Listen up small business owners; summer is so not the time to take a break from marketing. There’s a common misconception floating around that the summer months don’t have as much impact as other times of the year. Folks, consider your bubbles burst. You can take a summer vacay, but your marketing efforts definitely can’t! Otherwise, your business could lose momentum, the dormancy will hurt your brand, and it’ll miss out on these killer opportunities of the season.

Expand Your Target Audience

When schools and universities end for the season, college students and people with seasonal jobs such as teachers, bus drivers, and caterers have significantly more time on their hands.

Plus, people are traveling again! That means more tourists, and special visits with family and friends who are looking to make memories with fun activities such as dining out, shopping, and entertainment.

In fact, statistics show that consumers in the United States generally spend more in the summer than they do in the winter, spring, and fall.

  • Americans spent an average of $765 more per month last summer than the rest of the year.
  • Millennial and Gen Z consumers spent about $1,016 more per month last summer than the rest of the year.
  • Last summer, consumers spent the most money on dining and travel. Dining took up 36% of spending and travel took up 35%.

Vitamin D for Desire

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and people are spending more time outside than on their phones.

Detailed psychological studies on the effects of weather have revealed that sunlight can have a huge influence on consumer spending.

According to Kyle B. Murray, Fabrizio Di Muro, Adam Finn, and Peter Popkowski Leszczyc, the authors of The Effect of Weather on Consumer Spending “As exposure to sunlight increases, negative affect decreases and consumer spending tends to increase.”

Summer FOMO

FOMO is an acronym that stands for “Fear Of Missing Out”, and it has a massive effect on consumer buying. If you know how to use it, FOMO can work to your company’s advantage this summer.

  • 85% of Gen Z have reported experiencing FOMO last summer.
  • 90% of Gen Z is influenced by social media to spend more money, and to go out.
  • Facebook is the social media platform that creates the most FOMO, with 72% of its users experiencing it.
  • Millennials are most likely to spend money due to FOMO on travel (59%), events (56%), and food (29%).

Use It or Lose It 

As a business owner, you can either use summer marketing to your advantage, or experience some serious FOMO on the action.

Here are some of the hottest (pun totally intended) marketing ideas to put into motion this year.

Get Involved

Participating in or even hosting local events is a great way to capitalize on FOMO.

Music festivals, grand openings, summer sales, new showings, and “shop local” events are perfect for boosting sales andbrand awareness in your community. Don’t forget to advertise your involvement!

Get Your Blog On

Boost your SEO with a summer blog or two for your website! There are countless topics to choose from that will also help increase organic traffic on your site.

  • Choosing the perfect Father’s Day gift.
  • Summer safety pertaining to your product or service.
  • Summer trends relevant to your business.
  • Fourth of July recipes, decor ideas, and firework safety.
  • Labor Day piece honoring veterans.

Promo That FOMO 

Lean into FOMO on your company’s social media sites when you promote your products, services, events, and discounts. Utilize these key phrases to create the desired effect!

  • “Don’t miss…”
  • “Last chance…”
  • “For a limited time only…”
  • “Countdown to…”
  • “One time opportunity…”
  • “Chance of a lifetime…”

To create the ultimate summer marketing strategy, hire a digital marketing agency to help your business reach its utmost potential. Professional content creators and marketing strategists know the latest trends, have design expertise, and can access the best online marketing tools. Contact our digital marketing agency today to launch those sizzling summer sales.