With the joys of summer upon us, you might think your clients would rather be lounging at the lake house than scrolling through your content. But for better or worse, most people are taking their phones wherever they go. They’re logging on to post selfies and stories of their best-life faces. Your clients remain at your fingertips, whether they’re hiking alongside a waterfall or hitting up Shakespeare-in-the-Park.
Meanwhile, social media algorithms don’t go on vacation and neither should you. I mean, take a vacation, by all means, but program your content before you go! If you’re short on ideas, we’ve come up with seven to fourteen new ways to beat the summer content slump, that thing that happens when the call to festivals, beaches, and field trips overrides your dream of going viral. You can use these suggestions for blog articles, social media posts, newsletters, or wherever you grace the Internet with your presence.
1. Listicles
Listicles are a cross between a list and an article. They also sound a little bit like popsicles, which is perfect for summer. If writer’s block’s got you down, a list is a great place to start. Ten Easy Home Upgrades to Fight Summer FOMO. Six Forgiving Outfits to Bring Back the Salad Days of Youth. Seven Eco-Friendly Meals to Help You Feel Less Terrible About Cranking Up the Air Conditioner.
The SEO robots love titles that contain numbers. They also love lists, since it breaks up your writing into small, digestible chunks. Google evaluates content for its readability. When it detects an endless maze of hefty paragraphs, your readability score goes down, as though the algorithm is being kind to everyone’s flailing attention spans. You too can be kind to everyone’s flailing attention spans, with a zippy, upbeat article, designed for the modern reader.
2. Employee Spotlights
Show your customers the face of the company with special features of your star employees. This works well as a social media post, but you can even try a more in-depth article for your blog or newsletter. Interview your top performers one-on-one or ask them fill out a survey. Spiff up the writing, add a few photos, and voilà—compelling content to beat that summer slump.
In our experience, employees LOVE this. They’re likely to share their mini profiles across their networks, thereby expanding your platform’s reach. This adds tons of value to your company image. These days cancel culture is alive and well, and people are expecting higher ethics from their brands. If you can depict a community of thriving, happy staff, this sends a powerful message.
3. Celebrate Your Victories
If you’re lucky enough to have good news, share it. New digs, a recent award, your first 1000 followers—spread the word in a humble, feel-good post. While you’re at it, it’s important to thank your customers and reiterate that you couldn’t have done it without them—this creates warm and fuzzies, and it’s true.
4. Write About a Challenge in Your Industry
From labour shortage to rising material costs, it’s a wild and interesting time to be alive—and to run a business. Many folks and their livelihoods have had a rocky go of it these past few years. And everybody knows that nobody is as happy as they appear on the Internet.
The more performative your online presence, the less meaningful it will seem to followers. But if you open up about the challenges of your industry, you can build trust and real connection. You will also show off your credibility and ability to adapt and pivot in the face of unprecedented ups and downs.
5. Interview an Expert in Your Field
Like listicles, interviews are super reader-friendly. And featuring a new guest is exciting for your followers and for you. Is there someone in your field you’ve been dying to talk to? Use your platform to leverage contact. Like your employees, most people love to talk about themselves and their work. If they’re not already celebrities (and sometimes, even if they are), your special guests will be delighted to share their wisdom and career trajectory.
The person doesn’t need to be super famous, and often someone more niche and obscure leads to a richer experience. And of course, we’re not just in it for the followers, but anybody who is outside of your network with a modest following is likely to draw in new readers and subscribers.
Beat the summer content slump with expert interviews. On Zoom or in real life. Thank you to visuals on Unsplash for this great photo!
6. Respond to Other Voices
Every once in a while, your industry might be the subject of a viral conversation or issue. If you’re a baker, you can talk about the rising cost of spelt flour, among other things. If you run an HR firm, you can weigh in on the return to the office, what we’ve learned from working from home, and/or the Great Resignation. And if you’re Brene Brown, you can announce your decision to pause and reflect before commenting on your podcast platform’s information policy.
When responding to other voices, it is ALWAYS a good idea to pause and reflect. Again, consumers are looking to their brands to embody strong ethics. Whatever you say must line up with your company’s leadership and values. For loaded topics, you want to be extra thoughtful about what you share. And for more tips on tact, our guide to online reviews offers reasonably sage advice you can apply to all your web communication.
7. Break Your Articles or Posts into Part One and Part Two
On the rare occasion when you find yourself surprisingly prolific, instead of limiting yourself to one post or article, why not create a part two, or even make a whole series. While they say long-form posts are beneficial to SEO, unless you are famous or exceedingly charming, you are probably better off keeping your work on the lower side of 1000 to 1500 words. Which is where we find ourselves now (Word Count: 984). And so, we are going to follow our own wisdom and leave you hanging for a riveting Part Two: Seven More Ways To Avoid the Summer Content Slump. Once our second article is ready, we’ll set you up with a fancy hyperlink to relieve your suspense in an easy click. (#recommended)
In the final segment of our two-part series, discover the world of case studies, client testimonials, and the place for the quirky in online marketing. If you didn’t get an invite to the cabin, this is the next best thing.
Thank you to Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels for capturing this beautiful moment of beating the summer content slump.
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