Summer heat is definitely on. Like the season, do your PR initiatives bring a ray of sunshine? Are they as hot as firecrackers? Or are they taking the heat instead? Do they need some warming up?
For many companies — both brands and PR agencies themselves — PR and communications and marketing work peaks toward the end of the year. The early part of the year is usually devoted to planning, including budget review and planning.
Summertime, while not really in the early part of the year and is mostly toward the middle part especially in the Northern Hemisphere, is not so relaxed yet not so busy. If it was in the human world, it would be a tweenie, no longer too young to be a child but not old enough to be a teenager.
In tropical countries such as the Philippines, the summer season is a special time. Students look forward to it because it means break from school. Even if the academic calendar has changed such that schools still have classes even during part of the summer, students still think of summer as vacation time. They won’t be alone in doing so either. Executives, employees, young professionals, blue-collar workers … Everyone is just raring to go to some beach or getaway and take some time off.
But while everyone’s mind is on chilling or traveling elsewhere and time is practically slowing down (maybe cause of the heat), public relations work need not be put on the back burner. True business activities do ease up a little during summer. (The bosses need their break, too.) But companies and PR agencies can take advantage of the time to do many other things to not sacrifice any momentum already gained from the previous months.
Ride the summer bandwagon. Launch a PR activity or stunt with a summer theme. Or create content around the season.
Many companies already do this, yes. How many articles are there about how best to keep hydrated amid the summer heat or top places or things to do during the season while promoting a product or two on the side? There are videos about summer activities and trendy OOTDs.
But let’s face it, not all brands and products can be linked to summer, or a season for that matter. So for those products or services the PR efforts for which can be aligned with summer, the window of opportunities is wide open. It is a time to stand out and get noticed.
In general, seasonal content is a good bet. Not only can they be fun to do but they can repurposed and will last long.
Participate in trade or industry events relevant to your business, even those outside of the country. These events are a good way to be seen and heard, and of course they are also a chance to let you and your teams get some fresh air outside.
Elevate virtual presence. Complement any traditional PR initiatives with an equivalent or similar activity online. Perhaps a contest revolving around summer or related to it and that also links back to a product or service you’re creating awareness about.
Some brands launch a campaign on social media such as sharing beach photos or posting OOTDs, with the winning entries taking home their latest products. Beauty and skin care companies make the most of the season with the help of their influencer partners whose post will highlight their latest sunscreen or makeup products with a high SPF++ and promise a nongreasy, no-hulas look even after hours under the sun.
Strengthen community engagement. No, not social network engagement. Summertime is a perfect time to be out there. Engage with your community F2F.
Earlier we mentioned social media campaigns and contests. How about physical events or activities in the community? These are also fun and are in fact a much more interactive way to boost your relationship with your audiences.
Tree planting activities that involve employees and members of the community or area are a good example. With the summer months in the Philippines also a period of fiestas in many areas, the opportunities for community engagement abound. Sponsoring a booth or contest during a fiesta could be one.
During Holy Week, a few local brands set up tables in front of churches and provide water bottles or fans for those doing Visita Iglesia. Some even give out snacks and candies for kids. The same applies to fun runs where there are booths giving out energy drinks, water bottles and related merch.
Whatever the activity, participating will certainly win you points with your community. If the activity involves employees, it also develops employee advocacy, and that’s even better in the long term.
Boost media and other network and partnerships. With fewer PR articles headed their way, some of your media partners will also have a bit of free time. Make the most of the opportunity to strengthen collaboration with them. You can even pitch future articles.
For clients with byline targets, summer could just be the time to get those exclusive stories through. Some journalists also take summer breaks, and this means publications could be more receptive to content from external sources.
The summer downtime likewise provides an opportunity to look for additional media partners. Use the extra time to reach out to new and potential publications and build on the network you already have. Maybe even publications or platforms you normally do not use for regular PR articles. Like for summer-centric articles revolving around babies and kids, there are specific magazines or verticals/websites outside of the family or health sections of large publications.
Do some internal checks. Review your content plan or calendar. A content plan usually covers several months, if not the entire year. Publications and magazines likewise do months-long or an annual content calendar. You can evaluate your content plan for the upcoming season(s) to try and time them with what publications will likely have for the same season(s).
Your content plan review can also just be to make sure it remains aligned with your overall content goals. This is because while a content plan is more or less set per month or period, it still has to be as fluid as possible to allow you to react or adjust to trends as they happen. If a content plan is a WIP, the summer downtime can be the perfect chance to work on it and give it a much clearer framework.
A summer audit could also be another thing to do this summer. Evaluate PR strategies and initiatives. Identify best practices and areas where changes can be made to ensure success.
This audit can also include an evaluation of the tools you currently have for all the required metrics, including those for traditional and digital media. New software programs for social media engagement and other indicators keep popping up.
Build on your team some more. Summer outings are not just a chance to get out of the office for a day or two. They form part of the company team building program.
Supplement outings and summer get-togethers or team dinners with summer workshops or training if there’s still time for these. Of course the training program can be a yearlong thing that’s also part of strengthening the company’s internal communications system, all of which combined contribute to building a stronger team that will work with you through all seasons of the year.
