By Brynn Low,
Marketing4ECPs

 

Ready to plan your marketing for 2022? 

Every month brings an opportunity to try something new with your marketing when it comes to advertising and promotional campaigns.

A campaign is any consistent message you use to promote a specific goal. This can be a new product, technology, sale or discount, community initiative, or more.

Any platform can be part of a campaign, whether you’re using social media, email, your website, or physical signage, to name a few. Here’s some inspiration for when you’re creating your campaigns for 2022 and beyond.

 

January

These simple, but key questions will help you plan, no matter what you decide to do with your marketing.

  • What’s working? 
  • What’s not working?
  • What are your goals?

Once you ask these questions, sit down and plan out each month in 2022 with themes, campaigns, and key business objectives. For example, a practice goal could be to sell multiple pairs of eyeglasses. Here are a few campaign ideas for that:

  • New Year – Two New Views!
  • Happiness Comes In Pairs – Happy New Year!

Important Dates & Holidays

  • Glaucoma Awareness Month
  • January 1: New Year’s Day
  • January 4: World Braille Day

 

February

Love is in the air in February! With Valentine’s Day on the 14th, it’s the perfect time to remind patients to love their eyes. Or you can encourage local shopping with an “Eye Love Local” campaign.

Important Dates & Holidays

  • AMD Awareness Month
  • Low Vision Month
  • February 4: World Cancer Day
  • February 14: Valentine’s Day
  • February 15: Family Day/Islander Day/Louis Riel Day/Heritage Day
  • February 28: Rare Disease Day

 

March

With St. Patrick’s Day and several eye care-related days, March is great for campaigns like:

  • Giveaways for lucky patients in honour of St. Patrick’s Day
  • Glaucoma awareness for World Glaucoma Week
  • Optometry facts for World Optometry Day

Important Dates & Holidays

  • Nutrition Month
  • March 8: International Women’s Day
  • March 7-13: World Glaucoma Week
  • March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
  • March 23: World Optometry Day

 

April

April has a few fun holidays. While you probably don’t want to play pranks on your patients for April Fools, an Easter or spring-themed campaign is a fun way to engage with your patients. Encourage patients to try a new pair of glasses for spring or even explain how glasses’ spring hinges work.

Important Dates & Holidays

  • Rosacea Awareness Month
  • April 1: April Fools Day
  • April 2: Good Friday
  • April 4: Easter Sunday

 

May 

May is Vision Health Month, so it’s a great opportunity for an educational campaign. It’s also Mother’s Day on May 8th, and you can never go wrong with showing appreciation for Moms. Share what makes your practice family-friendly.

Important Dates & Holidays

  • Vision Health Month
  • Brain Tumour Awareness Month
  • May 9: Mother’s Day 
  • May 24: Victoria Day

 

June

June is Cataract Awareness Month, making it the perfect time for an educational campaign around cataracts. The 19th is also Father’s Day, another opportunity to thank dads for everything they do.

Important Dates & Holidays

  • Cataract Awareness Month
  • June 20: Father’s Day

 

July

Of course, July 1 is Canada Day. Time to celebrate and connect with patients through a Canada-focused campaign. July 6 is National Injury Prevention Day, making it the perfect opportunity to tell patients about the importance of safety eyewear.

Important Dates & Holidays

  • July 1: Canada Day
  • July 6: National Injury Prevention Day

 

August

You can’t go wrong with a back-to-school campaign in August. Every parent will be thinking about school-related supplies, so take the opportunity to remind parents that good vision is essential for learning.

Important Dates & Holidays

  • Back to School
  • August 2: Civic Holiday

 

September

The first day of school usually falls in September. It’s an additional chance to tell parents about their childrens’ vision with a children’s eye exam campaign. Remind them that school-aged kids should have an eye exam at least once a year. Labour Day also falls in September, so chat about safety eyewear and taking care of your eyes at work.

Important Dates & Holidays

  • National Guide Dog Month
  • September 6: Labour Day
  • First Day of School
  • September 11: World First Aid Day

 

October

October is Children’s Vision Month, but if you already did a campaign focused on children’s vision for back-to-school, then you can also do a Halloween campaign. Halloween is just easy when it comes to utilizing it for advertising, from showcasing your team dressed up having fun to cute promotional messages. Steal this one: Hocus Pocus It’s Time to Focus!

Important Dates & Holidays

  • Children’s Vision Month
  • October 11: Thanksgiving
  • October 12: World Arthritis Day
  • October 14: World Sight Day
  • October 31: Halloween

 

November

November is Diabetes Awareness Month, so build advertising and messaging that show the link between diabetes and eye health. This will remind your patients with diabetes that they should have an eye exam at least once a year. Since November also has “Digital Health Week,” make a social post about digital eye strain and teach patients to “take a break.”

Important Dates & Holidays

  • Diabetes Awareness Month (World Diabetes Day November 14)
  • November 11: Remembrance Day
  • November 15-21: Digital Health Week
  • November 20: National Child Day
  • November 28: First Day of Hanukkah

 

December

Of course, December has a host of holidays. But it’s also a time of year where generosity is on many people’s minds. Give back to your community with a charity-focused campaign to celebrate the season of giving.

Important Dates & Holidays

  • December 3: Giving Tuesday
  • December 6: Last Day of Hanukkah
  • December 24: Christmas Eve
  • December 25: Christmas Day
  • December 26: Boxing Day
  • December 31: New Year’s Eve

 

As a Senior SEO Specialist at Marketing4ECPs, Brynn spends her days creating content that ranks for eye care practices all over North America. You can reach Brynn at marketing4ecps.com.