If you struggle to know what to write about on your photography blog or on your social media channels, then have you considered using national awareness days as content prompts? If not, I highly recommend it!
There’s nothing worse than staring at a blank screen, knowing that you need to create content to promote your photography, but not having a clue what to write. Right?!
This is when awareness days can prove so valuable.
There are many hundreds of awareness days happening each and every year, and one hundred or more each month. So, that’s hundreds of potential topics that you could piggyback on as a content idea!
Related reading: A step-by-step guide to using awareness days in your photo marketing content
Awareness days are invaluable as content prompts
An awareness day based on a particular theme or topic could perhaps be all you need to come up with hundreds of photography marketing content ideas throughout the year.
Used literally as prompts, you might find that the theme of a particular awareness day, awareness week or monthly awareness campaign inspires you and sets the cogs in your brain turning. You might go on to recall a story worth sharing with your audience on that theme or topic. Or, you may conjure up a memory of an experience that might interest them, for example.
Simply because of the variety of awareness days that are happening each calendar month, I’m confident that if you applied yourself and open your mind to the possibilities of how awareness days might be helpful to you, you’ll be able to make them work for your photography business.
Related reading: How to use awareness days to inspire photography content ideas
Free calendar and December awareness days (2023 edition)
If you’re reading this around the time this article was originally published, now’s the time to start creating content for your photography marketing channels for December!
In December, there are many awareness days and campaigns, so I’m confident that you should be able to find some that are relevant and that could inspire content ideas you’ve not thought of yet.
Here’s a list of December awareness days that you might want to look out for in 2023:
December Awareness Days
Month-long awareness campaigns in December
There are a couple of month-long campaigns during December including:
- Decembeard (Bowel Cancer)
- Write A Business Plan Month
An example of how these could be applied…
Gents, do you support Decembeard every year by growing a beard in support of Bowel Cancer UK?
If so, share updates in your content and galvanise support from your audience. You could talk about why you do this and how your beard is progressing week by week – your followers might love to be kept updated!
Alternatively, are you planning some exciting new photography products or services this month to launch in the New Year? Or is there an interesting story you could tell in your marketing content during December about your very first photography business plan, or how your business came to be?
Yes? Then share this during December, inspired by the Write A Business Plan Month awareness day.
Awareness days and week-long campaigns in December
Now, let’s focus on December awareness days and week-long campaigns.
As the year draws to a close and the focus shifts towards Christmas, there are noticeably fewer awareness days this month than in previous months, but there are still plenty of key dates in December.
*Please note that the dates below apply predominantly to the U.K. in the year 2023, and are subject to change year on year. Although they are correct to the best of my knowledge at the time of publication, please check the dates of any awareness campaigns you plan to use.
Week-long campaigns in December include:
- National Grief Awareness Week (from the 2nd)
- Illumination Street Week (from the 5th)
Awareness days in December 2023: A (non-exhaustive) list of key dates
02 National Grief Awareness Week
02 English Breakfast Day
02 Small Business Saturday
03 Make A Gift Day
03 International Day of Persons with Disabilities
04 Tree Dressing Day
04 Cookie Day
04 Santa’s List Day
05 International Volunteer Day
05 Illumination Street Week
06 St. Nicholas Day
07 Christmas Jumper Day
08 Chocolate Brownie Day
09 Christmas Card Day
10 Human Rights Day
10 Nobel Prize Day
12 Gingerbread House Day
13 Hot Cocoa Day
13 National Day of the Horse
17 Wright Brothers Day
20 Go Caroling Day
21 Bah Humbug Day
21 Crossword Puzzle Day
22 First Day of Winter (Northern Hemisphere)
24 Christmas Eve / Last Day of Advent
25 Christmas Day
26 Boxing Day
26 Thank You Note Day
27 Fruitcake Day
31 New Year’s Eve
31 Make Up Your Mind Day
Ideas of how you could use these December awareness days
Now let’s look at some ways that you could intepret these events, days and themes to your photography marketing content:
2nd December
- Small Business Saturday – This is a perfect opportunity to talk about your small business in your marketing content. Shine the spotlight on your photography while raising awareness of what it is your business does and who you serve. You could also show your support for other small businesses in your content this weekend (perhaps they will even reciprocate).
The opportunities are endless really! You could create behind-the-scenes video content for Instagram Reels, share customer testimonials, interview a happy client, blog about a recent session, promote yourself by talking about your expertise and how many clients you’ve served to date etc. Essentially, share anything that will help your online audience get to know you or your small business better.
3rd December
- Make-A-Gift Day – If you make handmade gifts or cards for your friends and family at Christmas – perhaps incorporating your photography – this is the perfect opportunity to share a behind-the-scenes look at your process of making and crafting.
Alternatively, why not recommend to your followers a number of independent or local craft businesses whom you buy from at Christmas time? They might well appreciate your tips on how they can purchase unique festive gifts that are lovingly hand-made by small business owners.
4th December
- Santa’s List Day – Family photographers who have run Christmas-themed portrait sessions, perhaps featuring a Father Christmas character in the studio or on a festive backdrop, could use this day to show examples from the shoots and to generate interest for next year’s sessions. A wait list launched well in advance is a great way to start promoting and filling slots!
Or, this day could inspire a simple social media post intended to drive engagement – ask your audience what’s on your child’s Christmas list this year. Your followers may help each other out by sharing gift ideas for kids of various ages.
Alternatively, you could share something Christmas-inspired – maybe a list of local family-friendly events. Or, collate a list of festive/Santa films that are on TV this week, or ask your audience which is their favourite Santa movie of all time!
7th December
- Christmas Jumper Day – Do you have a favourite festive jumper that you wear in the run-up to Christmas? Today is the day to share a fun photo of you wearing it!
Why not donate £2 or more to support the event organiser, Save The Children, and also encourage your followers to do the same?
22nd December
- First Day of Winter -For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Winter is officially here on the 22nd of December and it’s the first day of Summer for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere.
What does the changing season mean to you as a photographer?
In your content, could you talk about your favourite locations to photograph in Winter/Summer? Or maybe share tips on things to do in Winter/Summer in your local area? Is there something you’re really looking forward to now Winter/Summer is here?
31st December
- Make Up Your Mind Day – a.k.a. decision day! The final day of the month is one when many people reflect on the 12 months that have past, and make plans for the year ahead.
What will you be making your mind up about on this day that your audience might find interesting? For example, is your photography business going in a new direction next year? Are you adding new services or will you no longer offer a particular service going forward? This could all be great content on New Year’s Eve.
December awareness days can inspire tons of content
I hope that this may have helped to show you how you can use some of the December awareness days in your marketing content. Of course, these are just some ideas I’ve put together, and are shared just to give you some quick-fire inspiration on how to apply them to your content.
Don’t overthink this!
Remember, there are many more awareness days in December than those listed above. Cherry-pick a few of the December awareness days that speak to you and then interpret them however you wish.
P.S. This is the twelfth and final instalment of a monthly blog series that I’ve created throughout 2023, focused on awareness days. I hope you’ve found it useful. Find ideas for other calendar months within blogs in this series.
Related reading: November Awareness Days
Good luck with your December content planning!
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