3 min read

Your brand should NOT post today

Facepalm statue in the Tuileries Garden in Paris

Is your brand planning a Holiday, Memorial Day, Easter, Pearl Harbor, Sept 11th or celebrity death social media post? You really shouldn’t. Best case scenario, you get a cheap laugh or a few likes. Worst case, you evoke cringes and groans. Let’s start with what these holidays really mean.

“Most people don’t need to be taught, they need only to be reminded.”
C. S. Lewis

Over at Good to Grate, Tim Rethlake provides three suggestions on how to properly memorialize plus details all the things Memorial Day is not.

Generally, national holidays have become a marketer’s excuse to peddle their wares and promote their brand. Unless your brand revolves around these specific events, I urge you to sit it out. If you are planning a post on a day like today, do it for the right reasons. Honor the person or event. Make your post about them, not you.

Still on the fence? Here are some reasons to reconsider:

Sears tweet promoting generators during Hurricane Sandy
American Apparel Tumblr post using an image resembling the Challenger explosion
Vegas Blow Dry Bar tweet promoting lashes for Memorial Day weekend
Cheerios tweet reading 'Rest in peace' after Prince's death
Cinnabon Memorial Day tweet showing a pan of cinnamon rolls
Golf course ad offering 9/11 anniversary discounts
Hooters Memorial Day tweet offering free wings with servers saluting
Hostess Snacks Easter tweet of a Twinkie in a dress shirt
AJC tweet about stress cooking after the Las Vegas shooting
Cinnabon tweet of Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia drawn in cinnamon
Louisville Slugger Memorial Day tweet showing camouflage bats
Marriott hotel sign offering 9/11 remembrance coffee and muffins
AT&T 'Never Forget' 9/11 tweet showing a phone over the New York skyline
SpaghettiOs Pearl Harbor tweet featuring its mascot holding an American flag