Hey, Max Adagio here! It’s Fourth of July week and nobody is at work, so for today’s Content and Coffee, we’re just going to show you an ambient video of fireworks exploding … Just kidding, but seriously – this week is notoriously difficult for marketers, especially for B2B companies. So what’s the best way to navigate the fourth’s marketing doldrums and get people’s attention? Click play to watch the full video, or read the transcribed version below. 

Here are some examples and ideas for a successful social media marketing campaign to keep engagement up this week:

1. Remember that it’s not all about you

Yes, your company might be American and employ Americans, but unless you work for Levis, Ford or Jack Daniels, chances are your brand doesn’t have a direct tie in with Independence Day. Moral of the story? Don’t be overly promotional.

Audiences will be flocking to Pinterest for Fourth of July craft, decoration, and recipe ideas – try making a July Fourth community board for the holiday and your audience will build it out for you

2. Get creative

The social world will be oversaturated with red, white, and blue messages. Something that stands out goes a long way: Newcastle’s Independence Eve campaign, though a hijack of the fourth, earned its creative merit by cheekily celebrating the eve of Britain’s independence from America.

3. Go mobile

People probably aren’t going to be using their computers as much this week, but you can be sure they’ve got their smartphones – so get creative with Instagram, Vine, Snapchat—the whole mobile suite.

Lowe's Vine VideoLast year, Lowes created a cute stop motion Vine that made tools look like exploding fireworks: It went viral. PayPal worked with guest instagrammers to create optimized posts for the network—like this patriotic pup! Which brings me to my final point:

4. Partner up

Create partnerships for added reach—you’ll need it. Perhaps the most memorable Independence Day campaign of 2013 was Clear Channel’s. It featured billboards displayed across the US with lines from “The Star Spangled Banner.” Their partnership? Their employees who spread the campaign’s images online through photos, videos, and the hashtag #United4th. For that added reach, you should ask your employees to jump in, too.

As always, use best practices by including engaging types of content (video performs best on Fridays), and optimize posts for each social media platform. I’m Max Adagio; Happy fourth, and happy content marketing.

  1. Looking for more ideas about holiday marketing? Check out this video for tips about researching trending search terms
  2. Writing content about the 4th of July? Here’s how to get it technically right – AP style 
Max Adagio is a content strategist at Castleford, Brafton's APAC sister company in New Zealand. Having graduated from Boston College, he promptly charted a professional course in emerging media. A dedicated fan of James Joyce, he likes to write fiction and often tries and fails to bring a literary sensibility to social media topics and practices.