For most, summer is a time where you cut out of work early, take Fridays off, and just generally slow down. For business owners, summer is a time to find the perfect work-life balance so you can still hustle your way to success while getting a taste of what everyone else is enjoying about summer. The reality is you can’t really take a break from your marketing and PR strategy because it will undo all of the great things you have already started.
Enjoy your summer by finding new ways to reach your target audience. Here are five ways for you to boost your summer marketing strategy.
Audit your PR strategy
Sometimes you have to look back to move forward. It is almost half way through the year and you’ve had six months of outreach to media and influencers. Figuring out what worked and what didn’t will allow you to create an even better strategy for the second half of 2017. Check out my Summer PR Cheat Sheet to figure out how you can prepare yourself for an amped up strategy.
Make it personal
Your existing customers have already shown brand support, why not focus on making those relationships stronger. Summer is a great time to start a loyalty program and drive traffic to your business in an otherwise slow time (unless you sell ice cream!). If you show your appreciation for each of your customers, they will more likely recommend you to their friends.
Keep it exciting and relevant
The content you post during the summer should be on-topic. Capitalize on weather patterns and local holidays to connect with your audience. And don’t forget that everyone loves a great sale. It’s a good way to draw people in, but it can also be an efficient way to get rid of older stock to make way for new stock coming in. Have fun with it and, for example, set up a discount that goes up as the temperature goes up. It gets people to interact with your brand in fun ways while encouraging purchases.
Take the show to the customer
When the weather is nice, people go outside. It makes sense to meet your customers where they are. Find creative ways to set up experiential events for your target audience so they can interact with your brand. It’s also a great way to get out into your neighbourhood and introduce yourself. The biggest challenge is keeping it on-brand. It has to make sense with what you offer as a brand.
Think ahead
You should always be two steps ahead with your marketing strategy. Media and influencers often work on a 6 week turnaround (or more!). For gift guides, you should already be thinking about pitching media in August/September! That means preparing for what’s to come and creating great content for all of your marketing channels so you aren’t scrambling when the time comes to execute.
Candace Huntly is Founder and Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.
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