4 online store marketing ideas for the first day of summer
The first day of summer marks the start of one of the best seasons of the year for customers. However, the story is quite different for retailers and Shopify store owners. The hot weather and a plethora of holidays mean that most people spend little time on their screens.
The result is a slump in sales. Bloomberg reported a 1.1% drop in sales last summer compared to the 0.3% predicted by experts.
What this means for Shopify store owners is that, if you want to increase sales during summer, you cannot sit back and wait for customers. You need to employ summer marketing ideas to target new audiences, nurture old customers, and develop better offers.
Here are four excellent marketing ideas for Shopify stores for the first day of summer.
Run a summer social media competition
Customers dropping off as they go out to enjoy the sunshine? Entice them back by organizing a social media competition with summer deals to create awareness for old and new audiences. Social media competitions are an excellent way to increase your store’s traffic and sales. It’s also a perfect means of generating user content for your brand.
Of all customers, 90 say user-generated content truly influences their purchasing decisions. As such, a summer photo contest where customers post their favorite item from your shop generates competition and engagement for online stores.
Give away seasonal freebies
Any time of the year is a good time to give people freebies! But giving away seasonal freebies is an even better summer marketing tactic. It isn’t only a tactic for Shopify store owners; big brands do it too for summer clearance. Wondering why?
During summer, people mostly visit places like lakes, beaches, woodland, and they might tour outdoor places like nature reserves, tea plantations, and wildlife enclosures. As such, there’s a high chance that they will take beautiful pictures. This is an opportunity to give them free items they can show off in photos and help promote your brand.
For instance, Starbucks has a regular summer game that offers its customers the chance to win free drinks, seasonal merchandise, and other prizes.
When you make the prizes unique and eye-catching, there’s a high chance that many people will share them on their social media pages. Which, in turn, will help create awareness for your brand. If the freebies are summery, like a cap or sunshade, even better!
Redesign your visuals
Every season of the year has its unique feel and look. It’s the reason why Christmas advertisements in the northern hemisphere are mainly about roaring fires and snow instead of palm trees and sun-kissed beaches. Summer is no different.
So, if you’re looking to get your customers into a buying mood or ready for an end of summer sale, then your branding should reflect the season. As a Shopify store owner, during the summer, you can redesign your landing pages and social media accounts to portray the feeling that comes with the season locally, be that sun and sand or rainy monsoons!
You don’t need to perform a total revamp. A little change in the background or a few HD summer images can work perfectly.
While this tip is particularly relevant to fashion brands, it is also applicable to others. Regardless of the industry you are in and who your audience might be, redesigning your visuals has the benefits of boosting the mood of your site and encouraging people to spend more time there, which is important for increasing sales.
Offer summer coupons
Offering a strategic discount, like a summer’s eve coupon, is an excellent way to increase sales and customer loyalty. You can offer them every weekend, or all summer long. Be clear about the offers that come with your coupon to encourage customers to use it.
You can make use of coupon ideas like; minimum spending coupons, referral promotions, shopping for the first time coupons, or offer your customers coupons when they drop a review or follow your social media page. It all depends on your marketing goals!
Coupons work for summer marketing because they can be mixed with email marketing to increase reach and generate more customers. If you’re unsure about how to do this, you can install Aument to easily create an email marketing campaign and customize it by adding your branding, adjusting coupon offers, and even dates or times of sending.
Now you know some of the best marketing ideas for Shopify store owners during summer. Take your pick from them and watch your sales increase!
