With the end of the year rapidly approaching, it is important to get your 2024 marketing strategy in top shape so that you go into the holiday season and the new year with a plan in mind. Here are some strategies you can use to finish 2023 strong.
REVIEW YOUR GOALS, PLANS, AND BUDGET FOR 2023
The hallmark of any good marketing strategy begins with a good, long look in the mirror at what you have been doing. Which aspects of your current strategies are working? Which aren’t? It is important to regularly analyze your goals, especially as the year comes to a close. What were you hoping to accomplish this year, and did you accomplish it? If not, what steps can you take to reach your goals next year? Review your plan, adjust it, and ensure that you have the appropriate budget remaining to accomplish it.
UTILIZE SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is a great way to increase a propsect’s awareness of your brand and to drive traffic to your website. It is a way to constantly remind existing and potential customers about your company, your products, and services, so that they have you, your products or services top of mind when they are ready to purchase. Utilize hashtags on social media to reach a wider audience and attract new customers, but limit them to two to three impactful hashtags. It is important to post engaging content regularly, and also to mix up the type of content you post (pictures, videos, text, blog posts, infographics, polls, etc.). If you have the budget for it, many social media ads will allow you to target a specific audience that can draw in new customers based on demographic or location.
UTILIZE EMAIL MARKETING
Email marketing is still one of the best ways to keep your business in the forefront of people’s minds. Your emails will be going directly into the inboxes of people who have already expressed interest in your business and products/services. Be sure to send out a regular newsletter about your company as well as product/service updates, and send special promotional offers that are exclusive to your email subscribers.
EMPLOY SEO STRATEGY – REVIEW YOUR KEY WORDS
Put an SEO strategy near the top of your to do list to help your website stay as high up as possible on search engines. Optimizing your website with strong, relevant Titles and Descriptions for Google search will help your business maintain credibility to existing customers, and attracts new visitors to click through to your website. Be sure to always be updating your website with fresh content, case studies, testimonials, and new products or services. Use Google Analytics to track and follow up and ensure that your marketing strategy is working.
KEEP THE HOLIDAYS IN MIND
With the chaos of the holiday season, it can be a challenging time of year to stay on track with your marketing. However, the holidays can also be an extremely beneficial time to draw in new and existing customers by having content around fun holiday-themed topics, offering end-of-year promotions and/or sales, and making special offers that are only available to blog readers, social media followers, and/or email list subscribers.
DIVERSIFY
Lastly, diversifying your marketing plan with different elements–tracking what works and what doesn’t work–will increase the likelihood of your plan’s overall success. Try different marketing channels and methods, and make note of what had the best success, so that you can adjust your plan accordingly for next year.
REVIEW AND PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR!
Looking back in the last quarter of the year and then forward to the new year will allow you to set your new strategy and stay organized with your marketing initiatives. Creating content and scheduling posts in advance is key so that you can focus on other areas of business during the holidays and beyond. If you’re overwhelmed, think about utilizing an experienced marketing agency, (like MarketShare Communications) to help you come up with a content marketing plan that works best for your business and will help ensure success as you finish out the year.
Busy with end of year business and struggling to find the time to come up with a marketing plan for 2024? Ilene Greene and Ted Polmar and the team at MarketShare Communications can help! Contact us at 973-299-8001 or email: info@marketsharecomm.com.
