What To Do At Year-End
With December in full swing and the holidays coming up around the bend, it is time to consider year-end. There are things that are part of most business year-ends, like accounting, and financials, but there are some things that get forgotten. Maybe we’re a bit biased, but we think that it’s very important to consider your digital marketing strategy during your year-end review. We know that digital marketing is a big umbrella holding a lot of things underneath it, so we’re going to break it down to the four things that you should be looking at for the first year of the next decade.
Social Media
Take this time to look at your social media. What were you proud of? What do you need to alter? If you had an amazing year of growth on one platform, do you build on that success, or start putting some effort towards another? Or perhaps it’s time to focus your efforts on one social media platform and grow it with a strategy of organic and paid growth.
Pro-Tip: Consider your strengths when deciding on your social media strategy and platforms. If you’re a great photographer, consider Instagram. If you love being in front of a camera, take advantage of Facebook Live, or even TikTok.
Paid Advertising
Speaking of paid growth; social media for businesses and Facebook specifically, have become very dependent on paid advertising. Once upon a time, it was very easy for businesses to grow their following organically. Those days are gone. While it’s possible to build your following organically, you also need to consider how it will affect your return on investment (ROI) and your return on effort (ROE).
Pro-Tip: Right now, nearly 25% of small businesses are not using paid advertising options on Facebook. Take advantage of this now and get your business in front of as many eyes as possible!
Email Marketing
The behemoth of email marketing has made its return. Dormant for some time, the results of a well-crafted email marketing plan has come back full circle and is an important part of every business digital marketing plan. Start your plan for newsletters and email blasts, and build your email list. Your leads and sales will thank you.
Pro-Tip: Start building your email list now. If something happens to Facebook or Instagram or even LinkedIn, you could lose all those contacts you made. By getting their email address and moving that relationship off of social media, you don’t risk losing that contact.
Website
If you have a website, you need to remember that it is a living and breathing entity. It needs to grow and change in order to keep delivering value to you. Use it to sell, use it to gather email addresses, and use it to build goodwill with your audience. Reviewing your website strategy and making sure it’s still in line with your company’s goals should be done at least once a year. If you don’t have a website, you need to get one as soon as possible.
Pro-Tip: Review your website at least once a year with your marketing department, or digital marketing agency. Make sure that the goals you set as a company are part of the layout of your website. If your company goals change, your website should reflect that, too.