Engaging with Teens Before Summer Break: PIO Strategies that Work

Summer break represents a significant shift in the lives of teenagers. The structured environment of school disappears, replaced by looser schedules, different social interactions, and new activities. This shift presents a challenge for Public Information Officers (PIOs) and government communicators. Established lines of communication through schools often go quiet. Yet, the need to share relevant agency information – about safety, opportunities, and resources – persists and, arguably, increases.

The period just before school lets out is a key window. It’s your best chance to connect with teens before their routines change drastically. Engaging with teens proactively during late spring allows you to equip them with information they can use throughout the summer months. Engagement isn’t just about pushing out messages; it’s about understanding how teens consume information today and tailoring your approach to reach them. The communication landscape is constantly changing, dominated by digital platforms and a demand for authenticity. This article outlines practical strategies that work for PIOs aiming to connect with teens before the summer break begins.

Timing your outreach is effective. Focusing significant effort on engaging with teens in the weeks before summer vacation offers several advantages:

• Access Through Schools: You can access established communication channels while the school is in session. Think of school announcements, email lists that reach students or parents, digital bulletin boards, social media accounts, and even posters in hallways. Guidance counselors and teachers can also be valuable allies in distributing information. This access largely disappears once summer starts.
• Anticipatory Guidance: Pre-summer is the ideal time to provide information that helps teens prepare for potential summer situations. You can address topics before they become immediate issues. This includes:
  • Safety Preparedness: Warnings about increased risks associated with summer activities like swimming, driving, large gatherings, or online interactions.
  • Opportunity Awareness: Details on summer job fairs, deadlines for program applications (internships, volunteer roles), schedules for library events, or sign-ups for park district activities.
  • Resource Knowledge: Information on how to access support services available during the summer, such as mental health text lines, cooling center locations during heat waves, or youth services directories.
• Relevance and Receptiveness: As summer approaches, teens actively consider their plans, jobs, and social lives. Information related to summer feels more relevant and valuable during this planning phase compared to other times of the year. They might be more receptive to messages about summer safety or opportunities during the imminent break.
• Difficulty of Summer Outreach: Once school ends, teens scatter. Some travel work irregular hours, and others disconnect more from official information channels. Launching a new awareness campaign mid-July is much harder than leveraging existing connections in May or early June.

To effectively reach teens, you first need to understand how they communicate and what they value. Today’s teenagers are digital natives who navigate online spaces fluidly.

They grew up with smartphones and social media. These aren’t just tools; they are integrated parts of their social lives and primary sources of information. Blanket assumptions don’t work, but some general trends hold:

• Platform Preferences: While platforms evolve, recent data (like Pew Research Center findings from late 2024/early 2025) consistently highlights heavy usage of visually oriented platforms. TikTok, YouTube (especially Shorts), and Instagram dominate screen time for many teens. They consume vast amounts of short-form video content daily. Messaging apps like Snapchat and Discord are also central for peer-to-peer and group communication. Knowing which platforms are most popular locally helps focus your efforts.
• Information Consumption: Teens often prefer quick, easily digestible information. Long blocks of text or formal presentations are less likely to hold their attention than short videos, engaging visuals, or interactive content. They value authenticity and can be skeptical of overly polished or corporate-feeling messages. Peer influence is strong; they often trust recommendations from friends or relatable online creators more than institutional sources.
• Values and Interests: While diverse, many teens show interest in social connection, fairness, authenticity, and finding new experiences. They also express concern about mental health, climate change, and social justice issues. Aligning your agency’s messages with these underlying values, where appropriate, can increase resonance. For instance, framing summer volunteer opportunities around community impact might be more effective than just listing tasks.

You need to meet teens in the digital spaces they already inhabit. Relying solely on website updates or traditional media is insufficient.

• Choose Platforms Strategically: You likely don’t have the resources to master every platform. Identify the 1-2 platforms where teens spend the most time in your community. Is it Instagram? TikTok? A local school’s preferred communication app? Focus your energy there. Adapt your content to the specific platform’s norms and best practices.
• Embrace Short-Form Video: This format is dominant for teen audiences. It’s ideal for quick information delivery, tutorials, and behind-the-scenes glimpses. Keep videos concise and engaging from the first second, and consider using platform-native features like trending sounds or effects (use careful judgment to ensure appropriateness). Examples of PIO video content:
  • A 15-second reminder on bike helmet laws or PFD requirements for boating.
  • Quick “myth vs. fact” about summer curfews or local park rules.
  • A fast-paced visual tour of a new skate park or community center program.
  • Brief interviews with teens working in city summer jobs last year.
  • Step-by-step visual guide on how to apply for a youth program online.
• Think Beyond Video: Use Instagram Stories for polls (“What are your summer plans?”), Q&A sessions (“Ask us about pool safety rules”) or quizzes related to your information. Create simple, visually appealing graphics for key dates or safety tips that are easily shareable. Ensure any links you share direct teens to mobile-friendly web pages with clear, concise information.
• Engage, Don’t Just Broadcast: Social media is interactive. Monitor comments and messages (and have a plan for responding appropriately and promptly). Run polls related to summer activities. Ask questions to spark conversation. Showing that your agency is listening and responding builds trust.

How you say something matters as much as what you say. Teens value straightforward communication and can easily detect insincerity.

• Eliminate Jargon: Government and agency language often contains acronyms and technical terms. Translate these into plain language. Instead of “inter-agency collaboration,” say “groups working together.” Instead of “resource utilization,” say “using the help/program.” Write clearly.
• Adopt a Direct, Helpful Tone: Write like a knowledgeable, approachable person, not an impersonal bureaucracy. Use ‘you’ and ‘your’ to address the reader directly. Be helpful and informative without being condescending or overly enthusiastic. Keep sentences and paragraphs relatively short.
• Prioritize Authenticity: Overly slick, corporate-style productions can feel distant or untrustworthy to teens. Sometimes, simple, direct-to-camera videos or user-generated-style content feels more genuine. “Trust is built through consistent honesty,” advises [fictional expert] Dr. Maria Flores, a youth development consultant. “When communicating with young people, especially from a government position, transparency isn’t optional; it’s fundamental.” Being honest about risks, clear about opportunities, and straightforward in your delivery builds that trust.
• Use Trends Cautiously: Attempting to use teen slang or jump on every viral meme can easily backfire if it feels forced or misunderstands the context. It can damage credibility quickly. If you use trends, ensure they genuinely fit the message and are executed well. When in doubt, stick to clear, authentic communication in your agency’s voice.

Generic public service announcements often get ignored. Your content needs to connect directly with what’s on teens’ minds as summer approaches. Tailor your messages.

Consider focusing pre-summer outreach on these relevant areas:

• Safety Information:
  • Driving: Risks of distraction, impaired driving, the importance of seatbelts, rules around passengers for new drivers.
  • Water: Pool safety rules, dangers of unsupervised swimming in lakes/rivers/ocean, life jacket use (PFDs).
  • Social Events: Staying safe at parties, consent, risks of underage drinking or drug use.
  • Online: Protecting personal information, recognizing online scams, dealing with cyberbullying.
  • Environmental: Sun protection, hydration and heat safety, fireworks safety (especially if near July 4th).
• Summer Opportunities:
  • Jobs/Internships: Listings for local government or park district jobs, links to community job boards, information on getting working papers, and internship program deadlines.
  • Volunteering: Opportunities with local nonprofits, animal shelters, community gardens, or city events.
  • Programs/Events: Library summer reading challenges, free concerts or movies in the park, youth center activity schedules, and sports league sign-ups.
• Access to Resources:
  • Mental Health: Reminders about available hotlines, text lines, or online counseling resources accessible during the summer.
  • Community Support: Locations of cooling centers, food bank information, and youth services directories.
• Civic Engagement (for older teens):
  • Information on voter registration deadlines or processes.
  • Applications for youth advisory councils or local government committees.
  • Opportunities for community involvement or advocacy.

You don’t have to reach teens entirely on your own. Collaborating with trusted organizations already connected to youth extends your reach and credibility.

• Schools Are Key (Pre-Break): Work closely with middle and high schools. Provide content for their newsletters, websites, or social media feeds. Offer to give brief presentations during assemblies or relevant classes (like health or driver’s ed). Equip guidance counselors and teachers with flyers or digital resources they can share.
• Community Organizations: Partner with libraries, YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, local recreation centers, and faith-based youth groups. They often run summer programs and have direct lines of communication with teens and their families. Share your materials with them, or explore co-hosting an informational event before school ends.
• Engage Peer Leaders: Identify influential students, members of student government, youth advisory councils, or leaders of school clubs. Please share your information with them and ask for their help spreading the word through their networks. Messages often carry more weight when delivered by a peer. Consider creating a simple toolkit they can use.

While precisely measuring the impact of awareness campaigns on teen behavior is difficult, you can track engagement to see if your outreach is connecting:

• Monitor your social media posts’ views, likes, shares, and comments.
• Track clicks on links you share to program applications or resource pages.
• Note that inquiries were received through specific channels promoted in your campaign.
• Use platform analytics to understand which types of content perform best.

These metrics provide valuable feedback on what resonates and where to adjust your future strategy for engaging with teens.

Summer break is a critical time for teens, filled with new experiences and potential risks. As PIOs, engaging with teens before they leave the structured school environment is a strategic imperative. You can effectively deliver valuable information by understanding their communication habits, being present on their preferred platforms, speaking authentically and clearly, focusing on relevant topics, and leveraging community partnerships. Proactive, thoughtful outreach now helps teens navigate the summer safely and productively while building a bridge of trust between them and your agency. Don’t wait until summer is underway – start planning and implementing these pre-break engagement strategies now.