As we continue to stuff our faces with leftover holiday treats, in the backs of our minds, we know it’s almost time to swear off the junk food and tell everyone that we are going to go the gym.
But after a week or two, we miss a day at the gym, then stop going altogether.
Such is the way of most New Year’s resolutions or at least personal ones.
But your marketing New Year’s resolutions don’t need to be so fleeting.
Are your marketing efforts feeling stale? Does your brand need a facelift?
The New Year is as good a time as any to revamp your marketing efforts with a few resolutions that you’ll actually stick to. Pick any one, or maybe even two, of these resolutions and watch how it transforms your marketing in 2016.
Create (Or Reevaluate) Your Content Schedule and Content Strategy
Because you’re reading this, I assume you have some sort of content marketing system in place. But do you have a purpose for this content that you’re producing? Do you have goals? This is key for successful content marketing. But what is successful content marketing? It is content that achieves goals that you and your brand define. It generates interest in your brand and sets up your brand as a thought leader. If you just have a blog for the sole purpose of saying you have one, then you are missing the real purpose of content marketing.
The first step you need to take is to sit down with the stakeholders and figure out a list of goals with them. Figure out who you are trying to write to, a new audience or an existing audience.
Before you do anything else though, you need to figure out the makeup of your audience. Who is reading your content and, more importantly, who you want reading your content? When? What do they need? What do they fear? Can your product help them with any of those fears? If you answer yes to any of these questions you are well on your way to having an actual content strategy!
These questions are identifying holes in that you can fill with content. If no one is is talking about a want or need that you’ve identified, then it is the place where you have an opportunity to be a thought leader.
Now this is great for a start, but there is definitely a lot more to it. If you want to get more in depth, I suggest looking into the post done by my colleague on this subject.
Create a Team of Brand Ambassadors
Most companies’ marketing efforts overlook the company’s most valuable asset, its employees.
These are the people that are not only just familiar with your brand, but are working within it each and every day. First, you make your employees happy, then you encourage them to promote the brand through their own channels. This comes through sharing your content, creating your content and creating a rewards system for your most engaged employees.
I wrote an article about this recently if you want more details.
Launch New Training Initiatives
This is a similar idea to the one previously mentioned. Consider finding short courses that you can have your staff participate in to update their skills or develop new ones. It is good for both your business and your employees to start training programs in the New Year. The new skills will make your company better and give your employees the pleasure of adding a shiny, new, certified skill to their resume. This will make them more valuable and satisfied employees. What more could you ask for?
Consider Rebranding
Is something just not right at your business? Are you losing money, customers or both? If you answer yes to any of these statements, you might want to consider starting the New Year with a new brand. This list was pulled from this article, which goes into these in much greater detail. A few of these points also came from here. If you’re considering rebranding I definitely recommend checking out these resources.
- You’ve expanded beyond what you were
- You’ve changed locations
- A product or service you’re selling is taking over the whole business
- Your brand name or product is too close to a trademarked company’s
- People don’t know who you are or what you do
- Your brand is boring
- You share your name with someone or something now considered negative
- Your focus has shifted
- Your website sucks
- Your website doesn’t reflect your business
- You brand is stifling your business
The links above will give you all the resources you need to decide if you need a rebrand and then some actionable steps to take if a rebrand is right for you.
Take Advantage of New Channels
There are Linkedin and Twitter, the most common channels for broadcasting B2B content. But what happens when that’s not enough?
There are countless more mediums that you can use to send out your content. I found a really comprehensive list here, which included some of the following channels:
- Amazon (ebooks and the like)
- Press releases
- Wearables
- Blimps
You can pay for the expanded version or simply use this sheet as a guide for your own spreadsheet. And while a blimp may be a bit much for your brand, the spreadsheet lists a multitude of more approachable channels. Either way, the New Year isn’t a bad time to start distributing your content through new channels.
Switch Up the Format of Your Content
There are countless different types of content out there, but most businesses only use text-based ones. Why? Obviously text is the simplest content to produce, all it requires is a word processor. But there are many other options for those who want to add a little oomph to their content, including: videos, images, infographics, presentations and even memes. Utilized correctly, you can add humor, color or information to your content marketing strategy. This article has more info.
These resolutions are sure to breathe new life into your business for the new year. Make sure to write out a plan for these efforts, so you have a guide to go off of if something goes astray. And remember, you can only complete those resolutions that you start.
What changes are you making in the new year? Tell us about it!
