January 2026 social media calendar
Hi, I’m Layla, content producer here at Dotdigital and your go to for planning your social media calendar. January is all about fresh starts, cosy resets, and easing back into a routine. With the festive rush behind us, audiences are craving content that feels lighter, more playful, and a little bit comforting. Think small joys, interactive moments, and feel good distractions that make the return to everyday life more enjoyable.
Below, you’ll find the key themes and highlights to help shape your January content. It’s packed with ideas designed to inspire both your social posts and email campaigns, helping you start the year strong, without overwhelming your audience.
Important social media calendar dates in January
January 2 – World introvert day #WorldIntrovertDay
January 4 – World braille day #WorldBrailleDay
January 5 – Twelfth night #TwelfthNight
January 6 – Epiphany #Epiphany
January 14 – World logic day #WorldLogicDay
January 16 – Global word search day #GlobalWordSearchDay
January 18 – Winnie the Pooh day #WinnieThePoohDay
January 19 – Martin Luther King, Jr. day #MLKDay
January 20 – Blue Monday #BlueMonday
January 20 – National cheese lover day #NationalCheeseLoverDay
January 24 – International day of education #InternationalDayOfEducation
January 24 – National compliment day #NationalComplimentDay
January 25 – Burns night #BurnsNight
January 25 – Opposite day #OppositeDay
January 26 – Australia day #AustraliaDay
January 27 – International holocaust remembrance day #HolocaustRemembranceDay
January 27 – Chocolate cake day #ChocolateCakeDay
January 29 – National puzzle day #NationalPuzzleDay
January 31 – Hot chocolate day #HotChocolateDay
Themes for the month
Dry January – #DryJanuary
Veganuary – #Veganuary
National mentoring month – #MentoringAmplifies
National slavery & human trafficking prevention month
January 16 – Global word search day
Getting your January social media calendar started with global word search day is a light-hearted way to ease audiences into the new year, encouraging moments of focus and fun after the holiday rush. Brands can create simple, on-brand word searches featuring industry terms, products, or 2026 themes, inviting followers to participate, comment, or share their results. Use this as an opportunity to highlight learning or curiosity with interactive formats like stories, polls, or downloadable assets.
Image source: Email Love
January 18 – Winnie the Pooh day
Bringing a sense of nostalgia to your January social media calendar, Winnie the Pooh Day is a feel-good opportunity to connect with audiences through storytelling and timeless charm. Lean into cosy visuals or memorable quotes that reflect your brand personality, and encourage followers to engage by sharing their favourite characters or childhood memories. This day is also a great opportunity for brand collaborations, particularly for lifestyle, retail, and family focused brands looking to tap into shared audiences and collective storytelling.
Image source: Instagram
January 20 – Blue Monday
Blue Monday offers a chance to engage audiences with empathy and positivity during what is often considered one of the more challenging days of the year. Brands can turn this into an opportunity to inspire, uplift, and connect by sharing mood-boosting tips, feel-good stories, or small ways to improve wellbeing. Lifestyle and wellness brands can explore brand collaborations with wellness influencers, mental health organizations, or complementary partners to create co-branded campaigns, giveaways, or interactive challenges that encourage community and self-care.
Image source: Instagram
January 20 – National cheese lover day
National cheese lover day is a fun, indulgent way to engage audiences with their love for cheese. Food, lifestyle, and retail brands can lean into this day with mouth-watering visuals, recipes, or product spotlights that encourage followers to share their favourite cheesy treats. Short-form videos work particularly well here, from quick recipe tutorials and “cheese hacks” to behind-the-scenes clips of team favourites. Pair these engaging posts with email campaigns featuring tempting imagery, curated recipes, or exclusive offers, and use playful, appetite-catching subject lines and CTAs to drive opens, clicks, and social engagement.
Image source: Email Love
January 27 – Chocolate cake day
Adding a sweet moment to your social content plan, chocolate cake day is an irresistible opportunity for brands to spark engagement with indulgent, feel-good content. The day also opens the door to more unexpected brand collaborations, with fashion and lifestyle brands exploring sensory storytelling through content that plays on indulgence. Think clothing collections styled to mirror chocolate cake textures, colours, or flavours, brought to life through editorial-style photoshoots and short-form video.
Image source: Email Love
January 29 – National puzzle day
Time to get people thinking with national puzzle day, a playful excuse for brands to turn everyday content into a game. Brands can have fun hiding clues in captions, stories, product shots, or even run quick-fire challenges that reward the fastest solvers. Short-form video works brilliantly here too, whether it’s a “can you crack this in five seconds?” clip, a fast-paced puzzle reveal, or a satisfying before-and-after moment that keeps viewers watching until the end. Carry the fun into email with curiosity-driven subject lines and clickable puzzles that encourage subscribers to play along.
Image source: Email Love
January 31 – Hot chocolate day
Bring cosy moments to the feed with hot chocolate day, a fun opportunity for brands to create content that feels satisfying, immersive, and made for repeat viewing. This is a great opportunity to play with texture and movement, from marshmallows dropping into mugs to chocolate shavings melting, gentle pours, and steam-filled close ups. Short-form video is key here, especially ASMR-style clips with subtle sounds, looping visuals, and playful pacing that invite viewers to watch again. Carry the sensory theme into email with rich visuals, playful subject lines, and CTAs that encourage audiences to pause and indulge.
Image source: Instagram
January subject line ideas
As audiences reset after the festive rush, it’s the perfect time to focus on content that feels thoughtful, uplifting, and engaging without being overwhelming. To help you kick off the year with confidence, we’ve pulled together creative ideas inspired by some of January’s standout social moments.
January inspired subject line ideas
Here’s some January-themed subject line ideas to inspire your campaigns:
Global word search day – We’ve hidden something in here… can you find it?
Winnie the Pooh day – Celebrate Pooh (and a sweet partnership) with us
Blue Monday – A little pick me up for your Monday mood
National cheese lover day – Cheese, please! recipes that bring the flavor 🧀
International day of education – Smart ideas to kickstart the year
National compliment day – Brighten someone’s day (and yours!) with this
Chocolate cake day – A sweet excuse to treat yourself – Shop the edit
National puzzle day – Put your thinking cap on – Try this
Hot chocolate day – Something warm for your inbox ☕
These subject line ideas are just the beginning. They truly shine when you tailor them to your brand’s unique voice. Add your signature flair with personality, emojis, playful language, or a hint of urgency to make your subject lines pop and grab attention.
For an extra layer of inspiration, try tapping into AI-powered tools like Dotdigital’s WinstonAI, perfect for sparking fresh ideas, tweaking tone, or fine-tuning subject line length.
Spark engagement with your January marketing campaigns
January is the ideal month to reset your social feeds and ease audiences into the year ahead with content that feels fresh, thoughtful, and engaging. From light-hearted awareness days to cosy winter moments and playful interactions, there’s plenty of inspiration to keep your audience involved without the festive noise.
Learn how to future-proof your marketing strategy with insights from Dotdigital’s latest Hitting the Mark report.
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