It’s May which means we’re soon to be approaching the season of sun (allegedly, we are in Britain after all), endless traffic of people going away to the caravan for the weekend, and feeling so hot and bothered you don’t know what to do with yourself.
That means it’s time to make sure you’ve got your summer marketing strategy sorted, and you know how to make the most of seasonal advertising.
We’ve put together a list of marketing ideas you can implement this coming season.
1. Get Involved In Local Events
Summer is packed with local festivals, food fairs, community events, market days, and family fun-days, so why not make the most of these?
Even more ideal, with most of these events half the work is already done for you with the local events in place being run by, and set-up by, organisations already in your city. You can also find events to sponsor allowing you to set up shop at the event or just get your name and brand shown.
Local exposure is great for businesses and it’s important to focus on your market that’s already on your doorstep before pushing further afield. For more information on this, read our blog on The Importance Of Local Advertising.
2. Focus on Seasonal Trends and Posts to Boost SEO and Engagement
Focus on topics and trends that are applicable to the season, do your keyword research to learn what people are searching for and what they want to know. Even targeting phrases containing highly competitive keywords such as ‘summer’ can help boost your seasonal traffic.
This can also apply to your social media posts, but do not spam summer content for the sake of it, keep it authentic and applicable to your brand. If you run a hospitality business, introduce a new menu or drinks. If you own a lifestyle brand, focus on posts that highlight the best ways to spend your summer. Make your offerings timely and relevant.
3. Plan Your Back-to-School Campaign
Back-to-School advertising is a huge industry. Whilst it may seem mean to remind the kids of school when the holidays have only just started, parents will need to be spreading the cost of re-equipping the kids across the summer.
This might look like a Back-to-School sale or just encouraging customers to visit your restaurant/venue/attraction before school is back in session.
4. Create FOMO and Urgency
Summer doesn’t last forever. Seasonal marketing thrives on urgency. Creating a sense of FOMO, fear of missing out, can encourage potential customers to take immediate action.
Emphasise scarcity with limited time offers, in-store exclusives, or countdown times on your website and social media. Think last minute holiday packages, low stock warnings, BBQ garden feast offers for the 10 minutes of sun Britain sees. You could also launch a loyalty scheme with campaigns such as ‘Double points this July’.
At the end of August you can top off your summer campaigns with a last minute ‘summer’s almost over’ marketing push to drive FOMO based sales.
5. Make Use of the Smaller ‘Holidays’
Think of the Bank Holidays that customers will use for weekend getaways and short breaks or indulge in leisure activities. Consider using the popular sporting events of summer like the Euros, Wimbledon, the Tour de France among others.
6. Monitor Performance and Stay Ready to Adapt
As with any marketing campaign, things can change fast. Track your campaign’s effectiveness using analytic tools and adapt where needs be. If your summer campaign centres around a specific event, when that event ends make sure you have other content to switch to or another topic to focus on.
If you’re ready to plan your summer marketing campaign or wanting to take a different approach to your normal marketing strategy, get in contact with Dash Agency today.
Whether you’re looking for marketing expertise or have a specific project in mind, we’re here to assist.