It’s fall and everyone’s excited for sweater season and pumpkin-spice-everything! Us too!
But latte cravings and wardrobe-layering aside—as professionals, marketers, and communicators, isn’t there something comforting about knowing what to expect from a season?
Whether promoting our own business, or the organization we work for, how can we get more intentional about bringing the seasons into our message and marketing?
Make a Big Picture Calendar. (That’s Actually Big!)
We all intend to plan ahead, but too often let the day-to-day minutia get in the way of making a calendar for the year.
Sure, you can’t know every detail to anticipate. Heck, you can’t know half the priorities that will pop up in any particular month. But you can plan for big picture seasonality, busy-times, and events.
Do this… plot out the next three months. (And make it big. On a big whiteboard, or roll of butcher paper). There’s something about having a big, visual calendar that everyone can see that helps you remember the very things we can take for granted.
Don’t get bogged down with every little XYZ. Instead, try focusing on what you do know from past experience and the timely cues of the seasons:
What is a naturally busy time for your business? Fall, late spring, the new year? How can you promote your most popular product and services during this season? What’s your best mix of fun + practicality, or inspiration + advice?
What is a naturally busy time for the customers you serve? Where you want to help, but also recognize there’s a lot of “noise” out there competing for their attention? Back to school, holidays? How can you acknowledge the stress in their lives and bring them encouragement with a confidence-boosting quote or a service or product that can help them manage this busy time?
When is there typically a lull for you in business, where you can have a little more fun? Summertime? Vacations? Sometimes just planting seeds (even fun ones) can help keep you top of mind leading into the busy times? It can be as little as celebrating National Popsicle day or sharing your favorite road-trip tips – it doesn’t always have to be serious!
When are there annual events that always happen as a part of your business or organization? Annual planning for the new year? A time you always give back? Are you taking these events for granted, or can you share a behind-the-scenes with your people?
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You can plan a whole promotion or campaign around a seasonal event, or you can just remember to layer the season into small things: a social post, a physical mailer or postcard, or an email to your customers.
Whether big or small, consider how your photography, design, headlines, or even just a famous quote or lyric about the season can make its way into your message, imagery, and content.
And remember to balance your brand voice and your business purpose with the flavor of the season. Too much “pumpkin spice” (though some of you may disagree) can overpower what makes your core ingredients so special.
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