Even though here in Boston we were hit with yet another snowstorm yesterday, that doesn’t change the fact that today is the first day of Spring and soon (well, hopefully soon), The snow will all melt away, the weather will warm up and we will see green once again. This morning I was mulling over all the things I’m excited to do in the warm weather as I was scrolling through Twitter, and I thought, “Is social media seasonal?”
To elaborate a little, I wondered what sort of user activity changes you see in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like as the seasons change. Exactly how big of a factor is the weather?
As personal users it’s probably not something we think about too often, in the winter we’re stuck indoors and have a lot more time for online activity, in the warmer months we’re outside and more engaged in social events and may not be posting and reading as much, either way life goes on.
But as a brand how do you adjust your social media strategy to keep up with the changing seasons? Obviously you want to keep your audience engaged year round, so what do you do to tailor your social media platform to the changing schedules the come with changing seasons?
Here’s a hint: mobile, mobile and mobile. If your content is available on the go then it is much more likely to be seen by your audience. But this is 
not exactly breaking news. I think the real key to seasonal social media is how you change up the content. If you write a blog, make shorter, more succinct posts in warmer months, and focus on what might be the meatier topics in the cold months. As far as Facebook and Twitter are concerned, make your posts coincide with what your audience is doing during that season. For example, if you’re a PR agency, during the colder months focus on posts like interesting articles to read or start your own twitter chat. In the warmer months share with your audience different events and activities around your city that pertain to your industry.
The important thing to remember for your social media strategy is that engagement is always priority number one. That means no matter what the season is you have to find ways to adjust to what your audience wants to see.