Ready, Set, Grow: Must-do marketing tasks before the ball drops
You’ve almost made it to the end of the year. While you have to get through the mad dash of the Holiday season still, it’s the perfect time to set your marketing strategy up for success in the new year. Don't let the ball drop on your marketing efforts! Here are the must-do tasks to tackle before December 31st.
1. Audit your current marketing performance
We’ve talked about this before, but before you can plan where you're going, you need to understand where you've been (the good, bad, and ugly). Take a deep dive into your marketing data from the past year. What campaigns performed well? Which ones fell flat?
Website analytics: Look at traffic sources, bounce rates, popular pages, and conversion rates.
Social media: Analyze engagement, reach, and follower growth across all platforms.
Email marketing: Review open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates for your campaigns.
Content performance: Identify your top-performing blog posts, videos, and other content pieces.
Understanding your successes and failures will help you optimize your future strategies.
2. Update your customer personas
Are you still marketing to the same ideal customer you defined a year ago? Your audience evolves, and so should your personas. Revisit your customer profiles to ensure they accurately reflect who you're trying to reach.
Demographics: Have there been shifts in age, location, or income?
Psychographics: Have their pain points, goals, or buying behaviors changed?
Feedback: Incorporate any new customer feedback you've received throughout the year.
Accurate personas are the foundation of effective, targeted marketing.
3. Refresh your content calendar
A well-planned content calendar is your roadmap to consistent and valuable communication. Before the new year begins, sketch out your key themes, topics, and content formats for at least the first quarter.
Key dates: Mark down holidays, industry events, and product launches.
Pillar content: Identify big topics that you can create multiple pieces of content around.
Repurposing opportunities: Think about how you can transform existing content into new formats (e.g., a blog post into an infographic or video).
A proactive approach to content creation will save you time and stress in the long run.
4. Optimize your SEO and GEO strategies
Search engine optimization is an ongoing process, and the end of the year is an excellent time for a tune-up. And now you also have Generative engine optimization to factor in based on AI search functionality.
Keyword Research: Are there new keywords and/or questions gaining traction in your industry? Are your current keywords and questions still relevant?
Technical SEO: Check for broken links, optimize image alt text, and ensure your site is mobile-friendly.
Local SEO: If you have a local business, update your Google My Business profile and encourage new reviews.
GEO content: Is your website and social media content set up for more of a Q&A feel so generative AI can discover?
Improving your SEO and GEO now will help you rank higher and attract more organic traffic in the new year.
5. Plan your budget and goals
Now that you have insights into your performance and a refreshed strategy, it's time to solidify your marketing budget and set clear, measurable goals for the coming year.
Allocate resources: Based on your audit, where should you invest more or less?
SMART goals: Ensure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
KPIs: Define the Key Performance Indicators that will help you track your progress towards those goals.
A well-defined budget and ambitious yet realistic goals will provide the framework for your marketing success.
6. Schedule your social media content
While your content calendar outlines themes, it's also smart to pre-schedule some of your foundational social media content for the first few weeks of the new year. This gives you a buffer and ensures you hit the ground running.
Evergreen content: Schedule posts that are always relevant.
New year greetings: Prepare messages to welcome the new year.
Promotional content: Plan any early-year promotions or announcements.
The end of the year can feel hectic, but dedicating time to these marketing tasks will help you in the long run. Not sure where to start? Book a free consultation with me and we’ll get you set up on the right track.