Top Summer Trends in Digital Marketing
Covered in this post—Top trends to watch for this summer in digital marketing:
It’s finally here – longer days and warmer weather have descended upon us and the cold, dark days of the winter months are behind us. No matter which part of the year you prefer, there’s no doubt that your marketing and content strategies should shift with the changing seasons. Traditionally, summer tends to be a slower season for sales as people are out of the office more, on vacation or spending time with their families. However, this shouldn’t mean you go dark with your marketing efforts and lose the engagement with your audience you’ve been working hard to capture since the start of the year. Summer can be a great way to pivot your marketing strategies and remain top of mind with consumers as they enjoy the summer months.
Need some sunny inspiration to warm up your marketing campaigns? Check out these top digital marketing trends and ideas to consider this summer:
1. Give your visuals a summer makeover.
Every season and time of year has its own look and feel – think pumpkins, scarecrows and warm colors in fall and trees, garlands and cozy imagery in winter. Summer is no different. To get your buyers in the spending mood throughout the hot summer months, make sure your look and branding reflects this sunny time of year. Update your company graphics with a lighter look and feel for the season. This could include social media backgrounds, images for a website refresh and email template headers. Think outside the box and have a little fun. Simple updates including adding summer colors and images can make all the difference in remaining relevant and continuing to engage your audience.
This concept even applies to property tour or interior photos – showcasing images that are sunny and highlight bright and summery color palettes can go a long way in closing the sale:
2. Quality over quantity is the best strategy.
The summer months are a busy time for everyone. School is out for the season, parents are juggling work and kids, and everyone is trying to fit in family vacations and getaways. There are more activities and parties to attend and it seems like everyone is more social. With time limited, you will want to be concise to get your point across faster so you do not lose your audience. If you are running a content marketing campaign, make sure you are focusing on publishing quality content. Not only will you be a valued resource for your consumer and not waste their time, but you will also help your SEO efforts. With updates to Google’s algorithm, it’s now not only focused on keywords but on producing quality content as well. Ultimately, find out what content will help convert leads and engage your audience in a fun and easy way. This might include animations, interactive video content or gamification. The opportunities are endless so be creative and make sure your content stands out from your competitors.
3. Use summer holidays in your marketing campaigns + promotions.
Summer is a fun time of year and there are many seasonal holidays that your potential customers may be looking forward to. Now is the time to get creative and incorporate these into your advertising, marketing campaigns and product promotions. The obvious ones are Fourth of July, Back to School and Labor Day, however there are a ton of niche national days that you could have some fun with. It’s also a great idea to use holiday themes in your email campaigns to promote different seasonal sales. Not only will this be a fun way to engage your database, but you will also be creating a sense of urgency to buy as the holiday approaches.
4. Don’t forget to capture your seasonal events.
There is always more going on in the summer months – association happy hours, company networking events, baseball outings – the list goes on and on. If your company or professional organization is having a unique summer event, make sure to have a professional event photographer on hand to capture all the details. Not only will the images be great to use in upcoming social media posts or online promotions, but you will also be providing your attendees with a fun and easy way to share the event with their networks. Don’t underestimate the value of using event photography on your website, corporate collateral and in your future marking campaigns. Even though events in the summer may be lighter and less serious in nature, they are a great way to engage your employees, customers or network – and photos from your events allow you to showcase the fun and exciting outings your company has been planning. Events are also the perfect opportunity to have the photographer get some updated detailed product shots, team photos or corporate headshots.
Want to see how this looks? Check out these images Mark Campbell Productions was able to capture at a summer Don Julio event:
5. Amp up your mobile and social media presence.
It’s no surprise that people are away from their desks more in the summer months and spend more time on their phones. Make sure to reach people where they are. This means making sure to dial up your social media presence and ensuring your digital marketing campaigns are mobile-optimized. Any content you release should be easily consumable on a mobile device. Videos are a great example of content that is easy to consume and mobile accessible. Summer is also a great time to run raffles, interactive contests and other fun promotions on your social media channels. Engaging with your audience in a fun, light-hearted way will match their mood and will position your brand and company in a positive light.
Check out these top reasons why videos work so well on social media:
Seasonality is important in digital marketing and if you aren’t updating your campaigns and promotions to reflect the time of year, you are missing out on a great opportunity to connect with your audience in a fun and meaningful way. Try incorporating some of these ideas as you are planning your marketing strategy for the next few months.
Looking for inspiration for where to start or how to elevate your marketing strategy and create engaging content? Mark Campbell Productions can help. We are a team of talented Chicago professional photographers and commercial video production professionals ready to take your brand to the next level. We will partner with you to create engaging content and professional images that will stand out in your marketing campaigns, enhance your digital presence and will showcase your brand in the best way possible. Partnering with MCP means having access to an established team of creative minds and talent at your disposal. Let us come up with fresh ideas to incorporate professional photography and corporate images into your marketing plan for this year. We can make your marketing budget go further and help you create compelling content that will make a real impact to your business. Give us a call or contact us today!