Spice up your marketing with seasonal content

As we draw ever closer to the end of what has been a tremendous summer season, seeing temperatures that have given even our continental cousins a run for their money.

It has been an unprecedented year for many seaside resorts here in the UK and all things outdoors in general, as retailers struggle to keep up with demand for inflatables and the like.

For those unable to cope with the extra hot summer season, a change in climate brings welcome relief to the stifling heat that has sent even the best of air conditioning systems into overdrive.

Now that the summer season is ending, its’ time to change focus and prepare for the next big events on our calendar.

A Word for the Wise

In the age of digital technology, the question I am asked the most by business owners and digital marketers looking to promote goods and services online is; “how do I create content”?

Whilst the answer to this conundrum can differ from business to business, in accordance to the nature of what they do, there are some aspects of marketing that can be applied universally.

If you shop in supermarkets you’ll notice that by mid – August back to school merchandise is first in the pecking order for product promotions. Once our children have gone back to school and most parents’ get some respite from the endless need to find fun educational activities for our off spring, next in line is Harvest. When crops are yielded and our cupboards are relieved of all the canned and dried foodstuff we thought were a good idea at the time of purchase, but never got around to using.

Then come the big ones, Halloween, and dare I say the C word, Christmas! The one thing they all have in common is the fact that each of these cultural events / seasonal times of year are great opportunities for marketers to drive extra sales and create content that resonates with customers.

In the quest to appeal to a wider audience, the need to put the social into social media content often gets lost. Most small businesses using digital or social media will notice that plain hard selling just does not work. For the more perceptive marketer, finding common ground with customers is important in promoting goods and services, and now we find that events like “Black Friday” (albeit to some quite controversial) and activities such as “baby showers” or “trick or treat” have become transatlantic, why? Because people identify with them, social media platforms such a Twitter know this, and let you know the next hot topic on the cultural events calendar to help optimise tweets. Google have done it for years, embellishing their logo to suit the time of year or on special days or occasions throughout the year. If it works or them, it could work for you!

Creative License

Lets’ face it, marketing or more importantly effective marketing is an art that many business owners and marketers alike, want to get right.

However, the need to spend hours seriously compromising our recommended daily caffeine intake, deliberating over where and how find content is just a tad unnecessary, especially when the answer is at your fingertips.

By obtaining a Cultural Events Calendar comprising of big events that take place and other cultural activities, observances or events such as National Read a Book Day, Black History Month or Organic September for example, businesses have the potential to reach a wider and more diverse audience. Demonstrating empathy or common ground with customers helps to enhance their online experience and has the potential to promote loyalty through added incentives.

Whilst the saying “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” may sound like a cliché it is in fact true that a carefully crafted marketing strategy, one that utilises automation tools for digital content can pay dividends. That being said what are you waiting for? Get creative, spice up your marketing with seasonal content