At Freepik we’re working overtime so we can all celebrate Labor Day

As the summer season comes to an end, and the vacations are behind us, there’s no better way to show your gratitude for our shared labor and social progress than by celebrating Labor Day. But first, you need to know what Labor Day is, what it celebrates, when it is and why it’s so important in our lives.

What is Labor Day?

Labor Day is a national holiday in the United States that has its origin in the labor movements that appeared as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution and the demands of workers and unions. During the 1880s in the USA, workers were demanding 8-hour workdays (instead of the 10 hours in force at that time), wage increases, elimination of child labor and recognition of women’s rights, among others. As a consequence, a general strike was called in Chicago on May 1st, which culminated in the Haymarket riot in which dozens of people died and which resulted in five trade unionists, known as the ‘martyrs of Chicago’, being condemned to death.

When is it celebrated?

International Labor Day is celebrated worldwide on May 1 in honor of the contributions and achievements of the workers in those revolts. However, other countries such as the United States and Canada took the decision to celebrate it on the first Monday of September, between September 1 and 7. This was partly because it was considered a more “politically neutral” date, but also because it served to give workers another national holiday between Independence Day (July 4th), Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday in November), and, in the case of the United States, it is worth mentioning a relatively newer celebration known as Grandparent’s Day, which is observed in some regions on the first Sunday in September. This day is dedicated to paying tribute to the wisdom and experience of elder generations.

How is it celebrated?

Labor Day comes at the tail end of summer, and since it’s a day off for many workers, Americans usually spend it enjoying outdoor summer activities, getting together with family and friends for a BBQ with burgers, hot dogs, ribs, soda, etc.

But it’s also a great day to do business, as it’s the third favorite holiday for Americans, after Independence Day and Memorial Day. Most businesses stay open, and therefore, it’s a good opportunity to promote the consumption of products made in the United States, thus supporting the local economy.

How to take advantage of Labor Day to boost your business

First of all, you mustn’t forget the aim of this day, which is to celebrate and guarantee labor rights. Therefore, it’s a good idea to begin with some housekeeping yourself, by thanking your own employees for their work. After all, your human team is your company’s greatest asset.

Ideas for thanking and motivating employees

Within the possibilities of each business, it’s a good idea to look for different ways to motivate employees.

• Free time: You might not be able to afford to give them the day off, but perhaps you could reduce their working day so that they can go home early and enjoy the rest of the day with their families.

• Events outside the office: It’s a great idea to organize a BBQ or cookout with all your employees to encourage camaraderie and collaboration. Whatever celebration you propose, at Freepik we have different poster templates and images to communicate and promote it. Additionally, for events held within the office, you can leverage our wide range of office images and templates or employees from Freepik to create captivating promotional materials. Whether you’re planning an indoor team-building activity, a themed decoration for the office, or a presentation, our resources are at your disposal to ensure your office events are just as engaging and memorable.

• Internal communication: It’s important that employees feel appreciated and recognized. An internal newsletter with a dedication, a motivational message or sharing employee success stories in your company will motivate and reward their attitude at work. We have dozens of motivational phrases to accompany your in-house communications.
• Social Media: Another thing that employees generally appreciate and that encourages good team bonding, is creating and sharing a video on social networks. Videvo provides many resources for creating videos, from sounds to motion graphics. Don’t forget to search for the official hashtags to try to reach more people. You can also thank them for their work with dozens of cards and images for social media.

Ideas for a good marketing campaign

At first glance, the end of the summer vacations and the start of the inevitable Back to School campaign may make you think that it isn’t worth setting up another campaign, but the fact is that Labor Day is a holiday that is very dear to Americans. It’s actually very important for businesses too, since tens of thousands of workers have the day off and go to shopping malls and stores to buy household goods, clothing, and appliances, among others. In fact, Labor Day is the second largest Christmas shopping event of the year in the U.S., with more than 34 million dollars spent in 2020.

It’s a source of community pride, and patriotism is encouraged in all communications, so it’s a good idea to appeal to patriotic sentiment with star-spangled banner images.

• Flyer campaign: Customers aren’t just online. September 5th is a holiday, and therefore many people will spend the whole weekend in the malls. It’s a good idea to communicate your offers on attractive flyers prepared for Labor Day. And don’t forget the stars and stripes!

• Email marketing campaigns: Labor Day officially marks the end of summer, and although there are sure to be a few nice days left, you can start planning the winter season with promotions, offers, and discounts. In addition, you should take the opportunity to congratulate all your customers for Labor Day, especially those professionals who redoubled their efforts during the pandemic. We’ve got lots of different resources to make your mailing campaign impactful, from special patterns, text effects, drawings, and clip art – they’ll make sure that your newsletter is unforgettable.
• Landing pages: As your website is your main business card, it’s important that your campaigns feature prominently on it. Why not use the banners that we’ve got for you? And what about our backgrounds to show off your patriotism on this all-important day? You can also create different logos and stickers to highlight your offers and promotions. Both Freepik and Flaticon offer Labor Day icons to help improve the design and usability of your website.

• Social Media: You can assume that your target audience will spend some of their time off on their devices, checking their social networks, so take advantage of this opportunity to reach them and achieve some positive impact. The first thing to keep in mind is to use appropriate and attractive images that catch the attention of your followers. We’ve got lots of attractive social media templates for you, so you only have to worry about creating the right message.

Running a contest is a great way to create engagement and collect user-generated content. You can challenge your followers to create the best video or photo related to your business or their Labor Day celebrations. How about inviting your followers to strike a Rosie, the Riveter pose?

• On-site events: Since many people are away from home, it’s a great idea to hold an event at your own headquarters or location. You can customize this event to reach your target audience, whether you go for a special menu for your restaurant customers, or mini concerts and performances to small art exhibitions. Make the most of the last throes of summer to take your products outside and let passers-by see what you have to offer as they stroll by. You can use our Wepik tool to create your restaurant menu without any previous knowledge of graphic design, doing all the editing yourself online.

Labor Day may not get as much publicity as a shopping event as other celebrations such as Black Friday. Not many brands specifically work with this celebration, nor do they invest large amounts of money and marketing effort into it. But the data tells us that it is the single-day event (outside of the peak shopping season that runs from November to December) that brings in the most money. So, we suggest you take advantage of the social progress that is honored in this celebration and use all our resources to help make your work faster and more efficient as you get your Labor Day campaign up and running. We’re sure your customers and your wallet will appreciate it.