I don’t know about you, but I’m actually starting to feel like Spring might be real and not just a cruel illusion on the calendar. Yes, we’re still going to have snowstorms until the end of May here in the Front Range, but that doesn’t matter because there are Spring flowers and new green grass.
I come from a temperate place with lots of deciduous trees so Spring is a big deal for me. And accordingly, all the urging I’m seeing on social media to spring clean my life/house/head is starting to resonate. So what could that look like in your marketing?
It’s traditional to make a big deal out of the New Year and get marketing plans etc ready for that. In reality, the run-up to the end of the year can be hectic for many businesses,in and then January you just feel flat and barely able to carry on, let alone get creative and excited. Or maybe that one is just me.
We can all get into a bit of a rut in life and business and for business owners, losing interest in your business is the kiss of death. We all operate much better when we’re positive about something, so what can we do to inject some of that into marketing and make it less of a chore and more of a creative outlet for you?
So, with spring in the air, and longer evenings ahead for most of us, let’s start getting excited about marketing. This blog is basically a thought-starter to help you shake away some of those cobwebs.
What can you get rid of?
In the spirit of spring cleaning your marketing, what’s no longer working for you? Is it beautiful, useful, or joyful? Yes, this can apply to marketing too. Here are some questions to ask yourself
Is your audience engaging with what you’re doing? If they are, what do they enjoy? Can you do more of that?
What do you enjoy doing? Do can you do more of that?
What do you hate doing? Would it matter if you did less or that?
If your audience isn’t engaging, can you try something different, or is it time to cut the cord?
Deciding to stop activity on a social media platform
Just stopping activity on a social media account looks bad for businesses, but that being said, sometimes a platform stops serving you. Maybe your audience has moved on, or maybe your business has evolved, or maybe the platform has changed and how you used to use it just isn’t possible anymore. At that point, it is better to retire and close the account than to have it lingering but inactive for years.
This blog on How to Close Down a Social Media Account has some sensible steps on how to do so.
Ask the people
If you’re finding it hard to come up with what to do next, or new things to do – why not ask your audience?
Create a quick customer survey – Use something like Survey Monkey or Google Forms asking your customers how they like to be communicated with and if they’d be interested in some new things. If you can, offer a prize or incentive to give you feedback – everyone loves free stuff.
Create some polls on social media. You can do quick yes/no polls for instant feedback on if something is a good idea, or invite people to fill in a survey
What areas have you been neglecting and you want to pay more attention to?
- Is your local SEO in place? Are you in all the local directories you need to be in?
- How is your website? Is everything easily accessible? How straightforward is the customer journey through the site?
- A website is a garden that needs constant tending – is yours in good shape or is it unmanageable? Personally, mine is a little overgrown. I’ve been creating a lot of content over the last year and on my spring cleaning list is to better organize all this stuff so that users can find it when they need it. Well, now that’s out there, you can hold me accountable for getting it done!
What can you update for a new look?
You would be surprised how much updating things a bit can help you feel enthused again. I moved things around in my office and put in a new plant and now it feels like a whole new space. Your audience will notice too.
Is it time to refresh the headers on social media?
Are there graphics on your website that are looking a little tired?
How about a new template for your emails?
Why not ask someone whose creative criticism you value to take a look at your business with a fresh eye and brainstorm some ideas?
What have you been putting off?
- Is there something you’ve been wanting to do for ages but somehow you haven’t got around to it? Is it time to start that podcast? Or have you been meaning to write more and haven’t had the time, or it seems scary? What has been stopping you and what help do you need to overcome those barriers?
How can you make coming up with ideas more fun?
There are a ton of fun tools out there to get the inspiration flowing.
In case you’re not already addicted, Pinterest, is wonderful for grabbing visual ideas and collecting them
If you don’t have a whiteboard but post-its help, I love Miro for an interactive whiteboard.
If you work best under pressure and you’re trying to write, The Most Dangerous Writing App is a lot of fun. This is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek recommendation, and I actually found using it quite stressful but the principle is, if you stop writing, it deletes itself. I dare you!
Do you have a plan?
If you don’t and the time has come that you want to create one, you can follow my eight-step brand and marketing strategy plan blog series that takes you through the essentials of how to build a marketing plan from scratch. Feel free to skip any steps you’ve already completed, but it might help you spot the gaps and create something solid.
If you like the look of the process, but you aren’t quite nailing it by yourself, let me know and this is something I can help you with – email georgina@crabapplecomms.com.
I hope some of these questions have helped to get the ideas flowing a little bit and have given you some inspiration to look at your marketing with a critical eye and see if it needs some spring cleaning love.