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Welcome to a new year, my fellow small business owners. This post includes some tips about how to plan your new year so you can be prepared for marketing your business with ease in 2023.
Set Your Goals
Before you can create your marketing plan for the new year, you must first determine what your goals are. I encourage you to take some time to really think about this because it’s hard to know which road to take if we don’t know where we are going.
As you are thinking about your goals, you want to make sure they are specific and measurable.
Specific Goals
If your goals aren’t specific, you will lack direction and focus. We are all so busy and time goes by so quickly, that if you don’t attach dates, checklists, timelines, etc. you will have a hard time getting things done.
For example, a few years ago one of my goals was to write a book. I set the goal in January and had the WHOLE year ahead of me to write a book. I already had the idea and the outline ready to go.
But, I never created a specific timeline. I didn’t say that my book would have 40 chapters and that I would write 10 chapters per quarter. I didn’t say that my book would have 100,000 words and that I would write 8,333 words per month. So, guess what happened? The entire year passed, and I didn’t write my book. I didn’t even start it. I never set any SPECIFICS, so it didn’t get done.
Measurable Goals
Another thing to keep in mind as you are setting your goals is that they need to be measurable. I like to compare this to a weight loss journey. So, if you want to lose weight the first thing you do is weigh yourself to see what your current weight is. Then, you look at your goal weight. The difference between the two gives you the number of pounds you want to lose. It gives you a measurable goal.
Setting goals for your business works the same way. Do you want to make more money than you did last year? How much more? How much money did you make last year, and how much more do you want to make this year? Do you want to be more consistent on social media this year? Well, how many times a week did you post last year? How many times per week will you post this year instead?
Make a Plan
Once you have set those specific and measurable goals for yourself and your business, you can proceed with making a plan. If it’s more income you want to make, figure out how many more clients you need to get or product sales you have to make. Then, think about actions you can take to try to meet those goals.
Anytime I help a client create their marketing plan, I almost always recommend a combination of consistent social media, email marketing, and blogging.
Whatever is the right combination and frequency for your business that matches your available budget and time, the most important thing is to set a schedule and be consistent with it. You don’t want to have an email list that only hears from you once a year, nor do you want a social media page or blog that hasn’t been updated regularly over time.
Keeping these things up to date helps you build relationships with your followers, and also helps you build credibility. But, all of these things also take time. As you are making your plan, don’t overschedule yourself or your team. Be consistent, but also realistic.
Keep Track of Everything
Perhaps the most important part of having a marketing plan is keeping track of everything so you can stay on schedule. I was a project manager for over 10 years, and for my business, I use a combination of Trello, AirTable, and Google Calendar.
Different things work for different people, and there are other options out there. Asana and Clickup are two other project management software options that offer similar functions to Trello. Some people prefer to use Google documents or sheets, while others use whiteboards. There isn’t a right or wrong way to do it, as long as the way you choose works for you and your team.
Evaluate and Adjust as Needed
One of my favorite things about having a plan is that it can ALWAYS be adjusted. More often than not, it SHOULD be adjusted along the way. If you find that your initial plan isn’t working for you in some way or another, change it!
Maybe your plan said you were going to publish two blog posts a month and post on social media four times a week, but as the first months pass by you can’t keep up. Adjust your schedule. Remember – consistency is more important than frequency. Quality over quantity, as they say.
It’s also important to keep an eye on various analytics and insights. Whether website statistics offered by Google Analytics, social media insights found in each platform, Facebook Pixel data, data about your email campaigns sent, etc. Whatever data you have access to that you can evaluate, do so. It’s a great way to tell when your followers are online, what posts are popular, what keywords people are searching to find you, how effective your email campaigns are, and more.
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