4 Must-Take Steps to Create Your Marketing Plan for the New Year

It’s incredibly cliché to talk about fresh starts in a new year but here we are—and we’re going to do it! Because the new year is an essential time for a business owner. It’s when you might take a reflective look back at how the past year went. It’s when you set goals to help motivate yourself and your team. It’s when you need to block time to develop a plan to keep your business pushing forward. But, even though you might be nodding your head in agreement as you read through this list, there is a chance you might never get around to it. So today, we wanted not just to encourage you to set aside time right away to create your marketing plan for the new year, but also to give you the specifics of what you should consider. Read on for four must-take marketing steps in the new year!

1. Review your metrics and insights

We know you might be tempted to skip this step because it involves numbers, but moving forward without them means you’ve overlooked a critical part of any marketing plan—the data to back it up! The first step in developing your marketing plan for the new year is to review the metrics and insights for your website, Storefronts, and social media accounts. What this does is give you a baseline understanding of what has worked, where you can make improvements, and the benchmarks you need to measure growth and success in the new year. Curious about what metrics are most important? Here are a few to hone in on:

• The total number of inquiries you had in your Storefront(s)
• The months you had the most inquiries come in from your Storefront(s)
• How many new reviews have you received on your Storefront(s)
• The number of visitors and page views your website had in the last year
• The most visited pages of your website 
• Where the referring traffic to your website is coming from
• Your top social media posts for impressions, likes, saves, shares, website clicks, and comments

Pro tip: You can also complete a full website review and Storefront(s) audit to ensure these foundational pieces of your online presence are ready to go in the new year! 

2. Pick your marketing channels 

Every wedding pro has a unique mix of marketing channels, so having reviewed your metrics is very helpful for figuring out which ones you should continue using and which you can cut from your list. Ask yourself:

• Which marketing channels were successful last year?
• Are there any new ones you want to try?
• How many do you realistically have time for (read: be consistent and present)?
• Are there any you can outsource?

When you’ve reflected on these questions, make note of the marketing channels you are going to commit to in the new year. Wondering what the most popular marketing channels are for wedding pros? Here’s the list:

• Advertising (on The Knot and WeddingWire)
• Social media (Instagram and Facebook)
• Pinterest
• Submissions
• Blogging and SEO
• Referrals (from past clients and other pros)

3. Document your marketing plan

If reviewing your metrics is the step pros might want to skip, this is the step pros actually skip. And, even if you feel like you have a firm grasp on your marketing numbers and channels, it is hard to keep organized and on track without a plan that is put on paper. But, no need to stress that this is a significant undertaking—your marketing plan is quite simply your list of what you are going to do (and when) to achieve your marketing goals. So, whether you pull out a notebook to put an actual pen to paper, type everything into a Google doc or put tasks and deadlines into your calendar or project management system, the most important thing is to document what you need to do in order to hold yourself and your team accountable.

4. Brainstorm marketing ideas

Now to the creative part! Once you’ve worked through the nuts and bolts of putting together a plan to market your business, it’s time to fill it in with creative marketing ideas that you can actually implement. So, knowing what you want to achieve and when you need to do things by. Block some time to think about the kinds of content you can create and tasks you can complete to make sure your marketing plan is coming to life! Need a few marketing ideas to get your wheels spinning? Here is what you can think about:

• Blog posts you can write (they can be educational or about your best weddings)
• Content ideas for social media (be sure to get these social media tips for booking season, too!)
• Updates to make to your Storefront(s) (here’s a great list to think about)
• Campaign ideas (for example: giveaways, takeovers, email sequences, etc.)

There you have it! 4 must-take steps to successfully market your business in the new year. And, as we are still in the thick of engagement season, be sure to check out our recent post to help solidify your plan with content to create this booking season too.

Photo Credit: Soloviova Liudmyla/shutterstock.com