We would all agree that summer just isn’t happening this year.

True, the sun made an unexpected and vigorous appearance in early spring and gave some cause for hope.

At least we can keep our fingers crossed for an Indian summer!

However, the bad weather is good news in that it means less outdoor distractions. Let’s be honest, when the sun’s out and the temperature’s high, the allure of finishing work just that little bit earlier than normal can be very tempting.

No chance of that so far this summer!

So here’s some quick tips (some more serious than others) to help you maximise the wet weather opportunities, so that being in the office needn’t seem quite so bad. Instead, the non-summer of 2012 could be one that stays long in the memory for all the right reasons.

You could spend time on the following:

1. Search the internet and look for useful and relevant sites, online directories, etc, that might be a useful source of future information/contacts. Register on them if need be.
2.  Take time to get in touch with old business associates. Who knows how a quick natter might develop.
3. Decorate the office and bring the sunshine in!
4. Try and develop a relationship with your local media contacts. Give the editor of your local newspaper a call and see if there are any future opportunities for you to provide comment, industry insight, tackle hot topics, etc.
5. Do all the filing you never have time for!
6. Look at your social media output.  Are you being seen in the right places? Remember, quality over quantity every time.
7. Think about what’s newsworthy within your organisation, such as new staff, business expansion, work anniversaries, etc. Is it worth shouting about? If it’s blatantly just an advert and of no real interest to the outside world then it’s probably best kept just as advertising.
8. Study the competition. What are your competitors up and are they doing things that you can learn from? Remember that knowledge is power.
9. Take stock. Spend some useful time reviewing your marketing activities so far this year. What was successful and what didn’t work out quite right. Feed this information through and start integrating it into your plans for next year.
10. Contact Red Marlin to help develop your communication and strategy development!