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There’s no denying it: Summer is here.
To kick off the season, folks are uncovering their grills for the first time in eight or nine months and firing up some ‘shrimp on the barbie.’ A little corn on the cob, freshly-sliced watermelon and homemade cherry cobbler round out the all-American picnics taking place in backyards across the country.
School’s out, which means that little ones are full of energy. They’re eager to spend the next few months riding bikes with neighborhood friends and chasing lightening bugs at night. Day after day, they’re begging and pleading to head to the pool — after all, it’s hot outside.
And vacations are in full swing. Families are packing their SUVs and driving to beach houses and inns in coastal towns, pitching tents in national parks and spending quality time with cousins and grandparents who live states away.
Digital and Mobile Usage Behaviors Undergo a Sea of Change in Summertime
The change in season also means a drastic change in consumer behavior. With temperatures on the rise, so is consumer spending.
Research shows that people are online and on their devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.) more during the warmer months of the year.
And the data is compelling:
- Mobile usage grows 86 percent faster
- With 77-degree temperatures, online shopping increases 49 percent
- Facebook users share photos in summer 24 percent more than spring, 23 percent more than winter and 5 percent more than fall
- Content posted on Facebook mobile grows by 26 percent and video posts grow by 43 percent
- 34 percent of people say they watch more on their smartphones (with cooking videos topping the list)
But that’s not all: Not surprisingly, people are more active (and not just athletically) throughout the summer:
- 48 percent dine out more
- 50 percent of homes are sold
- 80 percent of Americans plan a summer vacation, with an average spend of $941 per person
- Emergency room visits increase 15–27 percent
Seizing the Season of Sun, Sand and Sales
This information is intriguing — and important — for local businesses, whether a string of fast casual restaurants, a bed and breakfast, a daycare and boarding facility for four-legged friends or an auto-repair shop that specializes in German cars.
With summer upon us, now is the time to ramp up marketing campaigns and get in front of the flurry of potential customers out and about for the season.
A free eBook is available to help businesses enhance their digital presence based on seasonal trends.
Developed by Vivial, a marketing technology company that offers customer engagement tools to help small and medium-sized businesses grow, the guide was specifically designed to support local business efforts to rank the highest, trend the hottest and make the biggest splash this season.
Organized into four sections — Summer Stats, Search & Maps, Social Media and Creative Inspiration — the user-friendly and visually-driven online format:
- Delivers compelling statistics that build the case for stepping up customer engagement and outreach over the next few months
- Provides practical tips for getting started with Google ads and boosting searchability through paid listings, Google Maps and organic search
- Offers steps for developing social media profiles
- Serves up ideas for posts, from popular hashtags to trending topics and themes
- Includes complimentary resources that are downloadable at the click of a button
Simplifying the Complex for Local Business Marketing
Because improving online search rankings may seem intimidating, the eBook offers “3 Things You Can Do Right Now” to fine-tune marketing campaigns and help businesses appear higher on Google search.
Noting the hefty jump in social media usage when it’s warm, a dedicated section equips local business owners with the know-how to leverage profiles on key networks that reach their target customer — and make the most sense for that particular industry. This includes specific guidelines for launching pages that generate activity on Facebook, Google +, Instagram, Pinterest, Yelp, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter, including:
- Creating a profile
- Writing a full bio
- Including photos
- Taking clear action
- Being social on social
- Encouraging reviews
- Paying to boost a profile
- Analyzing to improve
And to prevent those creative juices from drying up, a Social Media Summer Cheat Sheet is chock full of suggestions for posts that better share a company’s message and tell its story.
Heating Up Marketing – and Keeping It Hot All Season
From Memorial Day to the Fourth of July to Labor Day and beyond, summer is bursting with unique opportunities to reach customers, connect with them and keep local businesses top of mind.
Thanks to Mother Nature and the “temperature-premium” effect, researchers say that warmer temperatures cause people to feel emotionally warm, which makes them feel better about prospective purchases.
It’s time to get started with summertime marketing because cool things should happen when the weather heats up.
Access Vivial’s free eBook at https://vivial.net/what-your-business-needs-this-summer
To learn more about how we take the complexity out of digital marketing to help SMBs translate likes and shares to dollars and cents, visit www.vivial.net.
Image: Vivial
This article, “Free eBook to Drive Summer Marketing for Local Businesses” was first published on Small Business Trends