Can you believe it’s September already? Now is the time to start assessing how far you’ve come and start getting ready for the end of the year.
Recently, we asked you to do your mid-year marketing review – now we’re telling you to look at it again to prep your marketing for the end of the year! It may seem close together, but there are many benefits to doing your end-of-year planning sooner rather than later. To make the process easier for you, we’ve put together four steps to prepare for the upcoming year.
Step 1: Assess Your Progress
Take a pause and look at your organization’s progress and how far you’ve come in the last few months. Reflecting on what worked and didn’t work is key to helping you take stronger steps forward. Some things you should be considering include:
- Did you hit your marketing goals?
- If not, do you know why?
- If yes, what are some things that really stood out?
- Are there goals you wish you included?
- Is there anything you’ve decided you don’t want to do moving forward?
Step 2: Examine Your Content
Storytelling is key to engaging your community authentically. Take a look at all the stories you’ve captured in the past months. Asking yourself the following questions can help you decide what content you should develop or compile moving forward:
- Do you have content you are proud of?
- Was there content you haven’t been able to use? Why not?
- Are there stories you wished you captured?
- What content resonated most with your target audiences?
Step 3: Review Your Budget
If your organization has money set aside for marketing, it’s time to review this part of your budget. The first question to ask is: how much money do you have left for the end of the year? Next, how will you allocate the money you have or how will you raise funds to cover upcoming costs?
This is also a good time to decide if there’s a key marketing area you haven’t been spending on but want to start allocating funds to. Examples of spending areas for marketing include:
- Marketing Strategy
- Promotional materials
- Email marketing
- Press
- Advertising
- Social media
- Community events or webinars
Step 4: Look Forward and Brainstorm
2022 is going to be here before you know it! If you don’t have goals set for the upcoming year, this is the time to brainstorm what you want to accomplish for 2022. If your remaining budget doesn’t cover certain marketing activities you want to accomplish, consider setting money aside for this goal in 2022.
Looking at your existing goals and the assessment you did in step one can also help you determine what goals to set for 2022. Decide if you need to:
- Make any changes to existing goals
- Create new goals
- Remove any goals that are no longer relevant
Support is Always Here
Sunny Day Marketing is here to support your marketing plans for the future! If you haven’t hit your intended goals, let us help you improve your marketing organization and processes so that you’ll seamlessly accomplish those goals. We can also consult on strategies for your organization to implement in 2022.
Schedule your Complimentary Assessment Call today, so we can help you get prepared for the end of the year!
