It’s that time of year where virtually everyone is making a New Year’s resolution. In years past, for example, I resolved to see more concerts and to be kinder to others. You too, have probably set personal goals for yourself in the past—losing weight, quitting a bad habit—but maybe this year you’re considering making a professional commitment for your company.
If you’re planning to build out your content marketing strategy in 2015 (research from the Content Marketing Institute [CMI] shows that the majority of marketers have a strategy and plan to spend more on content marketing next year) then consider making, and sticking to, any of the following content marketing resolutions. They’re all great ways to make much needed improvements!
- Blog more often: Research from CMI shows that companies that blog at least 15 times per month—at least every other day—get five times more traffic than companies that don’t. If your team is only producing a few blogs a month, try committing to posting at least every other day to reap these benefits. Or, if you’re not ready for that frequency try simply adding one or two blogs a week to what you currently produce; this kind of incremental approach is simple yet effective.
- Document your strategy: Did you know that only 35 percent of B2B and 27 percent of B2C marketers have a documented content marketing strategy, according to CMI? This is one of the biggest reasons why marketers fail at content marketing. If you’re part of the majority of companies that have a strategy but do not document it, commit to mapping out your strategy in written form and continually verbalizing your tactics with team members. CMI’s research shows that the majority of marketers with a documented strategy are more effective because there is follow-through, or execution of the strategy.
- Adopt a new marketing vehicle: CMI’s research also found that the average content marketer is using 13 marketing vehicles, from social media to eNewsletters to podcasts to blogs and more. If you’ve been finding great success with your current marketing platforms, now would be the perfect time to commit to strengthening engagement across one (or more, if desired) vehicles to improve your overall strategy.
According to research from the University of Scranton, only 8 percent of people actually achieve their New Year’s goals. By committing to any of these resolutions, you can rest assured you’ll see your content marketing strategy thrive in 2015. If you’re looking to learn more about jump-starting 2015 with the right content strategy, check out this recent webinar I participated in alongside our Director of Content Marketing Carrie Majewski and TMC CEO and Group Editor-in-Chief Rich Tehrani.