All kinds of creative tips and ideas for how to do effective marketing campaigns for the 4th of July holiday. From graphics to social media, themes to videos, there is a little bit here for everyone to use to promote their small business.
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The 4th of July (also known as Independence Day) is a USA only holiday. We celebrate Independence day on the 4th of July because that was the day the US adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, freeing ourselves from the British Empire.
It is a super short marketing holiday, running only from June 15 – July 4 according to Google Trends.
This post is a part of my Marketing Holidays…. Dates, Hashtags and Keywords series… make sure to check out all the cool holidays you can use for marketing!
Also check out… 4th of July and Patriotic Quotes (some with pictures!)
4th of July Marketing Campaigns
So how can you use this holiday to promote your offerings?
- 4th of July Sale – Sales based on holidays are really easy for consumers to understand and appreciate. I KNOW, it can seem cliche to have this kind of sale, but deep here in the middle of the summer it is awesome to have a reason to reach out to our customers!
- Tell A Story – If you have a great Independence story be sure to let your customers know. For example, you might have claimed independence from your job when starting your company or you might have a case study where you taught someone else to be independent and successful.
- Honor a Hero – One of the cool things about patriot holidays is that it lets us think of the people who keep us safe! If you can do something nice like donate money to cause supporting veterans or showcase a local firefighter who is doing great things, you can pair your love of country and a grass roots idea!
4th of July Themes
There are all kinds of marketing themes you can use for the fourth! Here are some ideas… some obvious and some that are around the holiday…
- Picnics
- Parades
- Patriotism
- Baseball
- County Fairs
- Fireworks
- Flags
- Rockets
- Baseball
- Bald Eagles
- Summer
- Stars & Stripes
Graphics
You cannot go wrong with a “classic” American flag. A bonus of starting with a square image is that you can do one post that will work on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Facebook. While it is not the “perfect” shape for most of these sites, it is good enough if you don't want to spend a ton of time your graphics.
Square USA flag image by Piotr Krzeslak/Shutterstock
But if your brand is more “fun and interesting” you find a cool patriotic dog picture like this one from Javier Brosch/Shutterstock.
And actually the best thing to do if you are not super “graphic-y” is to just get one that is already done and then use your written post message area to be creative!
Pre made 4th of July banner courtesy Vik Y/Shutterstock
What 4th of July Ads Should Look Like
Yes, you can do an “ad” or you can do something “summery” like this Instagram post from Family Fun Mag that is driving people to their magazine. Great for promoting ideas to your readers.
If you are an Etsy seller, it is great to try and figure out which of your products could be made “4th of July specific”. This Etsy seller did a neat job with her Independence Day pin.
I love how this photographer “themed” his services. He has a photo setting for kids that features a 4th of July, summer fun theme in his Facebook post. What a creative way to sell your services around a holiday theme!
Channels
- Graphics – We talked about pictures above, but make sure to keep everything in that patriotic vein. You can use symbols like the American flag, fireworks, the Statue of Liberty, rockets, the United States outline, eagles and stars.
- Social Media – Social media is a great way to roll out your campaign. You can post a patriotic message to your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter accounts.
- Blog Posts – An amazing idea would be to write a blog post about one of your customers that embody the patriotic spirit. It could be a soldier, social worker or first responder that you admire. Make sure to connect it back to your business and send it out in your newsletter!
- Contests – You could do a “Show me your pride” contest. Have people post patriotic pictures on Instagram and tag them with your special hashtag.
- Patriotic Video – A great idea is to make a video to send out to your customer base that talks about what makes America great to you. Just make sure you don't get caught up in political talk. Being strongly pro Democrat or pro Republican will alienate at least half of your customers. If you cringe at this idea then don't do it, but for some of you, this will come off as genuine, warm and caring.
- Postcards – When mailing postcards out make sure to use lots of red, white and blue imagery in your graphics and use lots of American flags in your images.
- Print Advertising – Many local and regional papers and publications will have a special section for the 4th of July. If you are in an a location that can see fireworks, make sure to invite people to come and watch them with you.
4th of July / Independence Day Marketing Conclusion
Of course this just scratches the surface of all the fun things you could do to make a marketing campaign around the 4th of July!
But hopefully it does start getting your creative juices flowing for things that you could do to stand out and sell more on the day of love!