Summer is well and truly upon us with the solstice occurring yesterday and some sporadic hot weather putting smiles on faces.

But for online marketers and advertisers, we’ve often found that social media and online advertising analytics show slight dips in summer months, sometimes showing lower click throughs and engagements on warmer days.

School holidays, summer holidays and generally getting out and about more are just a few reasons for audiences becoming less reactive than in the winter months.

This means it’s highly important to plan summer campaigns meticulously and take all of the above factors into consideration. We’ve come up with a few tips for summer marketing based on our previous experience of making social media campaigns and online advertising work in better weather…

1/ Special Offers

Does your business have something to offer in summer? Do you have outdoor space that people should be making use of, maybe suitable for kids on school holidays? Give them something not to miss. Ideas include:

• 10% off entry prices on one weekend for people who follow you on Facebook/Instagram
• Free cold drink for anyone who retweets a specific tweet
• Offer a free branded fan/tumbler when people book tickets/appointments through your website

HINT: Data is king (well, content might argue with that). Keep this in mind when creating competitions or
offers – maximize the potential to capture email addresses especially.

2/ Target mobile

Put your efforts into mobile advertising. People are outside at home or on holiday so they’re more likely to be browsing online through a mobile device. Okay, we know this is generally the case anyway but even more so when the weather’s nice and people don’t want to be stuck indoors on a desktop or laptop.

3/ Consider the time of day

Focus your ads around times of the day people are more likely to be online. If people are at home in the evenings, the chances are they’re settling in later than they would in the winter. They also might be more likely to go out over the weekend rather than stay in with a box-set, so bear this in mind too…we realise that’s not always easy!

4/ Make content relevant

Keep your imagery summery and colorful to awaken all the senses that summer brings (or at least it should, if the weather is agreeable). For example:

• Illustrate someone using your product on a beach front
• Picture someone wearing your clothes having fun in the park
• Make text over images bright and cheerful

The same rules apply to copy. Use vibrant language to stir summer feelings within your target audience. Just put yourself in their shoes – what would you want to hear as a consumer in summer?

HINT: Don’t be afraid to put relevant emojis in text. Emojis stir emotions and catch attention…science says so! But don’t go off topic.

Hopefully, these basic tips will give you a few ideas for your upcoming social campaigns and online ads. Give us a shout if you’d like more advice!