It can be challenging to find time for your friends and loved ones in today’s fast-paced world. Commitment to daily activities and sedentary lifestyles can make you feel disconnected. If this sounds like you, don’t miss out on the opportunity to make friends during this year’s Friendship Day.

History of International Friendship Day

The idea of Friendship Day came in 1930 from Joyce Hall, Hallmark Cards’ founder. He wanted celebrations to occur on August 2 each year. The holiday didn’t last long in the United States as many people thought it was a gimmick for selling greeting cards.

In 1958, the World Friendship Crusade proposed International Friendship Day on July 30. The global civil organization believed friendship would champion peace worldwide. Dr. Ramon Artemio Bracho of the World Friendship Crusade thought this day would enhance fellowship and friendship without religion, ethnicity, and race discrimination.

In 2011 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed July 30 International Friendship Day. The officials envisioned this would help bring individuals, cultures, and countries together for a prosperous world. Since then, the friendship day has helped:

  • Encourage a peaceful culture through education
  • Foster equality between men and women
  • Enhance international security and peace
  • Maintain participatory communication and knowledge flow
  • Advance solidarity, tolerance, and understanding
  • Further democratic participation
  • Cultivate respect for human rights
  • Support sustainable social and economic development

International Friendship Day significance

Without friends, your world would probably be more challenging. The United Nations proclaimed International Friends Day to minimize the world’s many challenges. These include security issues, violence, and poverty.

Whether you want to gather with friends, share a dinner with loved ones, or impact the impoverished, Friendship Day gives you a chance to promote social harmony, security, and peace globally.

You can celebrate this great day by acquiring new friends, going out with loved ones, or exchanging cards.

How brands participate in International Friendship Day on social media

Friendship Day is a popular marketing event for brands worldwide. Whether launching activations, digital videos, or campaigns, businesses leverage this opportunity to reach their prospective clients. Here are efficient ways you can stand out during this festive day:

Engage prospects on social media networks

Social media marketing plays a critical role in spreading the word about your brand. In April 2022, social media users across various networks amounted to 4.65 billion. This means businesses can leverage this tool to engage potential clients, create brand awareness and enhance sales.

During Friendship Day, you can offer discounts, coupons, and freebies to increase your sales. Use social media platforms to update your offers accordingly.

Update your website to resonate with readers

Your brand’s website offers a solid foundation for your digital marketing strategies. As you prepare to launch your campaigns and promotions for the upcoming Friendship day, you need to consider several techniques, including:

  • Adding creative images on your site’s home page
  • Creating a landing page with images related to Friendship Day
  • Adding pop-ups to offer discounts and ensure they’re user-friendly to avoid turning away potential clients
  • Make your site mobile-friendly. More than 80% of web users surf with their mobile gadgets, and you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity.

Celebrate Friendship Day by offering giveaways

As an established social media manager, you probably have a large following. It’s time to get in touch with your fans. Let them know more about your brand and encourage them to share it with friends.

One of the best ways to ensure better results is by running giveaways and contests via Instagram posts and Facebook pages. Creative stories resonate with your followers and increase engagement, raise brand awareness and enhance traffic.

Ask for recommendations from your fans

Product recommendation from friends and relatives is powerful, and brands can benefit from this during Friendship Day, 2022. Your loyal customers trust your offers, and they won’t hesitate to refer their loved ones.

If you have a considerable following on social media, turn them into your brand’s ambassadors by asking them to recommend your products, and you can sustainably earn quality leads and clients.

Introduce coupon codes and gift vouchers

Email marketing is one of the most effective tools brands can use to attract new customers. Get creative by introducing promo codes in your email series whereby buyers can redeem to treat their friends on this special day.

Go live

Visual content continues to gain traction, and it’s one of the most effective ways to promote your products. Instagram has over a billion monthly users, while Facebook boasts more than 2.2 billion users worldwide.

Social media managers can leverage these networks on Friendship Day to showcase their marketing campaigns and offers. You can share exciting insights about friendship and ask viewers to tag their friends.

Make it memorable

As a digital marketer, you should find out-of-box ways to make Friendship Day memorable. While the opportunity comes once a year, you can leave lasting impressions if you leverage it appropriately.

Many established businesses use this day to design inspiring campaigns and stand out from the crowd. Here are real examples of how big brands participated in the last year’s Friendship Day:

Coca-Cola

In 2021, Coca-Cola celebrated Friendship Day by selling the company’s first NFTs collection. This occurred at a charity auction whereby the winner got a Coca-Cola Fridge. The NFTs got inspiration from friendship moments.

They also published an engaging Twitter post that resonated with the holiday:

Monica Vinader

Monica Vinader is a high-level jewelry brand and created a unique message during last year’s Friendship Day to launch a marketing campaign.

OddBox

OddBox, wonky veg, and fruit rescuer doubled client referral rewards to encourage buyer recommendations. OddBox strengthened its message by sharing an infographic showing how its referrals can impact the environment.

Get the Most out of Social Media on Friends Day

The 2021 Friends Day is an opportunity for social media managers to showcase their innovation and creativity and help brands achieve their goals. If you need more information on leveraging your marketing, free social media tools and templates will help.

International Friendship Day frequently asked questions

When is Friendship Day?

International Friendship Day occurs on July 30. This year, it’ll be on Saturday, July 30.

What is Friendship Day?

Friendship Day is a festive event whereby people come together to celebrate their friendship. The first celebration occurred in 1958.