Feb 16, 2018

Already Slipping Up On Your 2018 Marketing Goals? Here’s How To Get Back On Track

Time is moving fast. It’s already mid-February, and it seems like just yesterday we were ringing in day one of 2018. Around this time our New Year’s resolutions start getting away from us, especially where it concerns professional goals.

Let’s break out that 2018 checklist you wrote back in December. How are you keeping up with it? Are you implementing those cutting-edge social media strategies? How about staying abreast of those relentless new trends—chatbots, influencer marketing, YouTube’s “Reels,” etc.? If the answer is anywhere in the ballpark of, “Not so much,” then it’s already time for an overhaul.

With that in mind, here’s how to update your 2018 marketing checklist to get your digital strategy back on track, and meet all the goals you promised yourself that you would nail this year.

Overhaul your website

It doesn’t take a seasoned UX designer to understand what makes a solid website. First, it should rank relatively high in its respective niche. This ensures that web surfers can easily find the site. It should also have a core message that builds trust and brand loyalty. The site should educate, nurture, and ultimately convert leads into sales.

To achieve this, every website should include the following:

  •      A call to action
  •      Some video content
  •      Trust elements (e.g., customer testimonials)
  •      Varied content (blogs, video clips, social media feeds, etc.)
  •      Clearly defined core services

As for the last point, if you’re unfamiliar with the raw power content marketing wields, continue reading.

Raise your content game

The landscape of digital marketing changes fast. The good news is that some things remain constant. Marketing guru Neil Patel, citing CMI (Content Marketing Institute) data, writes that 60% of B2B marketers reported in 2017 that their content strategies were more effective than in 2016. Now, what do you think that portends for 2018?

This means that if your organization hasn’t created a solid content plan with a focus on lead generation, then you’d better hop to it. There are some pro tips to help you achieve this.

  •      Think of your ideal customer and tailor content specifically for them
  •      Publish a regular blog (WebDAM states that B2B marketers who blog consistently reap 67% more leads than those who do not)
  •      Upgrade your content by offering additional downloadable material within the blog post (e.g., reports, videos, ebooks, white papers, etc.) to boost your email list signups
  •      Promote, promote, promote—hype that content wherever you can, in social media and traditional advertising

If you’re having problems honing your content game as many B2B marketers confess they do, then enlist the help of the pros. Remember, you only have an average of five seconds to capture your target’s attention, so make sure your content speaks directly to them.

Supercharge your email marketing

Despite competing with social media, Email marketing has a higher probability of reaching your target than Facebook ads. And whether users are reading an email on their mobile (half of all emails are now opened on a mobile device), or their desktop, there is great potential for increased customer retention.

Tap into this market by boosting the number of subscribers on your email lists. How do you do that? By nurturing leads. Provide free content such as downloadable white papers, reports, tutorial videos, product coupons, etc.) that will educate them and lead to a purchase. Utilize the lead-nurturing sales funnel, with its five stages of nurturing a potential buyer:

  1.     Thank
  2.     Give
  3.     Act
  4.     Convert
  5.     Immerse

In other words, thank your lead with a personalized email showing your appreciation for downloading a piece of content. Then give them more educational content. Act on this—ask them if they have further questions. Convert them using inbound and outbound marketing tactics. Finally, immerse them. Keep them engaged in your brand by more offerings and newsletters.

According to HubSpot, organizations that nurture leads via email generate 50% more leads at a fraction of the cost of other marketing tactics.

Master the art of the “follow up”

One way you can kick-start your marketing (no matter how far behind you’ve fallen), is by implementing a client generation system. You can design whatever system works for you, but it should include what we discussed above. Define your perfect client and have your content strategy locked and loaded. Moreover, you should:

  •      Set clear goals for meetings
  •      Build client lists
  •      Offer value to respondents

For example, you should set meetings with a clear revenue goal in mind. This will help you understand how many clients you need to reach that goal. So if you sell a $500 product or service, and you aspire to $500,000 in revenue annually, you’ll need a thousand clients to reach your goal.

Your client list (whether it’s bought or built) should represent the proper demographics and locations to help you achieve your goal. You’ll appeal to those clients more directly by hyping your content upgrades in your email marketing. And by offering value in general, you’ll go a long way to converting them into customers. 

Conclusion

Remember, a fresh start is okay. If you need to throw out those 2017 ideas regarding your 2018 goals, then so be it. As touched on above, adaptability is key. Your ability and willingness to adjust your goals to accommodate an ever-shifting digital marketing landscape might just mean the difference between success and failure—in this year and beyond.

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