Ah, summer! The perfect time to sunbathe, eat copious amounts of ice-cream – and work your little socks off! Sorry to burst your flip-flop wearing, Pina Colada-sipping bubble, but when it comes to business it’s essential to avoid a slowdown at this time of year. When the sun’s in the sky, it’s normal for holiday mode to set in, but how can you keep things ticking over when the mercury rises? Staying on top of summer marketing trends is the way to go. So, stop dreaming about what you’ll throw on the BBQ and check out these useful tips. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of summer fun to have along the way.
And if you’re somewhere cold right now, all the extra beavering away while people take holidays will surely warm you up!
#1 Embrace Organic Content
Believe it or not, over 40% of millennials choose a holiday location based on its Instagrammability with a third stating how posting pictures on social media is as important as the holiday itself.
This is gold dust for marketers. Why? Because if you play your cards right, you could potentially benefit from a load of organic content. What do we mean? Well, people are going to post pictures to social sites no matter what, but what if they posted them with a specific brand in mind? Hosting a photo competition complete with a branded hashtag is a great way to increase brand awareness, boost interaction and keep your platforms alive with a load of juicy content. Sound good?
Tasting Table’s 2018 epic travel contest is a great example of how to interact with followers. Firstly, they gave specific instructions. Contestants had to like two Insta accounts including @tastingtable and @vacationdays. They also had to use the hashtag #TTVacationDays to be in with a chance of winning a bunch of travel goodies. The initiative attracted a wealth of visually awesome replies.
Top takeaway 1: Give your followers a reason to engage. Freebies are always a winner. Also, be clear with your instructions and make sure that your campaign meets specific goals such as improving your social media following or increasing brand awareness.
Top takeaway 2: Why not also maximise organic content by giving regular shout-outs to participants on other social sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Tag those involved in order to personalise your marketing approach and make people feel valued.
#2 Be Summer Savvy
Did you know that 57% of consumers shop online? 15% of buyers will also shop online weekly if they like a specific brand with 28% of consumers making a digital purchase a couple of times a month. So, if you can get them to your online store through useful content, you’re onto a winner.
80% of customers say that the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services. Therefore, why not try to be useful, helpful and innovative with a super-hot summer savvy style this year? Changing your content marketing approach depending on the season is a great way to keep things fresh with the warmer months being the perfect time to be happy, uplifting and inspiring.
Stylist Magazine nailed this completely last year with their #yellow theme which helped to promote the ‘colour of the season.’ Their #StylistTurnsYellow Instagram campaign was visually attractive with the branded hashtag helping to showcase Stylist during rising temperatures.
The brand also supported their initiative with valuable blog content sourcing the best ‘how to wear yellow’ examples from Instagram linking through to specific pages.
Top takeaway: Get consumers excited about the new season with plenty of upbeat, original content presented in a useful, easy-to-read way. Standout visuals are also a great way to draw in an audience.
#3 Make a Splash on Social
People are distracted in the summer with beach trips, waterpark adventures and getting a golden tan. So, how can you command their attention? Well, a whopping 74% of people look at social media while travelling. So how can you stand out from the crowd?
- Competitions and giveaways
Make it easy for people to engage in competitions while lying on a sunbed. From ‘best flip-flop’ to ‘hugest ice cream’ initiatives, give people a fun holiday project in return for attractive freebies.
- Updates and engagement
Skulking into the pool and letting competitors take first spot this summer simply won’t do. As many industries experience a quiet spell, this is your time to make some noise. If anything, you should be more active over summer, posting updates and engaging content that’s easy-to-read for those in summer-mode. When it comes to fast-moving sectors such as finance, being a go-to source of news at any point of the year will ensure your following remains consistent.
If you run a blog, be sure to repurpose this information across your social platforms making it short, sharp and easily digestible. Content should be enticing encouraging people to read-on where necessary and directing them to your site.
- Embrace fun days and events
There are many fun national events to celebrate throughout the summer month. From National Seashell Day on June 21st to National Strawberry Sundae Day on 7th July, there’s plenty to celebrate alongside other big events that might be relevant to your industry such as Glastonbury festival.
Boots UK used National Picnic Day to promote their meal deal linking through to a Healthier Boots Meal Deal Picks blog.
Top Takeaway 1: Post content that’s relevant to your brand. The Boots example is good as it ties in directly with the offer they’re trying to promote. As summer is often a more body conscious time with many focusing on losing weight and toning up, linking through to a blog promoting health content is also suitable.
Top Takeaway 2: Whatever you do, don’t jump on hashtags unnecessary as this can be in bad taste. For example, June is Pride month. But simply tagging #Pride when your post is an FX market update will look strange and out of place. Instead, make sure there’s a reason for your post. Below is a great example of how to get involved with a wider awareness campaign while showcasing your brand.
#4 Create Summer Specific Landing Pages
Creating summer specific landing and offer pages is a great way to promote campaigns without displacing other content on your site. It can help you rank for summer SEO terms and allow you to keep track of those who are interested in your summer promotions. Monitoring campaigns is absolutely essential as it will help you to see what went well and what could be improved.
Summer’s here but we’re still hard at work. Contact myself and the Contentworks crew today for help with your content marketing.