Summer is on the horizon, and the weather shouldn’t be the only thing that’s heating up.

While the summer may feel like a chance to take a vacation from work, the season is actually a great time to rethink your PR strategy and try out some new tactics. Check out these tips to help you stay on top of your PR game during the dog days of summer.

Embrace the Season

Summer is often people’s favorite time of the year. Kids get a break from school, you can hit the beach, or host a barbecue. The possibilities are endless! Embrace this era of opportunity by finding out what summer events are happening in your area. With all the festivals, concerts, and shows occurring during the summer, you never know what attraction could connect you to potential customers. Use these events as an opportunity to meet new people or find a way to connect your business. Whether you’re partnering with the event and getting your name on the marketing materials, or you’re just attending as a guest, use these summer events to your PR advantage.

Have fun

Summer should be fun, so don’t forget to have fun with PR! No matter what your business is, find something summer related that makes you happy and incorporate it into your strategy. If you own a restaurant, create a summer themed menu to draw people in. Your creativity will be appreciated by your customers and people will tell their friends about their great experience. Attend events where you can promote your product service so you can gain more exposure and enjoy yourself at the same time.  Don’t let the summer be a bummer!

Make a Plan

Summer can be an extremely busy time for everyone. People can easily get distracted or run out of time to accomplish the things that they want. To fight this issue, create a detailed calendar for the summer. Mark any important dates like holidays or events happening in town to use as a reminder. This will prepare you for any surprises or obstacles. Remember– you can never over plan or be too prepared! Also, considering the timing of your posts is crucial. Make sure they are relevant to what is currently happening. This will make them more popular and relatable.

Be Social

A crucial part of maintaining your brand during the summer is by staying active on social media. Summer is a social season, so don’t neglect your social media presence during this time. Interact with your online audience and make them feel valued. You can also incorporate summer themed words into your messaging by using summer related puns, create graphics, or running fun contests. Don’t forget about using hashtags either (but also be wary of overdoing it). Ask for engagement from your followers. If you own a store or restaurant, run campaigns where people are invited to post pictures of their visit to your business. You can also create a friendly, conversational tone by posting a tweet like “My favorite summer treat is _____. What is yours?”. Invite your customers to join the conversation!

About Lauren Usrey: Lauren is a student at the University of Texas at Austin and a marketing communications intern at Swyft. She supports clients with social media, blogging and tech PR activities. Swyft has offices in Austin, Denver and Houston and provides digital marketing and PR services for tech companies seeking rapid, sustained growth. Some of the services provided include content marketing, social media strategy and ad buys, email marketing, and media relations.