Plan ahead to keep your marketing content current
In an always-on, socially-connected, world – keeping your marketing content fresh and up-to-date is really important. Whether it’s your latest blog, a timely offer, a themed promotion or competition – having something that is current means that your business looks up-to-date and on-the-ball. And, for social media interaction, always has something to hand to get conversations started.
A bit of pre-planning can help you achieve this. It might sound strange, but you really can get the bones of a content plan in place for the next 12-months right now. Then, closer to the time you won’t be faced with one the scariest things in the world… a blank sheet of paper!
So, for businesses in the UK, here’s a 2011 rundown of marketing thought starters for the next twelve months.
January: Fresh starts, resolutions and planning the year ahead
How about issuing a year-ahead calendar of key dates in your industry, or making some predictions for the year ahead? January can be a great month for offering introductory sessions, or year-ahead planning tools.
February: A month for lovers and relationships
With Valentine’s Day falling in February, many can use the day to offer related merchandise and offers. Even if your business has nothing to do with love… you could use the theme to talk about effective relationships, or commercialism…
March: Tax planning, green shoots, Mother’s Day and official start to Spring
For many businesses the end of the tax year also marks the end of their own financial year. For anyone in a B2B context, this offers an opportunity to start a conversation. What could you offer to help their year-end go more smoothly, or to plan for the next financial year? The Spring theme of green shoots can serve as a conversation starter in any business.
April: New financial year, bank holidays and a royal wedding
April marks the beginning of a new tax year, and often brings in new company rules or taxation – is there something you do that could help people with this? Do you provide services that can help people through the Easter Bank Holidays – like phone answering, or childcare? Easter Egg hunts can be lots of fun. And, of course, if you run out of ideas you can always get in on wedding fever… what with Prince William’s nuptials falling at the end of the month.
May: More holidays and a referendum
May sees more Bank Holidays, issuing tips on productivity to manage the workload around holidays, or technology tips for out of hours services can be really helpful. Alternatively, how about thinking up some fun stuff people could try on their days off. Oh yes, and we’ll be asked to vote on voting… I’m sure there’s a blog in that somewhere.
June: Festival season, Father’s Day and fancy hats
With Glastonbury King amongst them, June is the busiest month for music festivals. You could issue packs of festival merchandise, survival guides or ideas for fun alternatives for those not going, or not interested. There’s also Father’s Day, and Royal Ascot amongst other diary dates.
July: Wimbledon finals, summer sun, barbecues (hopefully!)
Will we see a British Champion? Possibly… but either way, there’s always something to comment on, from the price of strawberries to the choice of footwear. It might also be time to think about holiday planning guides, offers, and the ultimate BBQ pack.
August: School holidays, holiday ideas, the last bank holiday of summer
August can be a tough month for anyone trying to hold down a full time job and entertain children on their school holidays. Anything you can do to help them will go down well… activity packs, ideas for cheap days out, etc.
September: Conference season and back to school
September is when things seem to get serious again. Back to school is perennial theme that will have mileage for some businesses. And, with the political parties and trade unions starting their conference season, there’s sure to be something worth talking about.
October: Conferences continue, clocks go back, Autumnal colours, ghosts and ghouls
As the nights draw in helpful reminders on the time shift, or ideas for the extra hour can be useful. Photo competitions as the trees put on their Autumn show can be great, and Halloween provides an opportunity for a bit of fun.
November: Fireworks, warmth, and remembrance
With Winter in full swing, tips on keeping warm and reducing energy bills often gain coverage. And, of course, there’s bonfire night to light up the skies. It’s also a time to remember, with Armistice Day, the Royal Legion Poppy appeal and remembrance Sunday.
December: Retrospectives and festivities
A time for looking back and learning lessons. ‘Best of’ lists can be a real winner, as well thinking about what you’ve learned from the the year just gone. And, of course the festive season provides ample talking points from snow, elves, gifts, family, people less fortunate and so much more.
These are common themes that most businesses could use as a starting point. The idea is not to trot out the same old lines, but to have a think about an original angle on something that is already currently front of mind. It would also make sense to map out any key dates important to your industry – awards dates, key events, etc. and think about how you could use heightened awareness to get a conversation started. Get ahead, plan it now! So, if you’re ever stuck for an idea… start here.
By Bryony Thomas | Chief Clear Thinker | Clear Thought Consulting Ltd | @bryonythomas | www.clear-thought.co.uk
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Clear Thought Consulting works with small businesses, equipping them with the marketing strategies, suppliers, skills and set-up that they need to become bigger businesses. We do this by planning and delivering 12-month marketing transformation programmes – supporting a small business through a step-by-step process to making marketing pay. We firmly believe that when you can’t out-spend your competition, you have to out-think them.
Published on 4 January 2011
