Social media is the quickest and easiest way to have some recurring communication with your potential and existing customers.
A quick message and opportunity to help keep you top-of mind.
Almost every day of the calendar is reserved to an observance of some kind, or to promote an event. In some cases, it can be in your interest to leverage the effort and be part of the discussion.
Following are just a sample of the major events and observances that might be relevant to note, or right for you to piggy-back on for your social media effort.
| Date | Event | More Information | Region/State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/01/2026 | New Year’s Day | Public Holiday | International |
| 1–31 Jan 2026 | Veganuary | veganuary.com | International |
| 4/01/2026 | World Braille Day | United Nations observance | International |
| 12–25 Jan 2026 | Australian Open | ausopen.com | Victoria |
| 16–25 Jan 2026 | Tamworth Country Music Festival | tcmf.com.au | NSW |
| 23–25 Jan 2026 | Festival of Sails | festivalofsails.com.au | Victoria |
| 26/01/2026 | Australia Day / Survival Day | Public Holiday | National |
| 27/01/2026 | Australia Day Public Holiday | Monday Holiday (Observed) | National |
Key Changes & Insights for 2026
- The Monday Public Holiday: In 2026, Australia Day (January 26) falls on a Monday. This creates a natural long weekend for the entire country, which is a prime opportunity for “long weekend” travel, BBQ, and retail-related social media content.
- Australian Open: The tournament is scheduled to run slightly earlier than the 2025 dates, typically concluding on the last Sunday of January (though official exact dates are subject to final ATP/WTA confirmation, the 12th–25th is the standard window).
- Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year): Unlike 2025 (which was in January), the Year of the Horse begins on February 17, 2026. While the main event is in February, you will likely see “countdown” or preparation content starting in late January.
- Back to School: Most Australian schools will return between January 27 and January 30, 2026. This makes the final week of January a high-traffic period for “Back to School” tips, supplies, and routine-building content.
- Veganuary: This remains a major month-long trend globally and in Australia, perfect for food bloggers, supermarkets, and health-focused brands.
The importance of social media for business in Australia
Social media is a powerful marketing tool that can be leveraged for any business. The obvious reason to engage in social media as a business is to increase sales, but there are some longer term business benefits to engaging and contributing to your social platforms.
One of the most beneficial aspects of social media for businesses is the ability to listen and engage with their customers. This can help a company identify trends in customer needs, improve products or services based on feedback from customers, and provide support when needed. By listening intently you’ll also be able to see what your competition are doing which will allow you to stay one step ahead!
Trafffic has found that both large companies as well as small SMEs (small & medium sized enterprises) do enjoy an uptick in business thanks to understanding how powerful social platforms are for marketing their business.
90%
of Australian SMB’s use Facebook, which has remained consistent for a number of years now
33%
of Australians check a brand’s social accounts before deciding to buy
62%
of Australians will follow a brand on social in return for receiving discounts
36%
of Australian SMBs have a strategic social media plan
62%
of Australian SMBs engage with customers who rate or review them on social media
68%
of Australian people read online reviews or blogs to find out what other people think about products or services
63%
believe that paid social media will increase their sales in the next year
73%
of women read online reviews of products or services they’re interested in, compared to 63% of men
From the Yellow Social Media Report 2020
Social Media Tips for businesses
Spend some time engaging with your community. It might take you 5 or 10 extra minutes, but make sure you reply to each comment as soon as is practical. Then to stay in their feed, go back and like each comment from the previous day.
Take advantage of extra features or interactive stickers in posts as a way to engage with your community. Ask questions or make polls and then thank the people that answer them when they have finished.
Creating an impact on a few social media platforms is enough – you do not need to be active on every platform. Plan your social media presence to align with those of your target audience.
Mistakes can happen, especially in the fast-paced world of social media. In a case where an error is noticed in a post, accept and apologise for it – own it. Your community will relate to your mistakes and your efforts to improve.
Using the same message on each channel is not the best use of your social effort. You should consider the unique features of each platform and how best to engage audiences.
Hashtags help you engage with your community. The temptation is to load a post with as many as possible BUT, using too many hashtags can annoy people and can scale back your engagement rate. Aim for 2-5 targeted, high-quality and high-volume hashtags per post.
Australian content ideas for Australian business social media posts
Apart from significant dates, or dates of observances, there can be many other opportunities to make social media posts that communicate to your audience and customers. Thinking about what content to post on social media can be hard - you can drown in the options. Following are some practical examples of content that will resonate with your audience.
Blog or News Posts from your company website
If your company has a blog or news section with regular posts, half of the work is already done for you! One of the best way to get your website posts viewed, is to share it on your own social media platforms.
The content should be original (which is important for search engine optimisation SEO), and you know it's relevant to your business because it came from your website.
Posts about your company's people and culture
A culture post is something that highlights what your business is all about. How you do what you do, what makes you different or something about the skills of your staff.
These types of posts work to help humanise your business and are key to differentiate your business in a way that is difficult to replicate.
…I came across your Australian Social Media Calendar from a google search. Have just started my company’s facebook account and has been such a great help in planning out my social media strategy & posts for the month…
– Miranda M, Marketing Manager