Lizzy Leer 
Every summer, companies and organizations talk themselves into believing their audience has logged off.
Between vacation PTO, holiday weekends, and lighter workloads, it’s easy to assume people are paying less attention. I’m here to argue that it’s not the full story: people are still scrolling, commenting, sharing, and consuming content all summer long. They’re just doing it differently.
So why do so many brands treat summer like an off-season?
Many companies make the decision to pull back between Memorial Day and Labor Day. They post less, plan less, and assume their audience is less engaged. When September rolls around, you don’t want to be stuck trying to rebuild the momentum you ended May with.
Summer doesn’t have to mean a slump. Rethinking the summer slowdown and turning it into a strategic building period is the best way to get ahead come fall.
The Lesson I Learned During Summer Recess
When I worked on Capitol Hill, people assumed August recess was downtime — legislators were back in their districts and staffers enjoyed a few weeks of dress down days and congressional lull. That’s not what actually happened.
In many ways, summer, specifically August recess, was one of the busiest stretches of the year from a digital perspective. With Congress out of session, I had more opportunities to tell stories that often got pushed aside during the legislative calendar: constituent visits, district events, behind-the-scenes moments, and the work happening outside of Washington.
Some of our strongest-performing content came during those weeks. I was able to really focus on storytelling. Some of my favorite summer projects included an August recess recap, a Roe v. Wade reaction compilation, and the impact of one year of the Inflation Reduction Act.
While we weren’t necessarily posting more, we were being more thoughtful and intentional about what we shared.
Adjust Your Content for the Season
People consume content differently in the summer. Attention spans are shorter, schedules are less structured, and feeds are filled with vacation photos, trends, and lighter content.
Summer means adjusting your approach to content.
- Lean into visual storytelling.
- Experiment with shorter videos.
- Look for opportunities to show more personality.
- Share summer recaps from team members or organization leaders.
- Post about the company’s seasonal outings, like attending a Phillies Game, a parade, or an outdoor happy hour.
Summer is a great time to show the people behind your organization. Audiences respond to authenticity year-round, but this season tends to reward content that feels a little more human.
Solve the PTO Problem
Summer = vacation time, and while time off is important and well-earned, your content strategy shouldn’t disappear along with your team. Creating content ahead of time, building a bank of evergreen posts, and scheduling posts in advance will keep your brand visible while team members, or you, are out of office. Staying visible doesn’t require working harder over the summer, just planning further ahead.
Use the Quiet Time to Build
Even if your industry slows down during the summer, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Some of the smartest communications teams use slower months to tackle projects that get pushed aside during busier seasons: reviewing performance data, refining strategy, testing new content formats, or creating assets for the fall.
By the time September arrives, these organizations are multiple steps ahead of those that didn’t capitalize on the summer slow down.
Make Summer Part of Your Strategy
The companies that carry momentum into the fall are usually the ones that stayed consistent throughout the summer. Rather than putting your strategy on hold, use the slower pace to strengthen it, and keep showing up while your audience is still scrolling. When September arrives, you’ll be building on a foundation instead of starting from scratch.
So take the vacation you’ve earned this summer. Just make sure your brand doesn’t take one too.
Posted In Digital Strategy & Social Media