July......only 6 months to go!!!

A new month, a new week, a new financial year and school holidays in Victoria!! It's a busy start to July for us but it looks like things are a little quieter on the International/National Dates and Celebrations front. Some interesting events are listed below - some of which will be relevant to you and many that possibly won't but there are some fun dates to talk about in the middle like "Lamington Day"!! Who doesn't love the idea of celebrating a lamington! Please use this list where you can to assist with SM content and utilising trending hashtags - we hope it helps you out!

1 - 31 July - Dry July
1 - 31 July - JulEYE
1 July - International Joke Day
2 July - World UFO Day
3 July - International Plastic Bag Free Day
4 July - American Independence Day
5 -11 July - National EOS Awareness Week - Nationwide - ausEE.Inc
7 July  - World Chocolate Day
7-14 July - ASK-Y Awareness Week - ASK-Y
7-14 July - National Diabetes Week - Nationwide - Diabetes Australia
8 - 15 July - NAIDOC Week
8 July - First Day of NAIDOC Week
11 July - World Population Day
15-21 July - Wounds Awareness Week - Nationwide - Wounds Australia
16 July - World Snake Day
16 - 20 July - National Farm Safety Week
17 July - World Emoji Day
18 July - Nelson Mandela International Day
20 July - International Chess Day
21 July - National Pyjama Day
21 July - Lamington Day
24 July - Stress Down Day (Lifeline)
27 July - White Ribbon Night
27 July - Crazy Hair Day (for Cystic Fibrosis)
27 July - School Tree Day
28 July - World Hepatitis Day – Worldwide - World Health Organisation
29 July - International Tiger Day
30 July - International Day of Friendship
31 July - National Tree Day

I hope everyone has an amazing month and that this list really encourages you to update your Social Media accounts daily or at the least every second day!  Regular posting is key to improving reach and growth, and don't forget that current and relevant posts are the perfect way to leverage and maximise hashtags and content.

If there are any dates that I have forgotten to include then please let me know in the comments below and I will update the list ASAP.

Don't forget to Be Social - Share, Support and Connect!!
Amanda x

Pin of the Week....

Writing the PERFECT Instagram Caption is something we all try to do on a daily basis isn't it? Too long, too short, not engaging enough, does it need tweaking, and at the best, is it share worthy?! We all want to write a great Instagram post so when I came across this article on Pinterest from the Team at Who What Wear that I thought was worth saving. It's a great read with several good tips that are worth trying in an effort to mix up your posts and start to build your engagement and following.

Not surprisingly, "How to Write the Perfect Instagram Caption", was the most PINNED post on the Little Bird Social Media "Instagram" Board last week. It's well worth the read and if you have any great tips that you'd like to share on writing the perfect caption then please feel free to share in the comments below - we'd love to know!

Planning for May.....

It's that time of the month again and what a busy month ahead.....who can believe May is already here?! A new month, a new list of special events and occasions that you can utilise for the promotion and growth of your own business on social media.

I hope the following list will take all the hard work out of planning May for you and will assist you with preparing posts, content and your businesses marketing calendar. Please don't hesitate to comment below if I have missed something and I will update the list accordingly. I hope you all find this useful!

May 1 - Kiss Goodbye to MS
May 1 - 7 - International Composting Awareness Week
May 1 - 7 - National Family Day Care Week
May 1 - 7 - Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week
May 1 - 31 - Australia's Biggest Morning Tea
May 1 - 31 - Miracle Month of May
May 1 - 31 - Domestic & Family Violence Prevention Month
May 1 - 31 - 65 Roses - For Cystic Fibrosis
May 1 - 31 - Mindful in May
May 1 - 31 - Dine with Heart Month - Supporting Sacred Heart Mission
May 2 - White Shirt Day - Supporting Ovarian Cancer
May 3 - World Asthma Day
May 4 - International Star Wars Day
May 4 - Play Outside Day
May 4 - 8 - Live Below the Line - Supporting Poverty in Australia
May 5 - Shine a Light on Road Safety
May 5 - Sports Without Boarders
May 5 - International Midwives Day
May 5 - 8 - Ride to Cure Diabetes
May 6 - Starlight Day - Supporting the Starlight Children's Foundation
May 6 - 13 - Heart Week
May 8 - World Red Cross Day
May 8 - 14 - National Volunteer Week
May 12 - International Nurses Day
May 13 - Fair Trade Day
May 14 - Mother's Day
May 14 - Mother's Day Classic
May 15 - International Day of Families
May 15 - 21 - National Family Week
May 17 - World Baking Day
May 19 - National Walk Safely to School Day
May 21 - RSPCA Million Paws Walk
May 21-27 - Food Allergy Week
May 25 - World MS Day
May 26 - National Sorry Day
May 27-28 - Red Shield Appeal - Supporting the Salvation Army
May 27 - 25 June - Ramadan
May 28 - Amnesty International
May 29 - Wear White at Work Day - Supporting Mental Illness
May 29 - Biscuit Day

Other Upcoming Australian Events can be found here. They might not be included on this calendar but provide a range of state specific events for the month.

Happy May!

Amanda

Planning for March

I'm still not sure how we got here to quickly.... March!!! Is it just me or did that come around super quickly? With the year whizzing by so fast, it's often difficult to keep up to date with special days, international days of celebration, national events and awareness weeks. In an effort to make this process easier for you and your business, particularly the smaller businesses whose owners are trying to stay across ALL aspects of their business, including their marketing and social media management, I have put together what I hope will be a valuable list for you to follow and use.

Incorporating national dates and special events into your marketing activities and social media posts can be a great way to create engagement, further grow your followers, link in with trending hashtags and network with other like minded businesses.

I hope the following list has taken the hard work out of planning March for you and will assist you with preparing posts, content and your businesses marketing calendar. Please don't hesitate to comment below if I have missed something and I will update the list accordingly. I hope you all find this useful!


March 1 - World Compliment Day
March 1 - 31 - Jump to Cure Diabetes
March 1 - 31 - National Epilepsy Awareness Month
March 2 - 12 - NSW Seniors Week
March 2 - "Old Stuff" Day
March 2 - Dr Seuss Day
March 2 - World Book Day
March 3 - World Wildlife Day
March 3 - Schools Clean Up Day
March 3 - Ride 2 School Day
March 3 - World Wildlife Day
March 4 - 12 - Parks Week
March 5 - MS Melbourne Cycle
March 5 - Clean Up Australia Day
March 6 - Labour Day
March 6 - National Dentist's Day
March 7 - Unique Names Day
March 8 - International Women's Day
March 9 - World Kidney Day
March 9 - World Barbie Day
March 11 - 18 - Cultural Diversity Week (VIC)
March 12 - 18 - Multiple Birth Awareness Week
March 13 - Canberra Day (ACT)
March 13 - Eight Hours Day (TAS)
March 13 - Labour Day (VIC)
March 16 - 19 - World's Greatest Shave
March 17 - St Patrick's Day
March 18 - National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence
March 20 - International Day of Happiness
March 21 - Harmony Day
March 22 - World Water Day
March 25 - Earth Hour 8.30pm
March 26 - Purple Day - Epilepsy Australia
March 31 - End Term One (QLD)  + (VIC)

Other Upcoming Australian Events can be found here. They might not be included on this calendar but provide a range of state specific events for the month.

Happy March!

Amanda

Hello February

Well 2016 is off and racing for us! I thought we might be able to ease into the busyness of another year a little more slowly but that wasn't to be!!

We enjoyed a two week break away in early January and I had big plans for some planning, reading and goal setting during that time away but surprise, surprise, reading my stock pile of fiction novels won over each time! I also battled a poor Wifi connection for part of our holiday which slowed things down but that probably wasn't such a bad thing!

So February is a ahead of us now....we've hit the ground running with lots of equiries coming in and quotes being finalised. If you're looking for a lift with your social media or need to free up some much needed time spent at the computer screen then please contact us for some more information regarding our services and the support we can offer your business - we'd love to hear from you!