When the temperature rises, and people spend more outdoors, small business owners need to take advantage of the opportunity this time of year brings. The increase in sunshine and free time encourages people to shop as they enjoy time “outside” with family and friends. If your goal is to capitalize on the season, you must begin marketing immediately if you want sales to sizzle all summer. Otherwise, you risk your sales fizzling before you can say, “Back to school!”
Budget-Friendly Summer Marketing Ideas
As a small business owner, you must make the summertime lull count and continue to market your offerings effectively and consistently. Although summer might seem never-ending, you must capitalize on the moment and take charge of your marketing. To help point you in the right direction, here are some easy breezy budget-friendly summer marketing ideas that you need to consider taking your business to the next level.
Participate in Local Summer Events
One of the best summer marketing ideas you need to consider is participating in local summer events, which provide considerable opportunities to generate sales. By marketing during important dates, you can expect explosive growth. You might not realize it, but getting the key dates right makes all the difference. However, you first have to understand how they apply to you.
To put things into perspective, the US National Retail Federation found that two of the three most significant shopping events in 2020 were back to school and back to college. Parents are expected to spend much more with things back in full swing following the pandemic. Therefore, you have to market your product or service to returning students, and you can run summer marketing campaigns to attract them.
If you are looking for some inspiration, take a look at Jan Sport, a backpack brand that rethought its approach to marketing during summer events and managed to boost sales. You should be able to work around a theme to get people to notice your small business and make a purchase, and you can even take things further by providing a dedicated resource hub.
As all events are hosted during the summer, you can participate to communicate the message. By getting involved in the community, you can expect to increase sales, allowing you to implement the perfect summer strategy. Since local summertime events are likely to be hosted throughout the city where your business operates, you should be able to participate easily. You can even sponsor a local event to amplify your exposure. Consider things like sponsorships through vendor tables or event swag bags. The options are truly limitless with a little bit of creativity and thought.
In addition, you can advertise on your email newsletter, social media pages, and print advertisement. At SoVerve, we enjoy
Leverage Causes and Awareness Days
Another excellent summer marketing idea is leveraging causes and awareness days. You will find the picture-perfect if you are looking for some inspiration. It is easy to piggyback on a cause or awareness day to boost exposure and conversion, and you should be able to rely on it to increase awareness. Here are some of the days that you may want to consider:
- 8th June: World Oceans Day
- 20th June: World Refugee Day
- 1st July: International Joke Day
- Third Sunday in July: National Ice Cream Day
- 29th July: National Lasagna Day
- 5th August: Friendship Day
- 12th August: World Elephant Day
You can incorporate the above examples into your summer marketing campaign. Even though some might not seem relevant, you need to think things through, as marketing is about getting creative. You can host significant events for days that deserve a campaign, whereas a post should suffice for others.
For instance, if you are considering launching a campaign for World Refugee Day, you must prove to your customers why you are interested in joining the conversation. Your main objective should be getting the context right.
A notable example that will help you get the marketing right is when Durex got Zara Larsson, the Swedish pop star, on board to promote safe sex for World Aids Day. Now, you do not need to go all out, but the campaign will get you to think about how to be authentic.
Note: For more National #Hashtag Holidays and Awareness Days/Weeks/Months, download our Seasonal Marketing Resources Guide. It’s a complete guide for all of your holiday marketing needs. Visit soverve.com/subscribe today to download your copy. When you sign up, you will also receive our monthly newsletters, The SoVerve Way
Launch a Summer Sales Campaign
An easy-breezy summer marketing idea that always works is launching a summer sale, and it should encourage your target audience to take an interest in your offer. The fact is that your customers expect you to host a sales promotion so that they can stock up on items they need.
Although sales are typically offered at the end of the year, summer is the perfect time for having a sale. It is up to you how long you want the deal, and the sale could be for a few days or an entire month. Once you can decide when to run the sale, you must spread the word.
Email marketing is A great way to inform your customers about the sale. It offers a fantastic return on investment and will generate a high bang for you in no time. An email campaign should help spread the buzz and ensure customers buy from you.
Have a Summer Competition
You might want to host a summer competition to get your customers’ attention. It will build awareness and excite people about what you offer. Even a simple social media contest should do the trick. Not only do competitions help you boost sales, but they also help your small business compete with more prominent corporations. You can make use of user-generated content to host the summer competition. With competition, you should be able to encourage your target audience to purchase from you.
If you are considering which type of summer competition you should host, you can start with a summer photo contest. It works wonders for most businesses. When you post about the competition, you can influence buying decisions and represent your company in a better light. The best part is that you would get customers involved. Ensure you stay relevant and do not appear inauthentic, insincere, or forced. The competition you host should get your customers talking about your business. You have to analyze each element to maximize reach.
Provide a Seasonal Freebie
Everybody loves to get something free, so you need a summer giveaway to attract customers interested in your offer. If you provide excellent freebies, you should be able to pull off this summer marketing idea.
Make sure to utilize user-generated content to spread the fire about your freebies. You could impose a condition requiring customers to post about your product or service to get a freebie. It will get your sales up in no time.
Small brands will find giveaways highly effective as they ensure everyone notices your products. There are many fun business summer offerings to reward customers, and you can even get creative and have a summer game requiring customers to do something to win seasonal merchandise. The freebies you offer must be unique or eye-catching if you want everyone to talk about them on social media, and this would, in turn, generate considerable brand awareness.
The seasonal freebies you provide should encourage customers to purchase from you. They must get your target audience hooked to your offerings so they continue shopping from you and never look elsewhere. There is a lot to what you can achieve with valuable freebies. Sometimes, you must give back to grow. Therefore, you should not consider the giveaway to be an expense. Instead, it will nurture your relationship with your customers and convince them to choose your business.
Update Your Website Visuals
The visuals on your website have a greater purpose, and you can update them to support your summer marketing campaign. As each season has its identity, you must ensure your website has visuals that help you push the limits. You can easily incorporate a summer feeling using visuals that include palm trees and sun-kissed beaches.
By getting your branding right for the summer, you will be able to get your customers in the right mood to make a purchase. You can start by creating a dedicated landing page for the summer and updating your social media platforms. To seek inspiration, you could check out what other players are doing. Give your homepage a distinct summer facelift to push your potential.
Besides, you must change the website visuals if you provide items based on the season. For instance, fashion brands must update their websites to encourage people to shop for their latest summer options. It does not matter which industry you might operate in, as summer will likely affect you somehow. Regardless of your industry, giving a seasonal facelift to your website has countless benefits.
There is no limit to how you can update your website visuals. Sometimes, all you need to do is take a risk, which could help you achieve the desired results. Keep in mind that your website might not need an entire rebranding. You must show that it is summer-ready to seize the moment. You can do this by using some summer images or changing the background.
Summer means something different for everyone. Considering what it means for your business and target audience would be best. It is the only way that you can get your marketing right. To ensure you stay safe, you should consider conducting some research. Check the visuals your competitors have used on their websites and think about how you can use better visuals. You must differentiate your products or services through the visuals you use to ensure that your customers are drawn to what you offer.
Use Summer Elements
Lastly, you can incorporate summer elements into everything you do to show that you are prepared for the season and have something up your sleeves. The sun, the beach, and ice cream are some images that come to mind when you think about summer. As a marketer, you have to use these elements to your advantage. For instance, you could use their emojis in your email marketing campaign. Even though emojis are not for every business, they allow you to convey the message. Emojis in email marketing can increase unique open rates by as much as 56%. Therefore, you need to determine how to add summer elements while staying true to the nature of your business.
You will show your customers that they want the best summer with the correct elements. You could add relevant details to everything you do to advance your campaign. This is where A/B testing will come in handy. You can take a subset of customers and split them up to find out what works best and cash in on it. The version that delivers a better click-through rate should be used to boost your business. Each element you use should serve a greater purpose. It will allow you to tie your entire campaign together to raise awareness.
Wrapping Up Your Summer Marketing Ideas
Now that you know some of the best, easy breezy summer marketing ideas, you should be able to make the most of the season and grow your business. Although marketing during the summer might have some challenges, you can expect incredible results when you get it right. You need to understand that challenges help bring opportunities your way. When there is a lot of noise in your industry, you must try something different to ensure your business does not go unnoticed.