On the twelfth day of Christmas, the experts at M3M Marketing gave to you…
Stocking stuffer marketing tips to take you into the New Year.
Surviving and thriving in the holiday season as a business can take up a lot of time and energy. In the flurry of creating sparkly marketing campaigns, holiday discounts and warm and fuzzy content for your audience members to enjoy, it’s easy to forget that the holiday season eventually… ends.
As 2022 counts down, a whole new year is almost upon us, and now is the time to decide what you’re going to do with it.
Here are some tips to get you going or to help you keep up your momentum well into 2023.
Marketing Plans: To get you on track
We talk about them all the time, and there’s a good reason for that. Marketing plans will help you gain direction. They are a living document of a strategic roadmap that you can use to organize, track and executive your marketing efforts. By putting your ideas into a plan, you’re able to really think through how each idea or campaign will aid you in achieving your organization’s overarching goals.
Not ready for a full robust plan? No problem. Start by jotting down one goal – what do you hope to accomplish in 2023? – and then planning to action and execute it. Before you know it, you’ll have the framework in place to build and add-on to.
Looking for more detail? Want help creating a plan? Connect with the M3M Marketing team today.
SMART Goals: Lead to success
As you think through your marketing plan or next campaign, have a clear SMART goal in mind. These goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bounded. At M3M, we believe smart goal setting is the backbone of an effective marketing strategy.
When you have goals, you can more effectively pull measurements and do temperature checks throughout your campaigns. What’s working and what needs a little adjustment? Goals help us communicate to our audience with purpose and push our business to success.
If you can’t measure success, you simply won’t know if your marketing strategies are working. If they aren’t working, own it, change direction, hit reset and dream up another SMART goal.
Brand Voice and Tone: Why it matters
Creating meaningful connections is what helps a business be successful. Through a determined brand voice and tone, your audience can get to know and understand you. Deciding on your brand voice will allow you to have a little fun as well. Spend some time and think about your target market personas – who are the people you want to communicate with? Give them a name. What are the key messages you want to share? In plain terms, tell them what you’re going to do for them. Use examples and testimonials to drive home your messages. You can’t stand out from the crowd if you’re using the same voice and tone as your competitors, so don’t be afraid to get creative. Capitalize on your passion for your business and what makes you unique.
Who’s Your Audience: Hint… it’s not everyone
Have you ever heard the expression, if you’re talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one? Well, we couldn’t agree more. Your business is unique, and so too are your audience members.
Be highly specific when you’re categorizing your target audience. Do research ahead of time and clearly define personality traits, buying behaviours and key messages. The more zoned in you are as a business owner, the better you can understand how and where to reach your ideal clients, customers or stakeholders in your marketing strategy.
If you’re not sure of your target audience, connect with the M3M Marketing team today. We’d be happy to assist.
Partner up in 2023: Mutually beneficial relationships
Partnerships make the world go round. In 2023, it’s all about lifting each other up. Collaboration with other local businesses, artists or entrepreneurs can extend your marketing reach and help build your business’ reputation.Partnership marketing can help you get your services or products in front of the right audience, raise awareness and gain traction. Consider all the different partnerships you could build – here are some examples:
- Co-host a podcast or webinar
- Support a charity or fundraising event
- Team up with a local influencer
- Build a collab with a related business
And the list could go on and on.
Running a business and breaking into the digital marketing space can be hard, so who says you have to go in alone?
Optimization and Accessibility: Say it with us
At the forefront of your marketing strategy as you’re coming up with your SMART goals and marketing campaigns, should be mobile optimization and accessibility.
More and more audience members are viewing your content on their cell phones or tablets – make sure the hard work you’ve put into your graphics and text is not getting cut off for your audience members. You can optimize your graphic design by using square templates rather than rectangles. Think about each platform, do some scrolling, and take notice of which posts are gaining reach.
You can also begin to make your content more accessible to a larger target market by using descriptive text for links, turning on captions for videos, and always adding text alternatives for images. Why limit your exposure and audience?
Happy Holidays from M3M Marketing!
We wish you happiness, health, and high engagement levels in 2023.
Danielle Smith (She/Her), Content Creator – Blog Writer
Danielle has spent most of her career focused on creating content for various organizations. She has managed marketing projects for the public sector, post-secondary education, and small businesses since 2015.
Mariah Braun (She/Her), M3M Marketing Owner, Director of Business Development & Content Creator – Blog Editor
Mariah, the Owner of M3M Marketing, has spent most of her career focused on creating content for various organizations. She has managed marketing projects for the public sector, post-secondary education, and small businesses since 2015.