All signs point to it.

Within the last few weeks, you may have uncovered your grill for the first time in eight or nine months and fired up some New York strips. A little corn on the cob, freshly-sliced watermelon and homemade cherry cobbler rounded out your family’s all-American picnic.

School’s out, so your house is bustling with kids (your own, plus their friends). They’re eager to spend the next few months riding bikes around the neighborhood and chasing lightening bugs in the backyard at night. Day after day, they’ve begged and pleaded to head to the pool – after all, it’s hot outside.

Falling asleep with your windows open last night, you noticed the crickets chirping. But you didn’t mind the noise at all.

And that vacation you’ve been planning for what seems like months is right around the corner. You’re finally doing it: renting that beach house in Maine and passing your days on the shores of the Atlantic.

It’s finally here: Summertime has arrived – and it feels like a new beginning.

The change in season also means a drastic change in consumer behavior. With temperatures on the rise, so is consumer spending. A free eBook (https://vivial.net/what-your-business-needs-this-summer/) is available to dive into these trends and also help SMBs enhance their digital presence based on seasonal trends.

Research shows us that people are online and on their devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.) more during the warmer months of the year. And the data is compelling:

• Mobile usage grows 86% faster
• With 77-degree temperatures, online shopping increases 49%
• Facebook users share photos in summer 24% more than spring, 23% more than winter and 5% more than fall
• Content posted on Facebook mobile grows by 26% and video posts grow by 43%
• 34% of people say they watch more on their smartphones (with cooking videos topping the list)

But that’s not all: Not surprisingly, people are more active during the summer months:

• 48% dine out more
• 50% of homes are sold
• 80% of Americans plan a summer vacation, with an average spend of $941 per person
• Emergency room visits increase 15–27%

This information is intriguing – and important – for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), whether a string of fast casual restaurants, a bed and breakfast, a daycare and boarding facility for four-legged friends or an auto-repair shop that specializes in German cars.

With summer upon us, now is the time to ramp up marketing campaigns and get in front of the flurry of potential customers out and about for the season.

The free eBook (https://vivial.net/what-your-business-needs-this-summer/) is available to help SMBs enhance their digital presence based on seasonal trends.

Designed by Vivial – a marketing technology (Martech) company that offers customer engagement tools to help locally-owned businesses increase their visibility, connect with customers, build loyalty, manage content and track results – this guide supports SMB efforts to rank the highest, trend the hottest and make the biggest splash this season.

Organized into four sections – Summer Stats, Search & Maps, Social Media and Creative Inspiration – the user-friendly and visually-driven online format:

1. Delivers compelling statistics that build the case for stepping up customer engagement and outreach over the next few months
2. Provides practical tips for getting started with Google ads and boosting searchability through paid listings, Google Maps and organic search
3. Offers steps for developing social media profiles
4. Serves up ideas for posts, from popular hashtags to trending topics and themes
5. Includes complimentary resources that are downloadable at the click of a button

To make Google Search approachable and manageable, the eBook offers “3 Things You Can Do Right Now” to fine-tune marketing campaigns and help businesses appear at the top of Google search.

Noting the hefty jump in social media usage when it’s warm, the eBook also includes a dedicated section that equips SMBs with the know-how to leverage profiles on key networks that reach their target customer – and make the most sense for that particular industry. This includes specific guidelines for launching pages that generate activity on Facebook, Google +, Instagram, Pinterest, Yelp, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter, including:

• Creating a profile
• Writing a full bio
• Including photos
• Taking clear action
• Being social on social
• Encouraging reviews
• Paying to boost a profile
• Analyzing to improve

And to prevent those creative juices from drying up, a Social Media Summer Cheat Sheet is chock full of suggestions for posts to help SMBs better share their message and tell their story.

Simple recommendations in one place to help carry locally-owned businesses to Labor Day and beyond.

Because cool things should happen when the weather warms up.

Access Vivial’s free eBook at https://vivial.net/what-your-business-needs-this-summer/

To learn more about how we take the complexity out of digital marketing to help SMBs translate likes and shares to dollars and cents, visit www.vivial.net.