In keeping with our summer theme, we thought it might do some of the overachievers some good if we called out a few specific ways in which small business can effectively work on brand-building while everyone else is off at the beach.

As we said, summer is the prime time to catch up on experiments that you’ve wanted to try in terms of branding. But what are some specific things you can do to make sure your brand is at its strongest when August comes to a close?

Make An Announcement: While most companies shy away from product releases during the summer (see our previous post), you can take advantage of the silence in the headlines. If you release a product or improve a service (or offer a new one) during the summer, the media will likely take interest, as they haven’t had much else to write about in regards to new products.

Bury Yourself in Research: Most companies spend a large chunk of time in the fall making plans and strategies for how they will attack the following fiscal year. You can take care of this same sort of thing during the summer and stay ahead of the game. Use your summer to conduct customer surveys or any other activities that will help you better gauge your market.

Do Something New: Maybe you haven’t quite got the hang of mobile marketing or have weaknesses in SEO knowledge. Use the summer to buckle down and become a master at them. Mobiel marketing is a great area to start digging deep, as it is getting more popular by the day. If you can spend your summer learning the ins and outs of such a powerful tool, you’ll have an advantage when everyone else starts revving back to normal as summer ends.

As you can see, there are many ways to build you brand during the summer. It just takes some dedication and a bit of extra work. Save the beach for later…it’ll still be there later and the crowds won’t be as bad.