5 Good Marketing Habits to Start in 2019

As we enter the new year, many of us are likely considering starting a new habit (or breaking one) as part of our new year’s resolution. When it comes to marketing, there are many good strategies that can help your business grow if you make them a consistent part of your marketing plan. We’d like to share with you a few ideas that we think will be important in 2019 and encourage you to make them a habit as you move your business forward this year.

Be consistent with content marketing

We know how hard it can be to keep your content marketing moving, especially for small marketing teams. However, by being consistent throughout the year, you’re showing your followers what they can expect from you, keeping them engaged and looking forward to your content, and hopefully driving new leads. If your plan for 2019 is to write a weekly or monthly blog, begin early in the year (preferably January) by researching keywords and relevant content topics to build an editorial calendar. You may not be able to create a calendar for the full year, but if you start with three to six months worth of topics, it will help you save time if you get too busy later on. By getting into this habit early, you’ll find it easier to keep writing throughout the year and make sure your audience is regularly hearing from you.

Maintain regular social media management

Along with your content marketing strategy, ongoing social media management is a habit worth making. Not only should you stick to a regular posting schedule, but there should also be a focus on interacting with your followers. Remember, one function of social media is a customer service tool, and responding to users as quickly as possible is very important for your brand. If you’re unable to keep up with social media notifications on your phone or computer throughout the day, dedicate at least 15 minutes at the beginning and end of the day to go through and respond to any comments or messages that you may have received. Use this time to repost or engage with other pages or followers that may be sharing relevant content. To make this process even easier, you can take advantage of free tools like Hootsuite to connect and manage your accounts all in one place.

Identify new marketing channels

If you’ve been managing marketing for your company for a few years, you likely have a good idea of which marketing channels bring you the most success. While you’ll want to continue tactics that are successful, it is also a good habit to try new things when it makes sense for your business. Relatively new tactics such as IP targeting and geofencing can help you reach your audience with different targeting strategies than some of the more popular digital channels, such as Google Ads and Facebook, are able to offer. Make it a goal to try at least one new marketing tactic this year and make sure you’re able to track your results to see if it works for your business.

Find ways to include video marketing

Video marketing is definitely here to stay, so if you haven’t taken the time to incorporate it into your marketing strategy you’re missing out on a lot of potential traffic. According to a recent Forbes article, video is predicted to account for 82% of global internet traffic by the year 2021 (now only two years away). A study by Animoto also showed a higher likelihood of consumers making a purchase after watching a branded video on Facebook. The key to making your video marketing successful is to ensure your video is engaging, relevant, and mobile friendly (notice we didn’t say it has to be super high quality). Your video marketing strategy could include using Facebook live videos at company events or to show behind-the-scenes footage, or creating short demos of a your products to let people know what to expect from your brand. In 2019, make it a priority to try video as a part of your ongoing marketing strategy–you’ll be surprised how easily you can work it into your existing plan.

Get personal (to an extent)

We all know that some companies have gotten too personal in the past year, and we definitely don’t advocate for that. However, there are ways that you can personalize your content to make it more relevant to your followers. Contrary to what you may think, there are plenty of low-complexity options to try out, like segmenting your email lists, automating email campaigns with demographic targeting, or using Twitter Lists or Facebook targeting to share updates. Some of these options may take a bit of time to set up, but automation will save you plenty of time in the long run and will make it easy for you to continue your good habits throughout the year.

The new year is always a good time to start making new habits–and when it comes to marketing, these are just a few habits that we recommend to get your business on the right track. If you’d like to learn more about implementing any of these strategies, whether it’s video marketing, IP targeting, or social media management, we’d love to get together with you and strategize for 2019. Plus, your 30-minute consultation is free of charge! Contact Pulse Marketing Agency today and let’s grow your business together!