Get Inspired With These Summer Content Ideas

Are you dreaming of sun, sand, and fun? Your customers and followers are too. As we head toward the longer days and warmer weather, it’s time to shift your content focus to all things summer. To help every brand create summer content, even those that don’t sell sunblock, beach chairs, or grills, we have some content marketing tips you can use to publish sunny posts, articles, and videos.  Use them to inspire your summer content ideas.

Create summer-themed augmented reality filters

Brands can create fun and interactive augmented reality filters that users can share on their social media profiles. Include a branded element in your design, such as a hashtag or logo. Inspire followers to share how they spend the summer and tag your brand on social media.

Get snaps of your products on the beach

A simple way to add a dose of summer to your content is to take your product outside. Find a summer background, like a beach, pool, or sunny park, but uniquely showcase your products. Maybe your non-food or beverage product is shown in a cooler full of ice. Maybe it’s an unexpected beach day item people didn’t realize they needed. 

Share unconventional summer recipes

Work with an influencer to create unconventional summer recipes incorporating unique ingredients or cooking methods to surprise and delight their followers. Show how your product can be used for summer fun, even if it’s not a typical seasonal item.

Provide summer outfit inspo

Does your brand sell clothes, accessories, or shoes? If so, assemble a handful of summer outfits to inspire your audience for various summer occasions. Get a few models to wear your products or, if you have some editing chops, you can put together a photo collage like this to highlight an outfit.

You can team up with an influencer here too. Ask an influencer to wear your apparel in a shared photo or video. Give the influencer a tracking link with a discount code to pass along to followers as an additional way to track the campaign’s success.

Get local

Do you run a local shop? If so, consider creating a local guide to help residents and visitors explore the city. The guide should subtly encourage a stop to your store or feature local products you sell. 

A travel blogger put this guide together for Austin, Texas. In it, readers are encouraged to visit a handful of small businesses. You can collaborate with other local businesses in your city to create something similar. 

Offer summer tips

Can your brand offer summer tips related to its products? For example, a hair care company or stylist can offer summer hair care tips, like this helpful post: 

A veterinarian can offer tips to keep pets hydrated on hot days, lawn care companies can offer mowing tips for the season, chefs can offer their best recipes to beat the heat, and insurance companies can offer grilling safety advice. 

If you’re interested in promoting a specific product, team up with an influencer who can offer a summer demo of your product. An influencer promoting cleansing shampoo, for example, could shoot a before and after video to show how well the product removes build-up from chlorine-drenched locks. 

Host a summer giveaway

If your products have a summer vibe, consider giving one (or a bundle of them) away through a social media contest or giveaway. Here’s a simple giveaway for outdoor furniture, but you can give away just about anything. If your customers use your product in summer, you can create a summer giveaway. 

The idea works for service-based companies too. A cleaning company can give away a full house cleaning for customers hosting a Fourth of July bash or a personal trainer can give away three free sessions to help followers tone up for swimsuit season. 

Ask summer-themed questions on social

Drive engagement on social media by asking fun summer-focused questions. Of course, they should be tied to your brand. A makeup brand can ask followers to share their favorite beach looks, a restaurant can ask fans about their go-to summer recipes, and an RV dealership can ask campers about their favorite spots to visit in the hot summer months. 

You can ask followers to answer your questions with a simple comment or ask them to share a picture or vote in a poll. 

‘Caption this’ posts

Snap a photo and ask your followers to give it a caption. These posts usually have an odd or eye-catching photo and little to no explanation. For example, this ‘caption this’ post has a fun snap of a dog, but you can share a picture from the company barbeque or quirky summer-themed product shots.

Think about summer holidays

Consider creating content for Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. You can do a simple social graphic to celebrate or launch holiday-themed contests or discounts. 

Remember, there are other lesser-known summer holidays you can explore too. For example, May 19 is Pizza Party Day, a perfect holiday for pizza shops. June 4 is Hug Your Cat Day, great for veterinary clinics or pet brands. June 12 is Red Rose Day, ideal for florists. July 9 is Sugar Cookie Day, perfect for local bakeries.

Look at this list of obscure holidays and see which ones pertain to your brand.

As the mercury rises, it’s time to make summer content plans. Use these ideas as inspiration for your next social media campaign, blog article, or video.