With the start of a new year, it’s time to buckle down and set some objectives for your business in 2013. In terms of marketing, there are countless ways to improve your brand and reach a wider audience that many businesses just like yours have already learned and started to utilize.
As 2013 officially begins, consider these three basic marketing strategies. They may seem simple, but when done correctly they stand to improve most aspects of your business.
Start By Looking Back
In order to see where you need to improve in 2013, look back to 2012 and see if there are any lessons-learned opportunities there. Review the marketing processes you took in the previous year; be critical of yourself and look for areas you could have improved.
Has the core of your target audience changed? Are there clear marketing failures from last year you can avoid in 2013? Were there marketing strategies we wanted to undertake but never had the courage or finances to do so?
Questions like these are best asked at the beginning of the new year rather than a quarter of the way through the year. By then, it may be too late.
Use Social Media to its Fullest Extent
Some are still stuck in the mindset that a business that is bustling with growth and activity doesn’t have the time to waste on checking Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or whatever the new hot ticket social media platform might be. However, if you follow all of the right people and groups, you also have a world of new information about your industry at your fingertips.
More than that, your target audience will have a central area online where they can interact with you. This in and of itself can be vital to growing your business in 2013.
Blog More
You want your audience to feel that you are an expert in your field. One way to do that is to write meaningful and fun posts on your area of interest. Studies have shown that companies and groups that blog at least 8-10 times a month tend to generate almost two times as many more leads than those that don’t.
This is yet another way to share ideas with your audience and fellow experts within your group. Start by making a list of areas you feel confident that you could write about. Or, if writing isn’t your thing, look into hiring a qualified ghostwriter.
These are only starting points. Once you have explored these areas, move on to the next. Before you know it, 2013 will be a record year for your business!
