From celebrating dogs to honoring our mental health, and of course, consuming endless candy, the month of October has a bit of it all.
Sure, this month might be best known for Halloween, costumes, and spooky things. But there are plenty of other celebrations and holidays worthy of making it to your feed.
Even if you’d like to stick to a spooky theme this month, between National Black Cat Day and National Pumpkin Day, there’s plenty of options to choose from!
Between Mental Health Day and Emotional Wellness Month, there are plenty of opportunities to take some things off your plate and reorganize your schedule to allow more fun. It may be easy to forget, but life isn’t about working; it’s about living. And there’s no better time to be alive than when the fun fall/winter holidays come around.
Are you interested in content ideas to make your monthly planning a bit easier? Then scroll on down, friends, because I got you.
October is the month of…
- Adopt a Shelter Dog Month: According to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Animal Abuse), 3.3 million dogs enter shelters every year. This holiday encourages people to adopt a dog if they can, or if they’re unable to adopt, there’s the possibility of donating or volunteering at shelters. Anything helps.
- Breast Cancer Awareness Month: 1 in 8 women and 1 in 1,000 men develop breast cancer during their lifetime. This month brings lots of pink to raise awareness for this prevalent type of cancer as a reminder to give yourself breast exams.
- Down Syndrome Awareness Month: This special monthly celebration advocates for those with down syndrome to break the stigma and promote advocacy.
- Emotional Wellness Month: This month brings awareness to stress and prioritizing your mental and emotional health.
- Global Diversity Month: Diversity and inclusion in the workplace has a positive impact on individuals and businesses. This special month highlights the importance of diversity in the workplace.
- Halloween Safety Month: While Halloween is one of the most fun holidays, it’s also a highly fatal day. The National Safety Council reports 6,100 pedestrian deaths and 160,000 nonfatal injuries in vehicle accidents. This month teaches ways we can all be safer on Halloween, from forgoing wandering the streets at night to masking up for COVID.
- LGBT History Month: October celebrates the victories LGBT individuals have achieved while paying semblance to the many battles they’ve endured.
October Monthly Post Ideas
- For Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, there’s always the possibility of adopting or fostering a little fur baby and putting their adorable little face in your feed with #AdoptAShelterDogMonth. If you’re unable to provide a stable and permanent home for a dog, you could volunteer at a local shelter and share some of those cute doggies in your Stories. Maybe you’ll inspire someone to get one of the little furballs.
- Remind your audience to perform breast exams every month for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You can share the breast cancer statistics and the importance of becoming familiar with your own, so you notice any potential changes. It can save a life!
- Share the ways you’re reducing stress during Emotional Wellness Month. Whether it’s setting a budget, offloading things from your point, taking more time for things that bring you joy, you can even have a questions sticker in your Instagram Stories asking your audience how they manage stress, then share the results!
- Share some of your favorite LGBT accounts for LGBT History Month. October is also a great time to share why you support LGBT individuals, along with the history of their persecution throughout our nation’s history.
Important Weeks in October
- Mental Illness Awareness Week (October 3 – October 9)
- This week raises public awareness for mental illnesses to fight the stigma. One in five adults lives with mental illness, so understanding those struggles allows you to understand many of the people around you.
- World Space Week (October 4 – October 10)
- World Space Week recognizes the achievements humans have made in space science and technology. It’s the largest space event on the planet!
- National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend (October 2 – October 3)
- This weekend remembered the fallen firefighters while also promoting fire prevention and safety.
- National Wolf Awareness Week ( October 17 – October 23)
- Wolves are an important part of the wildlife ecosystem, and this week educated people on the current threats to their survival and ways we can help preserve their lives.
- National Business Women’s Week (( October 17 – October 23)
- This week focuses on the accomplishments of women in business and how far they’ve come.
October Weekly Post Ideas
- Share some STATS for Mental Illness Awareness Month. You could even do a true or false series in your Stories to spread some awareness. Here are some STATS to make your life a little easier: 46.6 million adults have a mental illness, 22.3% of women and 15.1% of men.
- For the largest space event in the world, post a picture rocking some NASA attire for World Space Week.
- National Wolf Awareness Week is the perfect chance to bust out that wold shirt in the back of your closet. You could also ask your audience to share photos of them wearing wolf shirts that you reshare in your Stories.
- Did you know 40% of private-owned businesses are run by women? Celebrate National Business Women’s Week by sharing your favorite women-owned businesses. If you are a woman who owns their own business
Important Days in October
- World Smile Day (October 1)
- In an effort to spread kindness, this day emphasizes the benefits of smiling. Did you know smiling can improve your mood, relieve stress, boost your immune system, and relieve pain? And that’s just a few of the many benefits!
- National Taco Day (October 4)
- This day recognizes the delicious food that is tacos, and it encourages you to go out and eat some!
- National Do Something Nice Day (October 5)
- To encourage acts of kindness, this holiday is about doing something nice for someone in hopes of spreading some humanity and joy.
- National Plus Size Appreciation Day (October 6)
- This day celebrates beauty in all sizes, and this holiday is meant to help end the stigma and the warped societal pressure to be a certain size.
- National Inner Beauty Day (October 7)
- Today’s focus is on raising awareness and support for victims of human trafficking. It also encourages people to share their stories of what makes them unique individuals.
- World Mental Health Day (October 10)
- To raise awareness and support for mental health, this day is to help fight the stigma and signs to look out for in yourself and those closest to you.
- National Coming Out Day (October 11)
- To encourage and give support to LGBT individuals, this day honors how brave it is to come out.
- National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day (October 15)
- This day is to honor those who have lost pregnancies and children. 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss, and many people don’t talk about it despite its devastating effects.
- National Make a Dog’s Day (October 22)
- National Make a Dog’s Day encourages dog owners to give their pets the best day of their lives. Dogs are always there for us; let’s show them some appreciation! They deserve it.
- National Pumpkin Day (October 26)
- Pumpkins are the most popular and favorite food/decoration for fall. This day celebrates the famous squash and encourages you to visit a pumpkin patch or enjoy some pumpkin-themed food.
- National Black Cat Day (October 27)
- October 27th is a day that marks the celebration and appreciation for black cats. They’re the least likely to get adopted and are just as cute and affectionate as other cat breeds!
- Halloween (October 31)
- One of the most loved holidays in America is Halloween. As a day to celebrate the dead, it’s also a day for dressing up, passing out or consuming candy, trick or treating, carving pumpkins, and watching something scary.
October Daily Post Ideas
- Share a grinning selfie for World Smile Day and some benefits smiling has both mentally and physically!
- Eat some tacos for National Taco Day! Whether it’s at a local restaurant or making and then sharing your favorite taco recipe, this holiday is the perfect opportunity to partake in the deliciousness.
- Post a Question Sticker in your Instagram Stories and ask what random acts of kindness people have experienced, then share some of the answers! It’s a great way to get into a gratitude mindset and spread good cheer on National Do Something Nice Day.
- For National Plus Size Appreciation Day, share your favorite body positivity accounts. A couple of my favorites are Alexa Webb, who has a plus-size fashion blog, and The Birds Papaya. (We have an incredible interview with Alexa Webb!)
- You can share your own coming out story for National Coming Out Day, or you could share someone else’s story.
- Mental Health Day is the perfect opportunity for taking your own mental health day, share some of your favorite stress-relieving activities and encourage your audience to schedule a mental health day this month.
- Share your costume on Halloween, along with a round-up of some of your favorite Halloween outfits from the past. Because why not repurpose some of your past creativity?!
Let’s Get Spooky
October is the start of the most fun and nostalgic time of yea. We get to look forward to adorable kids and animals in costumes, and we have an excuse to binge Reese’s pumpkins (can I get a hallelujah for National Pumpkin Day??!). And is anyone else excited to see what creative and cool costumes people come up with? The ingenuity of Halloween is truly one of a kind. :’)
However, this month has so much more to offer than just Halloween. Whether you decide to adopt a dog, you educate yourself on the discrimination plus-size individuals face, or you take a mental health day, Halloween is just the tip of the iceberg.
I hope you all enjoy the more mild weather and changing leaves. Have I mentioned it’s the best time of year yet?
Later, gators!
