[July 2022] Consistency is always the biggest hurdle for brands looking to build and sustain an online presence.
Trying to find the inspiration to create engaging content can feel tedious, especially when you’re juggling other daily tasks on top of this. This is where social media awareness days come in handy.
Awareness days are a quick and easy way to engage with trending topics and start a conversation with your followers. Whether it’s for a key date in the calendar, such as International Women’s Day or Mental Health Awareness Day, or simply to give a shout out to your favourite things, such as International Coffee Day or National Pet Day – you can be sure that there’s an awareness day for you!
Here’s our calendar for the next year (from July 2022 – June 2023) of upcoming awareness days, social media holidays and trending moments that you should keep on your radar.
2022 Key Dates:
July is focused on independence and political activism, from US independence day through to Nelson Mandela International Day.
There are also a few awareness days where brands can get creative with their social content, such as World Emoji Day or Give Something Away Day.
July key dates
- July 1 – Canada Day
- July 4 – American Independence Day
- July 7 – World Chocolate Day
- July 12 – Malala Day
- July 15 – Give Something Away Day
- July 17 – World Emoji Day
- July 18 – Nelson Mandela International Day
- July 30 – International Day of Friendship
Time to get your sunglasses and shorts out! Why not take the opportunity to gather the team for some drinks on International Beer Day or share photos from your summer party on World Photo Day.
August key dates
- August 1 – Yorkshire day
- August 1 – Respect for Parents Day
- August 2 – National Coloring Book Day
- August 5 – International Beer Day
- August 8 – International Cat Day
- August 9 – National Book Lovers Day
- August 11 – National Sons and Daughters Day
- August 12 – International Youth Day
- August 12 – World Elephant Day
- August 13 – National Prosecco Day
- August 15 – National Relaxation Day
- August 16 – National Rum Day
- August 16 – National Tell a Joke Day
- August 19 – World Photo Day
- August 19 – World Humanitarian Day
- August 26 – International Dog Day
- August 26 – National Women’s Equality Day
It’s back to school for children across the UK. September is also a month for reflection and charity, with International Charity Day enabling brands to give back and promote fundraising activities.
September key dates
- September – Back to School
- September 4 – National Wildlife Day
- September 5 – International Day of Charity
- September 6 – Read a Book Day
- September 8 – International Literacy Day
- September 10 – Stand Up To Cancer Day
- September 12 – Video Games Day
- September 21 – International Day of Peace
- September 22 – Car-Free Day
- September 23 – First Day of Autumn
- September 26 – European Day of Languages
- September 27 – World Tourism Day
- September 30 – International Podcast Day
Tis the spooky season! For booksellers, this is the time to promote any terrifying reads to engage followers, or why not host a scary story read-a-long on Instagram LIVE?
October also marks key awareness days that you can bring attention to such as Black History Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month & World Mental Health Day.
October key dates
- October 1 – 31 Black History Month / Breast Cancer Awareness Month / Stoptober
- October 1- National Bookshop Day
- October 1 – International Coffee Day
- October 1 – World Vegetarian Day
- October 5 – National Poetry Day
- October 5 – World Teachers’ Day
- October 7 – World Smile Day
- October 10 – World Mental Health Day
- October 16 – World Food Day
- October 17 – International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
- October 20 – International Chefs Day
- October 24 – Diwali
- October 25 – World Pasta Day
- October 31 – Halloween
November is a busy period for brands and businesses, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday providing great promotional opportunities. But there’s still room for fun content with Movember, Guy Fawkes Night & Thanks Giving.
November key dates
- November 1 – November 30 Movember
- 1 November – World Vegan Day
- 3 November – World Sandwich Day
- 5 November – Guy Fawkes Night
- 8 November – Cappuccino Day
- 11 November – Remembrance Day
- 13 November – Remembrance Sunday
- 19 November – International Men’s Day
- 21 November – FIFA World Cup 2022
- 24 November – Thanksgiving
- 25 November – Black Friday
- 26 November – Small Business Saturday
- 28 November – Cyber Monday
- 30 November St Andrew’s Day
What better way to end the year than with a Festive bang! While many brands will be busy during the holiday period, it’s important to make the most of the season on social. Whether it’s sharing snaps of the team on Christmas Jumper Day or hosting giveaways counting down to Christmas, there’s a lot of ways to keep the merry spirit alive.
December key dates
- 4 December – National Sock Day
- 11 December – Christmas Jumper Day
- 12 December – Green Monday
- 17 December – Super Saturday
- 21 December – Winter Solstice
- 24 December – Christmas Eve
- 25 December – Christmas Day
- 26 December – Boxing Day
- 31 December – New Year’s Eve
2023 Key Dates:
It’s a new year, and time for a new you. The first month of 2023 has a number of awareness days to take advantage of and inspire healthy habits, such as Veganuary or Dry January. There are also a host of cultural events including the Grammy Awards – why not tie your social content to some crazy red carpet looks?
January key dates
- January – Veganuary
- January – Dry January
- January 1 – New Year’s Day
- January 2 – Science Fiction Day
- January 3 – Substitute Bank Holiday (New Year’s)
- January 6 – National Technology Day
- January 17 – Blue Monday
- January 22 – Chinese New Year
- January 25 – Burn’s Day
- January 26 – Australia Day
- January 27 – Chocolate Cake Day
- January 27 – Holocaust Memorial Day
- January 30 – National Croissant Day
- January 31 – Grammy Awards
Moving on to the month of love – filled with hearts, chocolates and flowers galore – it’s your opportunity to go all out on your Valentine’s Day campaigns. For booksellers and publishers, this is a crucial time to get those romance books off the shelves!
Another key moment for the publishing industry is #InternationalBookGivingDay, which is the optimal time to host social media giveaways and competitions to boost engagement with your online channels.
February key dates:
- February 2 – Groundhog Day #GroundhogDay
- February 2 – World Wetlands Day #WorldWetlandsDay
- February 4 – World Cancer Day #WorldCancerDay
- February 5 – National Weatherperson’s Day #NationalWeatherpersonsDay
- February 5 – National Bubble Gum Day #BubbleGumDay
- February 7 – Super Bowl LV #SuperBowl2022
- February 7 – National Send a Card to a Friend Day #SendaCardtoAFriendDay
- February 11 – Safer Internet Day #SID2022
- February 11 – Inventors Day #InventorsDay
- February 13 – Self-Love Day #SelfLoveDay
- February 13 – World Radio Day #WorldRadioDay
- February 14 – Valentine’s Day #ValentinesDay
- February 14 – International Book Giving Day #InternationalBookGivingDay
- February 16 – Mardi Gras #MardiGras
- February 16 – National Pancake Day
- February 17 – Random Acts of Kindness Day #NationalPancakeDay
- February 18 – National Battery Day #NationalBatteryDay
- February 20 – World Day of Social Justice #SocialJusticeDay
- February 20 – Love Your Pet Day #LoveYourPetDay
- February 21 – International Mother Language Day #IMLD
- February 22 – National Wildlife Day #NationalWildlifeDay
- February 25 – Digital Learning Day #DLDay
As the wintery months melt away to Spring, March marks #InternationalWomensDay, an international day of celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, while also increasing visibility and calling out inequality. Other notable days of activism are Transgender Day of Visibility, Equal Pay Day & Earth Hour Day.
March is also another busy month for the publishing world, with World Storytelling Day, World Poetry Day & Tolkien Reading Day.
March Key Dates:
- March 2 – World Book Day
- March 4 – National Employee Appreciation Day (First Friday of March)
- March 8 – International Women’s Day
- March 8 – Holi
- March 13 – Daylight Savings
- March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day
- March 19 – Red Nose Day
- March 20 – International Day of Happiness
- March 20 – World Storytelling Day
- March 20 – First Day of Spring
- March 20 – Shakespeare Week begins
- March 21 – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- March 21 – World Poetry Day
- March 25 – Tolkien Reading Day
- March 27 – Earth Hour Day
- March 27 – Mother’s Day
- March 31 – Transgender Day of Visibility
- March 31 – Equal Pay Day
Watch out – it’s April Fools Day! Brands around the world will be taking part with playful and funny content, looking to trick their followers for the day. Here are a few of our favourites from this year.
April key dates:
- April National Stress Awareness Month
- April 1 – April Fools Day
- April 2 – World Autism Awareness Day
- April 5 – Passover begins
- April 7 – Good Friday
- April 8 – Easter Sunday
- April 10 – Encourage a Young Writer Day
- April 16 – National Stress Awareness Day
- April 17 – Haiku Poetry Day
- April 22 – Earth Day
- April 29 – International Dance Day
- April 30 – International Jazz Day
May the fourth be with you! This is the time to find out if there are any hard-core Star Wars fans in your offices. May also marks Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, where Muslims all across the UK enjoy lavish meals together with loved ones.
May key dates
- May 1 -May Day
- May 1 – International Workers Day
- May 3 – Eid al-Fitr
- May 3 – World Press Freedom Day
May 4 – Star Wars Day - May 7 – Space Day
- May 9 – Europe Day
- May 9 – 15 Mental Health Awareness Week
- May 15 – International Day of Families
- May 16 – Love a Tree Day
- May 21 – National Bike to Work Day
- May 30 – Memorial Day (Fourth Monday of May)
In the great words of Drag Queen superstar RuPaul: “If You Can’t Love Yourself, How the Hell Are You Going to Love Somebody Else?”
June is the month of Pride, where the LGBTQIA+ community and allies come together to honour honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, which was the tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement.
The month also lines up a bunch of exciting cultural events, including Glastonbury Festival & the start of Wimbledon.
June key dates
- June – Pride Month
- June 5 – World Environment Day
- June 8 – World Oceans Day
- June 8 – Best Friends Day
- June 13 – International Children’s Day
- June 14 – World Blood Donor Day
- June 19 – Juneteenth (Freedom Day)
- June 19 – Father’s Day
- June 20 – World Refugee Day
- June 21 – National Selfie Day
- June 21 – World Music Day
- June 23 – National Writing Day
- June 30 – Social Media Day
