Believe it or not, the holiday season is already sneaking up on us, and less than three months from now, we’ll be welcoming a brand new year. January is the perfect time to launch an updated marketing strategy, but that doesn’t mean you should sit around and do nothing until then – now is the time that you need to start thinking about what your strategy is going to involve in practical terms, and what things you can start doing in the last few weeks of this year to give yourself a head start.
1. Be honest about how this year has been. How is your 2018 marketing coming along? Surely some things have worked even better than you expected, and others not so much. Make a list of everything that went right and everything that went wrong, so that you can clearly see where your attention needs to be focused next time around.
2. Set some goals for the new year. Are you aiming to generate new leads, or would you rather concentrate on developing relationships with current customers? Build your social media and brand following, or establish yourself as an industry expert? If the answer is “all of the above,” recognize that there are only so many hours in a week, and decide where your priorities lie in terms of how much time, effort, and budget you want to allocate to each of your goals.
3. Evaluate your current tools and adjust where necessary. Digital marketing technology progresses at ridiculous speeds – software, plugins, and techniques you started using even just a year ago may be outdated now, and potentially you could find there are newer solutions that better fit your needs. Take some time to read up on the latest tricks and tips, and make sure that your current setup is still the best one to help you reach your targets.
4. Start cleaning up your existing content. How long has it been since you’ve updated or even looked at the “about us” info on your website or social media accounts? Are there tiny nagging problems on your website that you’ve been meaning to fix forever? Is your SEO as good as it could be on your blog? Start making these tweaks now so that you don’t have to waste time on them in the new year.
5. Refine your messaging strategy. How you talk to your audience should be determined by a combination of knowing exactly who your ideal customer is, and how you want to communicate with them. Do you feel your tone is a bit too formal, or too casual? Do your customers respond well, and are you attracting the kind of customers you want? Take some time to analyze your communications and make adjustments where necessary.
Next week, we’ll talk about how to set up your budget for your 2019 marketing, and how to determine just how much you’ll need to set aside to reach your digital marketing goals.
Cogo Interactive is an award-winning digital marketing agency specializing in online marketing strategy, web design, SEO and social media marketing. We work with clients in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC and nationally.
