Tune Up Your Marketing Plan for 2015

Is your marketing plan ready for 2015?

Lots of businesses and organizations are implementing the marketing plans they developed during 4Q/2014. Now it's time to be sure those plans take into account the emerging or ongoing trends that experts believe will have the most impact on digital marketing in 2015.

• Use social media for content marketing. Sure, this trend was a major factor in 2014--but it's going to be even more important in 2015, especially for B2B marketing. Takeaway: Reexamine your messages and media with an eye toward integrating the newest social media appropriate to your target market.
• Think mobile first. A growing number of consumers and B2B customers use tablet computers and smart phones primarily (or even exclusively). Knowing this, some firms develop messages for mobile first, then adapt them for other media. Takeaway: Review your branding and messaging strategies for this channel. Web pages look different on mobile screens, remember? And customers often welcome (or expect to receive) special mobile offers, so invite them to opt in.
• Make the most of marketing memes. Marketers are creatively leveraging memes to boost buzz about their brands and specific offerings. To do this, think visually and add a headline to attract attention, encourage curiosity, even inspire. Takeaway: You want your meme to be shared--if successful, it will give your brand a halo effect.
• Refresh and personalize. Sweep those cobwebs off your website or YouTube channel--customers and prospects like seeing new and different content (or layouts). They particularly like being able to personalize your site for their needs. If you look at the Wall Street Journal site several times a day, you'll see many of the same top stories but in different positions on the home page. The overall look of the page remains stable, but the day's stories and photos aren't in the same place for very long. Takeaway: For your marketing plan, this means regular updates and changes to your digital properties, both content and position of content on the page(s). Invite visitors to register so they can customize your site, and you'll capture contact info and more.