A few weeks back, we shared one of our most popular blog posts to date, giving readers a variety of user-generated content campaign ideas for the summer. Today, we’re slathering on some sunscreen, donning our flip-flops, and preparing for yet another hot one as we shed some (sun)light on ways you can add some extra sizzle to your brand’s content marketing calendar during the summertime. Use these summer-themed content marketing topic ideas so you can spend less time on your content planning and more time enjoying the sunshine by the pool.
Why Is Theming Marketing Content So Important?
Producing marketing content isn’t what one would call “cheap”. We don’t need to tell you this. Because of the internal resources, outside expenses, and the sheer number of hours it takes to keep your content lights on, it can seem like a bit of a waste to write content that is only relevant for a few months (or days) out of the year. However, we’ve found that seasonal content can actually provide a lift in content engagement if timed properly.
For content to be effective, it needs to be engaging. It needs to touch on a topic of interest to the viewing user. During the summertime, that topic of interest tends to be (no surprise) summer related. Grow your audience engagement levels by providing fresh, new, rich content based on this (or the current) season.
Four Summertime Content Marketing Topics
1) Take A Gander At Your Calendar
It’s not always easy coming up with great content marketing ideas. Luckily, the “Hang In There Kitty” calendar in your office holds the key to a content-rich summer.
Besides “real” holidays like Independence Day, the summer calendar is chock-full of different holidays and monthly themes that your content creation team can leverage to identify potential content marketing topics. Here are just a few of the different “days” your brand could celebrate this summer:
July
- 7/1: Canada Day
- 7/5: Work-a-Holic Day
- 7/6: Take Your Webmaster To Lunch Day
- 7/7: Tell the Truth Day
- 7/13: Embrace Your Geekness Day
- 7/13-7/14: Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game & Home Run Derby
- 7/21: National Junk Food Day
- 7/24: National Tequila Day
- 7/30: International Day of Friendship
Month of July
- Independent Retailer Month
- National Hot Dog Month
- National Blueberry Month
- National Ice Cream Month
August
- 8/1: National Mountain Climbing Day
- 8/3: National Watermelon Day; Friendship Day
- 8/5: Work Like a Dog Day
- 8/9: Book Lover’s Day
- 8/14: Left Hander’s Day
- 8/15: Relaxation Day
- 8/17: National Thrift Shop Day
- 8/21: Senior Citizen’s Day
- 8/22: Hug Your Boss Day (Brian Razzaque please mark your calendar accordingly)
- 8/26: Women’s Equality Day
Month of August
- National Golf Month
- Family Fun Month
2) Summer Health and Wellness
Whether it’s the lake, the pool, or the beach, most of your audience is going to spend some part of their summer on a body of water. Which means, your audience is going to be spending some time in a swimsuit. Which means…you guessed it, people are more focused on their diet and health regimen during the summer.
For content marketers, this topic is all about writing pieces that tie your brand into a healthy, active lifestyle. You can invoke this topic directly by touting the health benefits of your brand (if you’re in the food and beverage space) or how your brand can enhance an outdoor activity (like say, portable speakers).
While many brands don’t have a direct tie to a “healthy lifestyle”, they can still tip their hat to this topic by providing healthy habit tips, plans, recipes, and tactics without directly shoehorning their brand into the piece. After all, they want their fans and customers to stay healthy and happy too.
3) Summer Travel
Vacation season is here! Travel tips and guides are some of the most popular summer content topics. Similarly to health and wellness, if your brand isn’t directly tied to the travel industry, it can still produce travel-themed content. Be sure to focus on providing value and creating content that solves a travel pain point that most of your audience experiences during the summer.
Potential content marketing topics could include:
- A fun infographic that shows the top 5 family road trips across your home area or the country
- A podcast that offers insights into how to score cheap airline tickets
- Videos that highlight different travel hacks
4) Back-to-School Season
Retail studies show that your content audience has already started their back-to-school shopping. Even though school may be weeks away, that’s not stopping parents from hitting summer sales in preparation for the elusive first day of school. If that’s not enough to get your content creation engine whirling, keep in mind that 71% of shoppers say they are more likely to complete a purchase based on a social media referral.
Leverage these insights to create B2S themed content that can be shared across your social media profiles. If you have an advocacy marketing program, be sure to also share your content with your advocates. Empower them to help increase the reach and engagement of your back to school content marketing pieces without having to promote or boost those posts. (Learn more about how to start an advocacy marketing program right here.)
Amplify Your Content With SocialToaster
As they say, content is king. Create content your followers will want to consume this summer to drive engagement and increase your brand presence. Amplify that content using an advocacy marketing program. Ready to start your own advocacy marketing program? Send an email or call us to connect with one of our program managers, or schedule a free demo today and get started!
