Sales often slow down in the summer. People go on vacation. Children come home from school. People often make fewer purchases, which lowers consumer spending on retail sales. However, you can still make your summer sales “sizzle” with a marketing and sales strategy that incorporates social media tactics that appeal to your target audience. Here are some ideas:
User-generated content (UGC) and contests
When people see their own content on your site, it makes social media more appealing to use. It also gives your brand image more authenticity. When customers see the photos or videos they’ve submitted, they’re more likely to share them on their page or profile.
To convince your audience to actually provide user-generated content, have a contest. Have them submit their best photos or videos from their summer vacation. Also, if you have a product that complements food or home products, run a summer recipe contest or a gardening contest.
Encourage your social media followers to post about a product related to your brand. This is an opportunity to subtly highlight how your products improve their lives. Offering a prize can also encourage more people to send in visual photos that will fill your social media channels with interesting content.
Social Media Marketing Trends for 2021: Predictions From the Pros
Tips for using this social media tactic include the following:
- Develop a calendar of user-generated content.
- Define contest rules, including rules, prizes, winner selection and deadlines.
- Establish a policy that outlines how you plan to share user-generated content. Then communicate this policy to your audience and participants.
- Maintain a budget consistent with your marketing spend.
Helpful campaigns focused on summer.
Your social media audience isn’t always set up to buy. However, you can interact with them often if you provide content that is useful to them. More interaction often means more trust. And more trust often means more purchases.
For example, offer written and visual content related to vacation planning, summer utility savings and keeping the kids busy during the vacations. Also, as the end of summer approaches, start increasing the amount of content dedicated to getting ready for school.
To successfully implement this social media strategy, do the following:
- Create a content calendar for the summer to plan social media content campaigns. Create content appropriate for each social media channel.
- Use content analytics sites to identify lists of trending topics. Your audience may find them more appealing and relevant.
- Create and plan content according to the research you do. This will help ensure that you publish content on the optimal days and times for your specific audience.
- Use analytics to measure the success of your content. Explore the analytics tools of each social media channel.
- Keep an eye out for profiles and posts with high ratings in your industry. Consider reposting them using tools like Buffer or Hootsuite.
Social media connections that encourage participation in offline events
Not everything related to your summer social media strategy needs to stay online. Instead, use these platforms to encourage offline interaction at your planned events.
For example, consider attending a summer festival, conference or community event. Perhaps you can invest in a kiosk or store. Promote it online through your social media channels.
Then broadcast your event live on social media. This will encourage people to visit your brand and get to know it in person. They’ll see people having fun and may want to join them themselves.
Your social media audience may not be set up to buy. However, you can interact with them often if you provide content that is useful to them.
Get the most out of offline events by trying these strategies:
- Research local offline events and participate in those that fit your brand and offerings.
- Schedule your social media content to coincide with the event. Announce your participation and offer a link to tickets to the event. Then offer discounts or prizes.
- Organize a live stream and invite the audience to share their photos and videos from the event.
Business credit cards that can help multiply the ROI of social media advertising
Strong organic traffic is very beneficial for any business. However, social media advertising can also be very useful and effective. Costs vary, but it’s easy to fit a marketing budget to attract traffic to your site. Social media sites, such as Facebook, allow for maximum spending in ad campaign settings so that you don’t overspend. It also allows you to test a wide range of campaign types based on specific demographics.
Instead of using spare cash, consider paying for your social media advertising costs with a business credit card. You’ll enjoy a longer repayment period, so the advertising will start to make a profit and you’ll maximize cash flow. Also, many business credit cards offer rewards such as points or cash back. This will help you get more value out of investing in paid social media advertising.
Since the summer months often take place at a slower pace, there may be less pressure and worries about deadlines. Fun may even be a higher priority as creative campaigns and offline events take place. This is an ideal time to experiment with using social media. Explore different ways to interact with your audience and find your favorite approaches to using this marketing channel.
