One thing I have noticed among many of my small business marketing clients is the tendency to think of marketing as one campaign at a time. They will have an idea for a campaign or an event – something that inspires them and seems like a good hook to bring them top of mind with their audience – and they will go from idea to launch in no time flat! While I love the bias toward action, I often find myself encouraging clients to think about how the great campaign idea they had today connects with the great campaign ideas to come for the year. Let’s talk about planning a connection between your marketing campaigns.
First, why do I bring this up?
When you think of a marketing campaign in an isolated way, it gives you no chance to tease upcoming campaigns. If you get your audience’s attention now, it is an opportunity to tell them what is still to come – but only if YOU know what is still to come. Without hard selling your next campaign, even the mere mention of what is ahead can prime your audience to look for more information when it is available.
If you get your audience’s attention now, it is an opportunity to tell them what is still to come – but only if YOU know what is still to come. #marketing #campaigns #smallbusiness #smallbiz #smb #entrepreneur #biztips
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When you know the landscape of all campaigns you are running in a year, it also allows you to maximize your efficiency. You can plan for the most realistic schedule to avoid interference or conflicts. Then, when you get to work, you can batch projects that need to be done across more than one campaign and save time. Do you need graphics? Fliers? Pages on your website? Will you need volunteers or vendors? You can start prepping everything in one task category at the same time. You can inform personnel of everything they need to block onto their calendars. By looking at the whole schedule, you may avoid the potential trouble spots that you would have seen too late if you bounced from campaign to campaign with no overarching plan.
The further out you plan a campaign, the less likely you are to miss opportunities and collaborations that could have boosted your voice. If you are thinking in a last-minute way, you won’t even notice when you miss a chance like this. But, when you know what is ahead for your year, you can better pair up with others who know what is ahead for their year, too. You can all help each other. Read here for a tip on How to Make the Most of Your Marketing Campaign.
The further out you plan a campaign, the less likely you are to miss opportunities and collaborations that could have boosted your voice. #marketing #campaigns #smallbusiness #smallbiz #smb #entrepreneur #biztips
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And, arguably most importantly, I find that when my clients come up with ideas one by one and go straight to execution mode for each, how their campaigns link together – or even how their campaigns link to their brand as a whole – often comes across more disjointedly. There may be many ways for you to play with the same theme across the year. Many ways to maximize one idea or stretch it into new variations to stay interesting. Themes give your audience a hook to cling onto. They allow your brand and your objectives to appear more cohesive to an outsider. The more your audience understands you, the easier it will be for them to keep following your movements.
I often find that my clients initially have trouble thinking more than a month ahead. They are so used to sitting down and trying to figure out what to say and how to say it for their marketing today. They may be able to think as far as a week ahead. The idea of planning out a month or a quarter may feel like a leap. But, the truth is, the further out you plan, the easier the planning is. Sitting down and brainstorming ideas for a year all at once prevents you from the inevitable writer’s block that comes from having to come up with new ideas more frequently under deadline pressure.
If you like the idea of planning your campaigns a year out, how do you start? I would sit down with a calendar of the year that you can see all on one page. Look at it month by month. Are there holidays you want to leverage or avoid? Are there seasonal announcements you need to make? Are you planning a big campaign or event during the year? More than one? How does that line up with any vacations you or your team have planned?
The bigger the campaign, the more lead time you will want to tease it then promote it, so take your biggest campaigns on the calendar and slot in one month beforehand (at least) to start talking about it. Longer for a big event.
Now, look back at your calendar. What did this exercise show you? Are there conflicts? This is the time to problem-solve! Are there synergies? This is the time to think about how you can maximize the momentum.
So, give it a try! Imagine what you can do for your business if you just give yourself a little lead time for your great ideas.
Not sure how your campaigns fit into the big picture? You may want to create a marketing strategy! Check out my online course to learn how to Create the Most Profitable Marketing Strategy.
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