a handwritten thank-you note to a client, partner or co-worker.
• Challenge your audience to write you a letter for something they want to see from your business.
• Encourage referrals by giving free postcards or Christmas cards to existing customers. 

Local Holiday Events (all month)

• Join the community celebrations and showcase a behind the scenes look at your business.
• Have a company outing to one of these great events or sponsor an activity/display.
• Post a photo of your favorite Christmas displays.
• Get a selfie with Santa!
• Share what’s on your professional or your team’s wish list for Santa.
• Ask what’s on your audience’s holiday wish list.
• Promote giving back to your community and those less fortunate than yourself. 

Chocolate Covered Anything Day (December 16)

This is a mandatory day, because, well CHOCOLATE! You have no option but to participate in Chocolate Covered Anything Day (#sorrynotsorry).

• Get creative! Create a chocolate masterpiece and cover something (anything) in chocolate to celebrate.
• Surprise your audience by giving away some delicious chocolate.
• Give a shout out to your favorite candy company or local candy shop.
• Make a list of all the things that would be great covered in chocolate.
• Have a physical location? Encourage people to come in and have free chocolate (or a chocolate fountain if you’re feeling really adventurous)! 

Reflections of 2019 (each and every day, all month long) #our2019

• The last month of the calendar year is a great time to reflect on what has happened in the year. All too often we forget what has happened the week before, let alone 11 months ago so take a trip down memory lane.
• Reflect and share your favourite moments of 2019.
• Recap what happened in your industry or local community this year with flashback posts. 

New Year’s Eve (December 31) #NewYearsEve

• Goodbye 2019, hello 2020!
• New Year’s Resolutions are a hot topic; share tips for keeping resolutions or things people should add to their resolutions.
• Write funny New Year’s resolutions. It’s an ongoing joke that people are bad at keeping resolutions – play this up in a fun, relatable way.
• Share big plans you have for 2020, whether it’s offering a new product, a renewed focus on customer service, or hiring for new positions.

December is the Month of:

• Operation Santa Paws Month
• Human Rights Month
• Write A Business Plan Month

Hanukkah runs from the 22^nd – 30^th December

Seasonal Celebration Days 

1:       World AIDS Day #WAD2019

          Pie Day #PieDay

          Walt Disney Day #WaltDisney

2:       Cyber Monday #CyberMonday #BFCM

3:       Giving Tuesday #GivingTuesday

4:       Cookie Day #CookieDay

5:       World Soil Day #WorldSoilDay

          International Volunteers Day #CelebrateVolunteers

7:       Pearl Harbour Remembrance Day #PearlHarborRemembranceDay 

          Letter Writing Day #LetterWritingDay #SnailMail

8:       Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day #PretendToBeATimeTravelerDay

          Brownie Day #BrownieDay

9:       International Children’s Day #ChildrensDay

10:      Human Rights Day #HumanRightsDay

          Nobel Prize Day #NobelPrize

11:      International Mountain Day #InternationalMountainDay

14:     World Monkey Day #WorldMonkeyDay

15:     International Tea Day #InternationalTeaDay

          Cat Herders Day #LikeHerdingCats

16:     Chocolate Covered Anything Day #ChocolateDay

21:     Crossword Puzzle Day #CrosswordPuzzleDay

          Ugly Sweater Day #UglySweaterDay

24:     Eggnog Day #EggnogDay

25:     Christmas Day #ChristmasDay #MerryChristmas

26:     Boxing Day #BoxingDay

28:     Card Playing Day #CardPlayingDay

29:      No Interruptions Day #NoInterruptionsDay

31:      New Year’s Eve #NYE

INSPIRATION FOR PINTEREST

Pins to promote

• Holidays
• Christmas
• Hanukkah
• Gift Ideas
• Recipes
• Summer Décor
• Party outfits

Trending Topics

• Christmas
• Fitness
• Healthy Food
• Resolutions
• New Years
• Kids Crafts
• Entertaining
• Guide to Summer

Start Planning

• Valentine’s Day
• Back to School
• Budgeting
• Waitangi Day

Capitalise on these valuable opportunities if they align with your branding. Please, do not JUST use the hashtag on top of something irrelevant.

So many options to participate in worldwide conversations – that is how you grow reach and authority and even vanity “likes” and “followers”.