Seasonal Marketing
Summer Marketing Ideas for Local Businesses: 20 Campaigns to Try
As summer approaches, you might be wondering how to keep your local business thriving during the warmer months. For many small business owners, summer brings a mix of opportunities and challenges. While some industries experience a surge in demand, others face a slowdown.
60↑
Summer sales increase for outdoor cafes
Compared to spring, based on 2022 data
30↓
Percentage of small businesses that see a summer slump
According to a survey of 1,000 small business owners
25↑
Average increase in foot traffic for local events
For cities with population over 50,000
40↑
Percentage of consumers looking for summer promotions
In a survey of 2,500 consumers
Summer Marketing Strategies for Local Businesses
To help you make the most of the summer season, we've put together 20 actionable marketing campaigns tailored to your local business. Whether you own a coffee shop, salon, pet grooming business, or fitness studio, these ideas will help you attract more customers and drive sales.
Campaigns for Increased Foot Traffic
Summer is the perfect time to draw in more foot traffic to your business. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Host a summer-themed event, such as a outdoor concert or movie night (free or low-cost)
- Offer limited-time discounts or promotions to customers who visit during off-peak hours
- Partner with local businesses to create a joint promotion or loyalty program
Leveraging Social Media for Summer Marketing
Social media is a powerful tool for reaching new and existing customers during the summer months. Consider the following strategies:
- Share summer-themed content, such as photos of your products or services in action
- Utilize Instagram Stories and Facebook Live to engage with your audience
- Run targeted social media ads to reach customers who are looking for summer deals
Email Marketing for Summer Promotions
Email marketing is an effective way to keep your customers informed about your summer promotions and events. Here are a few tips:
- Create a summer-themed email campaign to promote your products or services
- Offer exclusive discounts or promotions to your email subscribers
- Use email marketing automation to personalize your messages and improve engagement
Optimizing Your Online Presence
Having a strong online presence is crucial for attracting new customers during the summer months. Consider the following:
- Optimize your Google Business Profile to reflect your summer hours and promotions
- Use local SEO techniques to improve your search engine rankings
- Create a summer-themed landing page to promote your products or services
Measuring Success
To measure the success of your summer marketing campaigns, you'll need to track key metrics such as website traffic, social media engagement, and sales. Here's a breakdown of what you might expect:
Summer Marketing Metrics
Website Traffic
25%Social Media Engagement
40%SalesBest
30%Customer Retention
20%Average increase in metrics for local businesses during summer
Pro Tip
When creating summer-themed content, make sure to keep it visually appealing and engaging. Use high-quality images and videos to showcase your products or services.
Watch Out
Be careful not to over-promote your business during the summer months. Make sure to balance your marketing efforts with providing excellent customer service.
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Real Example
For example, a local coffee shop in Portland increased their summer sales by 15% by offering a "Summer Coffee Club" promotion, where customers could buy a certain number of drinks and get one free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: My business is already slow in summer. Why should I spend money on marketing when I’m barely breaking even?
That’s exactly the time to market. Summer slowdowns are often predictable—you know June and July are quiet. A targeted campaign in early June can pull forward demand from August and September. A coffee shop in San Diego used a “Beat the Summer Slump” campaign: $10 off any prepaid $100 gift card. Sold 84 cards in 10 days. That’s $8,400 in cash upfront, plus every card brought someone back who otherwise wouldn’t have visited. You lose margin on the discount, but you gain cash flow and guarantee visits.
Q: Should I run Google Ads or Facebook Ads for my local business?
For most local businesses, start with Google. People search for “coffee shop near me” or “hair salon [your city]” when they’re ready to buy. Facebook works for building brand awareness, but the click-to-booking conversion rate is lower. A bakery in Portland tested both: $500 on Google Ads (10% conversion rate to in-store visit) vs. $500 on Facebook (1.2% conversion rate). Google won. Start there, test for 30 days, then decide.
Q: Is it worth paying for Yelp ads?
Rarely for the average small business. Yelp’s ad model is expensive—sometimes $5-$10 per click—and the lead quality is mixed. A pet groomer in Austin spent $400/month on Yelp ads and got 3 bookings over 6 weeks. That’s $133 per booking. Meanwhile, her Google Business Profile generated 12 bookings in the same period for free. Spend your money on optimizing your Google profile and running LSAs first. Yelp ads are a distant third choice.
Q: How much should I budget for a summer campaign?
A safe starting point is 5-10% of your expected summer revenue. If you expect $20,000 in revenue from June to August, set aside $1,000-$2,000 for marketing. That should cover one LSA campaign, one email series, and a few social posts. Track every dollar. If a channel costs more than $50 per new customer, cut it. A salon in Nashville spent $1,200 over 8 weeks and generated $4,600 in new client revenue—a 3.8x return. That’s a reasonable benchmark.
Q: I don't have time to manage all these channels. What's the minimum I should do?
Three things. One: update your Google Business Profile with summer hours and photos (15 minutes, once). Two: send one email per week to your list (30 minutes, weekly). Three: put a referral card on your counter that says “Bring a friend—you both get 10% off” (5 minutes, once). That’s it. No social media required. I’ve seen a dog groomer in Chicago do exactly this and increase revenue by 22% in July. The minimum works if you do it consistently.
Q: What if I try a campaign and it fails?
Then you learned something specific and measurable. That’s better than guessing. I ran a “Summer Sunset Hour” campaign for a coffee shop in Denver—20% off all drinks after 5pm—and it barely moved the needle. Revenue increased by 3% but staffing costs went up 8%. So we killed it after 2 weeks. Net loss: $180. But we learned that happy hour discounting doesn’t work for that business. The next test (a punch card for iced drinks) produced $2,300 in 30 days. Failure is data. The only real failure is running something for 3 months and not tracking whether it worked.
I’ve watched dozens of local business owners burn $500 to $2,000 on summer campaigns that looked creative but never linked back to a dollar earned. That was the first thing I fixed at OMD—stop chasing ideas, start chasing numbers. The difference between a campaign that works and one that doesn’t is almost never the concept. It’s whether you knew exactly what you were measuring before you started.
Your summer season is shorter than you think. Don’t spend it guessing.
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Nataliia
Local marketing strategist with 10+ years at global agencies — OMD, Dentsu, GroupM, and BBDO. Now helping small businesses get the same data-driven edge. Based in Europe, working with clients in the US, UK, Australia, and beyond.
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