How to keep your online presence ticking along over summer without spending your break creating content.
November already. How did that happen?
One minute we're talking about the start of spring and admiring the cherry blossoms, and the next we're looking at Christmas shin-digs, end-of-year deadlines, school holidays and trying to remember whether we've booked somewhere to stay over summer.
If you're a business owner, there's also the small matter of getting everything finished before you take a break....
And somewhere on that increasingly long list is probably your marketing.
You might be wondering whether you need to keep posting on social media while you're away, what to do with your email marketing, or whether your online presence can simply take a holiday along with you.
The good news is that you don't need to spend your summer break thinking up Instagram captions or remembering to publish something on LinkedIn. No way!
But a little planning now can make an enormous difference.
Start with what your customers actually need to know
Before you start filling your content calendar with summer-themed posts, think about the practical information your customers might need over the holiday period.
Are you closing for Christmas? Will your opening hours change? Is there a deadline for placing orders? Are you taking bookings for January or February? Who should customers contact if they need help while you're away?
These might not sound like very exciting content ideas, but they're useful.
And useful content is often far more valuable than something you've published just for the sake of getting a post out there.
If you're a retailer, your customers might need to know the last date for Christmas delivery. If you're a Tradie, they might want to know when you're taking bookings for the new year. If you're a service provider, a simple explanation of your availability over summer could save everyone a few emails.
Don't assume people will go looking for this information on your website, either. Make it easy for them to find wherever they usually interact with your business.
What should you actually post while you're on holiday?
You don't need to maintain exactly the same content schedule you follow during the rest of the year. We go from an average of 5 posts a week to 2-3 when we're closed, because our audience is mostly closed, too.
In fact, if you're taking a proper break, I'd encourage you to be realistic about how much content you need.
A few useful, well-planned posts are much better than filling your calendar with content that doesn't really serve a purpose.
Here are some of the things I'd consider.
Answer the questions people regularly ask.
Think about the questions that come up in conversations with customers. What are your FAQs? How does your service work? What should people know before booking? What do they need to prepare? What mistakes can they avoid?
These are great subjects for content because they remain relevant regardless of whether you're sitting at your desk or relaxing at the beach.
Bring back some of your best existing content.
That blog you wrote earlier in the year? The LinkedIn post that sparked a great conversation? The useful tips you shared a few months ago?
There's no reason they can't be revisited.
You might update the examples, change the format or approach the subject from a slightly different angle. And remember, plenty of people who follow you today won't have seen what you published six months ago.
Help people understand what you offer.
It's easy to assume your audience knows exactly what you do, particularly if you've been talking about your business online for years.
But new people are discovering you all the time.
Summer can be a good opportunity to explain your services, share examples of your work, introduce yourself or answer questions about what it's like to work with you.
You don't have to turn every post into a sales pitch. You're just making it easier for someone to understand whether your business could help them.
Share something that helps people prepare for the new year.
Depending on your industry, January might be a time when customers are thinking about new projects, making plans, getting organised or looking for inspiration.
An accountant might share a few things businesses can get organised before the new year gets underway. A designer could share ideas for refreshing a space. A coach might offer some useful questions for reflecting on the year ahead.
Think about what's relevant to your customers, rather than assuming everyone is in the same holiday mindset.
Remember, summer looks different for every business
For some businesses, December and January are the quietest months of the year.
For others, they're absolutely frantic.
If you're in hospitality, tourism or retail, summer might be your busiest season. Your content may need to focus on bookings, products, availability and helping customers make decisions.
If you're in professional services, you might have a quieter period when your customers are away and less interested in business-related content.
And if you work in an industry where January is traditionally a time for planning or new projects, your audience may already be thinking about what they want to achieve next year.
There's no universal summer content strategy.
The best approach is to consider what your particular audience is likely to be doing, what they need from you and how your business can remain useful to them.
Don't forget about Pinterest and email
When business owners think about scheduling holiday content, social media is usually the first thing that comes to mind.
But it's worth looking at your other marketing channels too.
Pinterest works differently from platforms like Facebook and Instagram. People use it to search for ideas, products, information and inspiration, often well before they're ready to take action.
That means seasonal Pinterest content generally needs to be planned earlier than you might expect.
If your business has products, services or content relevant to Christmas, summer holidays, travel, outdoor living or new-year planning, it's worth thinking about when people are likely to start searching for those things.
And Pinterest isn't only about seasonal content. Useful, evergreen Pins can continue to help people discover your website while you're doing something considerably more enjoyable than sitting at your computer.
Email marketing deserves some attention too.
You might want to send a final newsletter before Christmas, share your holiday hours, let subscribers know about upcoming availability or simply stay in touch with something useful.
Depending on your business, you could also prepare an email for January so you're not trying to write one during your first week back.
The point isn't to keep every marketing channel busy. It's to make sure the channels you're using continue to serve a purpose.
Schedule your content, but have a plan for what happens afterwards
Scheduling tools are wonderful things.
You can prepare your content in advance, choose when it goes out and enjoy your break without having to remember what day it is.
But scheduling isn't quite the same as handing over responsibility for your online presence.
What happens if someone sends an enquiry? Asks a question in the comments? Responds to an offer? Or if something changes and a scheduled post is suddenly no longer appropriate?
Before you head away, decide who will be checking your accounts and how often.
That might be you checking in occasionally, a team member keeping an eye on things, or someone you've arranged to manage your accounts while you're away.
You don't necessarily need someone monitoring everything constantly. You just need a sensible plan that matches your business and the expectations you've set with customers.
It's also worth checking that your scheduled content doesn't accidentally promote something that's unavailable while you're closed.
There's nothing quite like encouraging people to book a service or buy a product, only for them to discover nobody is there to help them.
And please, think about January before you disappear
This is the part I think business owners often forget.
They get everything organised for Christmas, schedule a few holiday posts and head off for a well-earned break.
Then January arrives.
The inbox is overflowing, there are a hundred things to catch up on, and suddenly they're trying to remember what they were supposed to be posting about.
If you're planning your summer content now, include the first couple of weeks after you return.
You don't need to have every detail worked out, but having a few posts, an email or some useful content ready to go can make getting back into work considerably easier.
And if you're planning to launch something, promote a service or start a new project early in the year, think about what people might need to know before that happens.
Your online presence doesn't need to take over your summer
I don't think business owners should feel obliged to be constantly visible online.
Taking a break is important, and there's nothing wrong with reducing your marketing activity for a few weeks if that's what makes sense for your business.
But there's a difference between deliberately slowing down and disappearing because you ran out of time to plan.
A little preparation now means you can communicate the important things, keep useful content going out and give yourself a much easier start to the new year.
And perhaps most importantly, you can enjoy your holiday without feeling like you should be doing something for your business.
Want your summer content sorted before the holidays?
If you're looking at everything that needs to be done before Christmas and wondering where you're going to find the time to plan, create and schedule your marketing content, I can help.
At Nota Bene, we work with businesses on social media content, Pinterest, blogs, email marketing and content planning.
Whether you'd like a few weeks of content prepared before you head away or you're looking for someone to take care of your online presence on an ongoing basis, we can work out what makes sense for your business.
We're taking enquiries for pre-Christmas content planning and creation, so now is a good time to get in touch if you'd like to get things organised before the silly season takes over.
Get in touch with Nota Bene