Content planning for March 2020

The days are long but the months are short when running an online store.

Before we know it another month has flown by and when we get busy content is often the first thing to go.

But content is one of the most important elements of running a successful online store.

Don’t leave your content to chance. Plan, create and schedule your content for the month ahead now.

Here are some key dates for March that you can leverage and theme your content around.

What’s on in March 2020

01 First Day Of Autumn

The season between summer and winter when the weather gets cooler, the leaves change colour and days get longer.

Your Autumn campaigns may include clearing out of summer stock and preparing for winter.

04 Melbourne Fashion Festival

The Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival is an annual celebration of fashion, arts, ideas and creative endeavour for everyone to enjoy.

your take on the current fashion trends
showcase your latest fashions
flip it and explain why fashion sucks

08 International Women’s Day

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #eachforequal.

Here at Unstoppable eCommerce, we believe that equality is not just a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issues.

This day has become somewhat controversial in recent years with some women saying they “don’t need a day”, others celebrate how far we’ve come and others reminding us far we have yet to go.

Whatever your belief, you can use this day to express it. Don’t be afraid to be decisive here. If some people love you, some will hate you and that’s fine, they are not your people.

15 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix

One of the premier races around the world, the F1 circuit comes to Melbourne in March.

If your audience is not into F1 you can still leverage this event (or any of these key dates) by flipping it and saying why it sucks.

17 St Patrick’s Day

Patrick’s Day observes of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Who knew? I thought it was for eating green doughnuts and drinking too much Guinness.

17 Click Frenzy Sale

Although Click Frenzy brings deals together on a centralised shopping platform, you can still leverage this date by running your own Click Frenzy sales on your own website.

18 World Recycling Day

This year, the theme “Recycling into the Future” will focus on the power of youth and education in ensuring a brighter future.

19 National Close The Gap Day

The Close The Gap campaign focusses on improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

20 International Day Of Happiness

A whole day dedicated to happiness – what’s not to love about that? This year’s theme is Happier Together, focusing on what we have in common, rather than what divides us.

21 Harmony Day

Celebrating Australia’s cultural diversity, this day (week actually) is all about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Well there you have it – some of the key dates in March to incorporate into your 2020 content calendar. If I’ve missed a day you think should be there let me know in the comments below.

Want to plan ahead for your 2020 content calendar? Download our full 12 month 2020 eCommerce planner below.

Why Your Valentines Day Campaign Sucks

Most Valentines Day campaigns are boring.

On the 14th of February, our newsfeeds will be filled with hearts and roses and chocolates and … B-O-R-I-N-G.

Sure you could post a gift guide or make a heart out of your product. But do you want to be just another “me-too” OR do you want to stand out?

We are challenging online store owners to get creative this Valentines Day and do something different.

We want you to zig when everyone else is zagging.

The underlying reason for publishing anything, whether it’s a full-blown campaign or a single social media post, is to create affinity with your audience so they feel like know, like and trust you. And this in turn, will help you sell more on your online store.

We want you to not only think outside the chocolate box, we want you to rip that box to shreds.

Some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Create a dating profile for your products and match-make them by creating bundles. Pair this with a one-day-only special bundle price.
Showcase your “real love”. This might be the planet if you sell sustainable products or just a good nights sleep if your audience is new mums.
Send your audience a list of gift ideas that don’t suck.
Flip it and instead of celebrating love, celebrate independence, gal-pals or third-wheeling. Instead of celebrating with roses, celebrate with bacon.
Run a “love stinks” campaign and showcase all your delicious smelling candles.

Here’s your permission slip to be a little daring. Don’t be afraid to offend people. You can’t be everything to everyone. When creating your campaign you want to keep it relevant to your audience and unique to you. If some people love it, some people will hate it and that’s ok, they aren’t your people.

Our challenge to you: Zig when everyone else is zagging this Valentines Day.

Challenge accepted?

Good!

Here are the rules of the game:

Don’t be boring
Zig when others are zagging
Make sure it’s relevant to your audience
Make sure it’s unique to you

We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Share your campaigns and how you zigged when everyone else was zagging in our free Facebook Group for Unstoppable eCommerce Entrepreneurs. If you’re stuff for ideas, ask your fellow Unstoppables and we can help you brainstorm.

Valentines Day isn’t the only date you can leverage to sell more on your online store. Download our full 12 month 2020 eCommerce planner below.

Written by Megan Winter

Megan is an award-winning marketer and has worked with some of the fastest-growing eCommerce brands in the world.

Megan loves helping ethically-produced, heart-centred, soul-driven online store owners to make more income and achieve more impact.

How to prepare your eCommerce business for February 2020

Let’s take a look at how to prepare your eCommerce business for February.

Preparing for February seems crazy, I’m still coming to terms with the fact we’re in January already!

As we start to get over the festive season hangover and move towards making our goals for 2020, January is coming to an end and it’s time to prepare for February.

As a small business owner, sharing content is the perfect opportunity to contribute to conversations, express your brand values and inject personality into your narrative.

If you’ve followed Megan and I for a while you would know we don’t often sit on the fence about things. We attend climate rallies and post about it online, if people don’t like that they are not our people.

Don’t not post what you believe for fear of offending people – if you do, they are not your ideal audience. My only exception to this rule is religion – this is a very personal thing and unless your business is based around a religion this is something I would keep off your business social media.

With that in mind let’s take a look at what’s on in February 2020 and how you can incorporate these special days into your content calendar.

What’s on in February 2020:

02 Super Bowl Sunday

Superbowl Sunday is a huge sporting event in America, although this is not an Australian event it is known worldwide, not only for the sporting competition but also the half time ads. Large companies spend millions creating special ads and playing them during half time both at the ground and during TV streaming.

The Super Bowl ads are probably the most prestigious ads each year as each company aims to outdo the next.

This may not be relevant to you but do yourself a favour and watch the ads for a good laugh and some ad ideas.

Suggested posts:

Ask your audience what their favourite super bowl ad was
Tell your audience what your dream Superbowl ad would be for your business
Ask your audience what they think your Superbowl ad would look like
If your audience is in America you could run posts around what they are doing on Superbowl Sunday, if they are watching the game etc.
We don’t spend money on big flashy super bowl ads, what we do is…. <your amazing business features here>

04 World Cancer Day

There are many cancer awareness months and days throughout the year, however, World Cancer Day is an international day to raise awareness of all cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.

If you have a personal connection to cancer or your business is in some way involved with a cancer product or supporting a cancer charity today would be a good day to acknowledge it.

05 World Nutella Day

If your business involves food products consider making something with Nutella to tie into World Nutella Day.

Or alternatively if you’re business is against Nutella due to it’s palm oil use then this is a chance to mention it.

If you just want to encourage some engagement you could run a poll on your page to see if your audience is for or against Nutella.

You don’t have to post about something if it doesn’t sit right with you and your business values. Use the opportunity to be authentically you and share your thoughts and opinions – in line with your business.

14 Valentine’s Day

Oh Valentine’s Day, the day of love. The day we wish we had a partner for when we are single, and forget all about when we’re married!

Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity if you sell potential gifts.

Suggested Posts:

Promote last-minute gift ideas
Showcase products you Love
Show love for your community
Encourage people to spoil themselves this Valentines Day and provide a special offer with code LOVE (or you can be less corny if you want!)

Alternatively if you don’t like Valentine’s Day – talk about that! A great opportunity to share some personal insights.

15 Singles Awareness Day

Yes, this is a real thing! For all the singles that hated Valentine’s Day, the next day is theirs.

Celebrate all the singles in your community this day.

Consider gifting them all a special offer.

You could put a fun twist by promoting all your products for one, if relevant to your business!

20 National Love Your Pet Day

My dogs are my children and I know I’m not the only crazy dog lady out there! If you have pet products this is a great opportunity for you to encourage (read guilt) owners into buying them a gift.

If you don’t have pet-related products you can still use this day to encourage great engagement on your posts and increase your organic reach.

Suggested Posts:

Today is National Love Your Pet day, how will you spoil your pet today?
Encourage your community to share a photo of their pet (there is nothing we enjoy more than sharing photos of our fur babies)

23 Oscar Night

Oscars is a great opportunity for fashion businesses to incorporate posts into the big day.

You could start this a week out and do a whole range of posts in the lead up to the Oscars.

Suggested Posts:

Suggested Oscars outfits
Oscar worthy outfits
Our favourite outfits from the Oscars
Oscars hit and miss – share your opinion and position yourself as a fashion expert or just have a little fun with it
Ask your audience their favourite outfits from the Oscars
Ask your audience what they would wear to the Oscars
Ask your audience who would be by their side as their date to the Oscars, if they could pick anyone and which <your brand> outfit they would be wearing

29 Sydney Mardi Gras Parade

Post your rainbows far and wide and show your support for the LGTBIQ community during the biggest Mardi Gras in Australia.

Please note this is a day of celebration for the community so if you’re not in support, this is not the day to post.

Well there you have it some of the top days in February to incorporate into your 2020 content calendar. If I’ve missed a day you think should be there let me know in the comments below.

Want to plan ahead for your 2020 content calendar? Download our full 12 month 2020 eCommerce planner below.