The summer months are time for relaxation, family, and of course, vacations. Another natural part of the sunny period is all the extra time on your hands for social media, photo posting, and even spending some extra money. As a business owner, you shouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to bring in big bucks when everyone is in holiday-mode.
All of these online behaviours serve as potential avenues of growth and increased revenue.
Internet Data: People Are Talking and Listening
When was the last time you had a bad experience with an online business? Did you seek out the company through online contact? Just look at the Twitter mentions of your favourite airlines! It really is all complaints about delays. Many people are turning to Twitter, rather than to FAQs. As free time ramps up, people are increasingly looking to their phones. This is especially accurate for younger generations.
It also means you need to respond to a customer when they reach out to your business. They are talking about you, even if you aren’t there to listen. The most dedicated companies work on reputation management with an in-house or freelance team member meant to monitor online mentions. Just ask Snapchat. Kendall Jenner tweeted “Does anyone use Snapchat anymore?” and in the same day stock prices dropped $1.3 billion.
Whether they are reviewing your business or writing about you online, knowledge of the customer base is absolutely essential.
Image Sharing: People Are Showing
Instagram’s traffic is up 5.65%, Snapchat is up 294%, and Giphy’s is up by 100%. With these high increases, it has become clear that you cannot overlook the potential of sharing images. This can be via social media posts or ad campaigns.
Plan for consistent and relevant image posts that are in conjunction with your content marketing strategy. For example, if you are posting about wedding services, then support your blogging efforts with an infographic about wedding costs, photos of your favourite trends, and other pieces to balance your brand.
Appeal to the audience during the summer by reaching them on image sharing platforms.
Online Transactions: People Are Buying
According to Venmo, they process more than $68,000 in transactions per minute. If Venmo is capturing money from peer-to-peer, the amount of dollars used in online transactions is exponentially higher.
Users send money to peers and other companies all of the time, so why not take a part of the pie for your business? The only way to take a piece of the pie is to get your brand in front of the customer. Some immediate steps to take for your brand include:
- A mobile friendly site that responds on all devices
- The ability to book online appointments or make online purchases
- A comprehensive website with a full services list
- Social media graphics and regular social media posts
- Blog posting with consideration to SEO principles
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to take online payments and meet your customers where they want to make a purchase
Choosing the Right Strategy
The summer can be downtime for a lot of businesses. With the right social media strategy and a commitment to consistency, you can actually use this season to your advantage. Show off your voice. Take payments online. Ensure your site is mobile friendly. Add relevant content. Refresh your business. Consistent efforts will lead to growth and an increased revenue stream, making everyone’s favourite time of the year that much better.