Creating Killer Content in the New Year Begins Now
November 26, 2019
Stuck deciding upon meaningful New Year’s resolutions for your business? Or maybe you never thought about setting resolutions for your business. Either way, you’ll want to make sure that “Improve my content marketing” is on your list for 2020. Listen: You MAY already have excellent content marketing—but there’s always room for improvement, right? From a fresh take on an old idea to utilizing new tools, it’ll be easy to crush this goal once you get started. And the best way to set yourself up for success in this resolution is by starting now. Yes, it’s November. But putting together a great plan for killer content before the calendar flips to January (which, honestly, will come more quickly than you think) is going to help you achieve this goal. Here are some tips to help outline a strong plan for 2020!
- Determine your goals
Every single decent marketing plan that ever existed began with goals. With a plan. Why are you producing content? Who are you trying to reach? When do you want to capture their attention? How many different audiences to you have? Write all of this information down and keep it in mind as you plan and determine goals for the New Year.
- Put together a calendar
Putting together a calendar for your content marketing will help keep you on track of it all. And whether your budget is really big or really small, there will be a LOT to keep track of. A calendar can outline what content should be created when so it’s not a mad dash every week to generate something new. Also, a calendar will help you set a realistic timeline for your content and help you acknowledge how long it’ll take to put it together. Finally, a calendar helps you work ahead. Select an online calendar that fits your needs—and the needs of your team.
- Brainstorm ideas now
When you’re putting together your calendar, make sure brainstorm ideas with your team. What content themes will connect with your brand in 2020? What message do you want to put out there? Can you group content based on themes? Brainstorming works much better if you have several team members working together. It’s great to have a sounding board and other people who can help strengthen ideas. Some places to start when it comes to brainstorming include seasonal topics. For example, as a homebuilder, spring can include a series of content on landscaping or spring cleaning. Summer can include information about home improvement projects or community amenities like pools and splash pads. This isn’t to say you can’t pop a last-minute idea into your calendar should something come up. But it’s better to have a plan that can be moved around than performing “fireworks” marketing!
Also, as you set up your calendar and brainstorm ideas, make sure to also set a dollar amount for each campaign you envision. Outline a budget for your content, decide which platforms you will post it on, and estimate how much it will cost to promote. Then you can…
- Set your budget
Groan! This one is tough. Oftentimes, a new year means a new budget. But planning out your marketing budget now can help you a lot more than you think. That’s because knowing how much money you can spend in 2020 will help you get the most bang for your buck when deciding where to pay to advertise versus where you can advertise for free. This ensures you won’t be scrambling with money when you see the final numbers later this year (or early first quarter). Instead, you’ll be prepared with a plan of attack!
This year, give your company a fresh start on content marketing! Need help? Contact the experts at Meredith Communications today.
Categorised in: Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, What We Do
