Summer-Inspired Marketing Ideas For Young Entrepreneurs

Summer-inspired marketing ideas are a great way to take your business to the next level during this sizzling season. Summer marketing tactics work especially well for small businesses and young entrepreneurs since they are creative thinkers, open to new ideas, and tend to be particularly skilled with social media marketing strategies. 

 

 

 

 

Review your 2023 business plan and goals. Find your holes and set marketing objectives that fit your needs and create summer engagement. Summer months are Hot! It’s a perfect time to grow and build brand awareness. 

Focus on what’s free. A summer marketing blitz doesn’t have to cost a lot or cost anything at all. Take advantage of your available time and your surroundings. Be creative inside or outside, involve neighbors and friends.  Partner with other businesses to create summer magic and charitable organizations by volunteering in return for great experience.

Take full advantage of the season and the fun and good spirits that surround you. 

Review your Analytics, then think like an influencer! 

Your business plan is your starting point, and after that, choose a time to get started, such as a traditional holiday or a creative but unconventional motivator: 

Traditional summer holidays that inspire business include: 

• Memorial Day
• Flag Day
• Juneteenth
• July 4^th
• Labor Day

 

Unconventional celebratory days abound!

 Think about what fits your consumer and brand personality – or consider those that fit your personality as the face of your brand. How about:

• Hammock Day.
• Aunts and Uncles Day. 
• I forgot day.
• Cheer up the lonely day.

There are many … and you can create your own too!

You’ll want to maximize your time and motivation and opportunity inside and outside. If it’s too humid to be out and you don’t have an event to attend, you can accomplish a lot from your office – or from a favorite summer spot. 

 

INSIDE jobs!

Small business marketing strategy moves that keep you cool!

If it’s hot out and you want some inside time, there’s plenty to do. Build your campaign from the inside out. 

To start with, let’s create a summer newsletter for your customers. It can be short & sweet, offering a connection to your business while offering a business tip recipe or fun idea that ties back to your business. Let’s look at some additional strategies.

1. Review your digital strategy. Where aren’t you posting? Where can you? Where should you? Update your digital strategy to benefit your niche. Refresh your marketing materials. Learn something new. Try a new tactic. 
2. Use your sponsorships, business or personal event participation, and pictures of summer moments to create a personal connection to your business. 
3. Blog! Add personality to your page with summer updates and inspiration. Boost your effectiveness regarding SEO and Google search factors. Even if you aren’t positioned to spend or run Facebook ads for example, strategic moves will help you.
4. Poll your followers and gain insights with product-related questions or get their help for your dinner options or staycation party theme. Take their advice & follow up with pictures – using your blog and posts.  
5. Shorts are great for any time – be creative, use summer quotes set to great music, or you read them while showing a beautiful view. Have fun with them. 
6. Create a competition with another local business or with your followers online. 
7. Develop summer-themed content & share. Ask for user-generated content like photos or videos too and tie it to a call to action. 
8. Invite pictures of your product in action and create a brand ambassador team. Give them a hot temperature or fun, summer-inspired theme.
9. Build your following and create a deeper connection, but asking for feedback, as part of an event or an online focus group and reward them with a special status. 
10. Practice your own influencing skills. Be a more visible and vocal face of your brand. You can be in your office getting it done, or on vacation demonstrating balance, fun and what your brand represents
11. Take some time to review your administrative needs. What’s working well? What’s not? What can you streamline or automate?
12. Are you collecting customer data? What insights can you develop? If not, can you start an email list? It can be automated or a simple system you can automate later. It can literally be a fishbowl with business cards.  
13. Create sizzling summer offers. Consumers love summer sales and special offers. Consider flash sales or specials on multiples or packages that include an extra value. You don’t need to decrease profit. Your additional value could be as simple as free advice or a personal organizational or training tool that would also drive consumer engagement.
14.  Additional offer ideas might include clearance discounts or off-season specials. Generate pre-sales if you have something new. Engage current customers by upsell and cross-selling to their needs.
15. Look ahead and think big picture. Fall is coming, and so are the holidays. Get prepped and ready to go. 
16. Consider what planning is working for you now. How can you get the jump on next summer too. Large product manufacturers selling big over the holidays have next year’s line finalizing in January, are actively sharing and taking orders in Q1, adjusting and building in Q2 and ready for early waves of shipments in Q3.

  

OUTSIDE Marketing Ideas To Build Summer Sales

Capitalize & Collaborate on Local Events 

Crave the outdoors. Have serious fun! If your sales generate off-foot traffic, this is your time! 

 

1. Host a backyard BBQ.
2. A staycation party with a summer business theme, but sharing how to disconnect and unwind when the vaca and your office are both at home.
3. A smores night out, where everyone entering must leave business advice.
4. Volunteer to network and gain experience relating to your business. Offer extra hours so their staff can rest easily on vacation. 
5. Collaborate with other local businesses. Be open to their ideas. Know you may have to drive the action.
6. Join a business group that meets locally & find out how they collaborate. Participate and share new solutions.
7. Consider your product and how you can tie with local businesses for break time or lunch n learns or special business events they offer to motivate their employees. If you created an event or an awareness day to share your product or to discuss your event and how their support matters
8. Expand your reach geographically or online to non-competing businesses and develop a mutual cause or event or offer. Get the word out that you are collaborative.
9. Develop your customer base and engagement by sponsoring an event your target audience will take part in.
10. Do something for a local school. Ask how to get involved but come with ideas. Sponsor a cleanup or paint rocks for their garden.
11. Create an ‘awareness day’ – help a cause you believe in or a local community need. Create your marketing plan around it and connect with businesses. Depending on what it is and what you need, you can offer to set up a table to share info and awareness.
12. Offer a free Q &A session in a park. Set up a sign, Join me tonight to build ideas to solve a consumer or local problem or teach them how to create an inspiring summer social post.
13. Host a sidewalk sale if you have products or use the time to hand out literature or share your product experience. It could literally be a fishbowl for customer information. Let them check off the connection they want from you. Have them jump on Facebook and like your page. 
14. Partner with your alma mater. Find a mentee or other like partner who is just like you and needs experience, an internship, or a mentorship. You have a lot to offer and can help each other out. If the help is unpaid but great experience, you can pay through coaching and help build out their business plan.
15. If your business is established, offer a paid summer job or internship. Create a scholarship. Give back to those who helped you!
16. Appreciate your local beauty. Take pictures and use them for your social media posts. Make it a theme. Make it random. Just make it motivational for you and engaging for them.
17. Get Involved with other local events. Don’t always be on and selling but do scan the web and go. Simply enjoy and soak up new ideas. Pass out business cards. Actively sell. Whatever scenario fits.

Expand upon these ideas. Make them fit your needs. You want to take every good chance to share your product or service and reach new potential customers. The weather is beautiful. and shoppers are out. YAs a business owner, you need to invest your time, so leverage the time of year, your social channels and try something new!

Enjoy summer! Enjoy your vacation time! Use that goodness to create inspired marketing moves that maximize the season and propel you into Fall! You got this!