Add Some Seasonality to Your Social Media

If it seems a little early to focus on the sunshine months ahead, just consider the brutal winter much of the country has just been through... ready to make plans for the summer now? Thought so! For all our obsession with technology and how it drives everything forward, the human touch remains a crucial connector that bridges the gap between social shores and, as a result, aids in the alignment of brand communications across social networks. It's also an important reminder that whatever problems our products solve, or benefits that our services bring, business-focused marketing alone won't make much of a connection with potential customers. Seasonality can help you to structure your social updates and add a shared experience to otherwise corporate communications. The sunshine months are a great place to start, not only because they're coming around again now, but because they breed a good mood in your audience and associate your social content with that sentiment.

How Can Seasons Add to Social?

Seasons add to social media marketing because your communications occur in real time, putting your company on the same page as customers and increasing brand recognition as a result. It's a subtle awareness, but no less powerful in establishing who you are and what you do with a broader positive feeling. For starters, think about the ways in which you can align your product with the changing seasons, especially the upcoming months during spring and summer. This can be easier for some than others, depending on business sector, products and services. but it's a rare occasion that you can't find some way to build seasonality into social media updates. Here are some ideas to get you going:

• Get your camera phone out and start to take pictures of your area in bloom. This is especially powerful if your business serves a specific local market, as people engage with visuals that they recognize or can plan to visit.

• In a similar vein, try to align your physical business location, a product, or staff members with those local landmarks, spring scenes, and common natural scenes. For the latter, popular images include your area's flora and fauna, sunrise and sunset over your facility,

• Sponsor events in your area, such as county fairs, radio station events, or local charitable events. Consider partnering with other businesses that don't compete in your industry at these gatherings, to extend your audience and increase shares of your social content.

• Offer tips on how to use what you sell in a spring or summer setting. When the sun comes out, how can customers take advantage of your product or services to make the season better? This can be easier for some businesses than others, but almost every owner and marketer can find some connection by looking at either your own use or how customers discuss their use of what you sell.

• Extend the content you create from the points above by translating them to alternative media formats, whether audio, images, video, or text. For example, you can easily spin several photos published over the course of a few weeks into a summary album or a photo-blog post. If you have the foresight to take footage at the same time as you take pictures of your local area, it's likely that you'll be able to combine that raw footage into some interesting short-form video content.

 

Take Your Cues From Your Customer

Before you set off on this seasonal social trip, make sure to look at what your existing audience is sharing. Think about the local scenes that they share, the images that they respond to, and the updates they post that relate to common seasonal factors. Do they involve common locations, people, pets, or other businesses? All can give you an insight into what type of content will resonate best. For more ideas, your local parks and news media social profiles can be excellent sources of inspiration. Those with a solid following can give you a glimpse into what locals tend to respond to, and the news outlets often have an intricate understanding of what an audience wants to see. Even with these ideas, don't be afraid to experiment with your own ideas and get creative based on the unique strengths of your business. The beauty of these real time online channels is that you'll quickly see what's popular (and, equally, what fails to engage!) How do you connect with your customers around the seasons on social media? Let us know on any of the social spaces we list below.