With New Year’s Eve just 24 hours away, it is possible that your marketing budget for 2017 is already set in stone. You may already have an idea about the products, services and events your department will be tasked with promoting in the year to come. But even if it seems like your responsibilities in the year to come are not subject to change, you should take a moment to consider one of the most important lessons of New Year’s Eve—it’s never too late to change.
Every year, millions of people around the world make resolutions—to try new things, be healthier, travel more. So if they can do it, why can’t your marketing department?
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you don’t need to make any changes. According to the most recent research from the Content Marketing Institute, only 6 percent of B2B marketers self-assessed their content marketing strategies as sophisticated. Unless you can confidently claim to be in that small minority, I would strongly urge you to consider using one of the following resolutions yourself.
- Move beyond the blog. For many businesses, their content marketing vision begins—and ends—with blogging. While this is unquestionably an important part of the equation, it is also just the tip of the iceberg. Multimedia can draw attention from users that might otherwise pass you by. Try adding another dimension to your content efforts this year, be it webinars, videos, infographics, or another medium altogether.
- Say something provocative. Say what you will about our President-elect. One thing is for certain: he earned himself a lot of free publicity during his campaign by making provocative statements. Many of his supporters even lauded him for “telling it like it is.” Your content gives you an opportunity to take a stance on topics that you feel passionate about. You’ll never be able to satisfy everyone, so why not take a stand for what you believe in and generate some free buzz for your business at the same time?
- Take time to write every day. In order to have a highly successful content marketing strategy, you’ll need to be sure to publish new material regularly. In fact, the more you can put out new content, the better. Challenge the members of your marketing department to carve out some time to write every day. Maybe you’ll need to wake up a few minutes earlier each day and jot down some thoughts over your morning coffee. Maybe you can extend your lunch break. Wherever you can find the time, make the effort to become a more disciplined writer. Flexing your literary muscle every day will give you the discipline needed to develop a more consistent content marketing strategy.
Of course, New Year’s resolutions sound great on January 1st. But it can be difficult to sustain these changes over the course of an entire year. If you find yourself struggling to keep up with these resolutions, consider partnering with a third-party content vendor that can help your marketing department succeed.
Keith Batter, known as “The Machine” due to his ability to provide quality content on a tight deadline, earned his degree in Creative Writing from Colorado University. Keith’s interest in a multitude of topics imbues his writing with valuable insights that resonate with readers in many fields. His work experience spans industries as diverse as hospitality (Thistledown Inn Bed and Breakfast), insurance (American Income Life Insurance), sales, journalism, publishing and even a brief foray into politics as a community organizer during the 2008 presidential election. In his spare time, Keith is difficult to find. Equipped only with a guitar, notebook and a liter of water, he frequently disappears deep into the forest with his wife and dog to evade civilization and wax poetic about the nature of existence.
