2017 – It’s time to focus on your Marketing

As we enter 2017, most of us have already made our New Year’s resolutions – whether we stick to them is another matter! This blog aims to give you some ideas on refreshing your marketing activities how to improve your approach to marketing which

Be honest with yourself

Analyse what has and hasn’t worked for you in 2016.

Look at the data you’ve gathered on where your work has come from. Having a robust file opening system in place will help you to do this.

You can also use tools such as Google Analytics which will help you gather data from websites and apps to gain vital customer insights. What’s been your most popular blog? What page of your website is most frequently visited? Are you getting enough visits to pages about your key service areas?

It’s also important to be honest about your firm’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s always prudent to conduct some research and understand exactly what your reputation is. To help you, at Scala we design and send customer feedback surveys for you. You’ll gain valuable insight into what your clients think of you and it’s also an easy way to gather testimonials and statistics that will enable you to craft some fantastic marketing messages to use throughout 2017. 

Review your website

This is an easy one to start with. You probably have a good idea where the weak points are, but take a closer look and prepare a comprehensive action list of what needs to be done.

Is the content up to date? What’s the design like? How is the site’s functionality? Is it mobile friendly? Are profile photos looking a bit out of date? Were the blogs you posted last year regular and relevant to the areas of the business you are looking to grow?

At Scala, we can review your website for you and make some suggestions as to how it can be improved. We provide a copywriting services for clients, from website copy to blog writing or staff profiles. Google loves websites that are regularly updated and we can help you to keep your website active and relevant so that potential clients can easily find you.

Ensuring that employee website profiles are up to date is crucial. In large organisations where there are regular staff changes, not only does this equip everyone in the firm with knowledge about their colleagues, it also informs existing and potential clients of the expertise available. Remember: updated profile information should also be added to LinkedIn profiles. 

Engage more with social media

Love it or loathe it, social media is a powerful tool in your marketing toolkit. It’s also free. So if you’re not active already then now is the time to be. By identifying and utilising the most appropriate social media platforms for your business you can increase your brand visibility and interact with existing and potential clients.

Use your social media accounts to inform clients of any recent successes or updates. Regular blog postings and news stories are a great way to do this, along with joining any relevant conversations and discussions online.

Whilst social media is free, your time isn’t which is why we offer a social media management service. At Scala, we can help by managing your accounts for you, writing content, posting it across social media accounts and providing feedback on any useful leads whilst dealing with any enquiries on your behalf. 

Develop a strong brand

Having a ‘strong brand’ includes a multitude of things. It’s about clients being able to identify not only your firm name and logo but also know what your stand for. This could be an area of expertise, where you are geographically or your firm’s ethos. The aim is for clients (old and new) to be able to know, like and trust you to help them.

By getting to know you and your business ambitions, we can work with you to create a brand that not only captures the essence of your business, but also one that remains consistent and relevant to the services you offer. 

Try something new, like video marketing

We’re not suggesting you take up skydiving, but maybe have a rethink about your approach to marketing. If you have played it safe with your marketing plan in 2016, let 2017 be the year you try something new. By working with you, we can review what is and isn’t working and suggest new and exciting ways of promoting your business.

Have you ever considered a promotional video? We can create a video that is imaginative and reflects your brand, helping you to share it across several platforms along with your website.

Look at our latest promotional video for our client Switalskis… 

Reconnect with professional contacts

Now is a good time to clear up your database and update all your contacts, making sure you’re speaking to the right person is a serious advantage in business; influential people in an organisation can open doors.

We know this seems like a mammoth task, but it can be easily delegated to a team of people to make it achievable. Set members of each team targets as to who they need to contact and reconnect with, and even consider taking on someone looking for work experience who could help you update your database! 

Send out a newsletter

The start of the year is the perfect time to start a Newsletter, there are significant benefits in doing so, not only is it a cost-effective way of communicating with your target audience, it also showcases any successes and developments. Newsletters also offer immediate, trackable results.

Make sure that you prepare a newsletter plan. Do you want a weekly, monthly or quarterly newsletter? Allocate tasks to different team members, it may be to decide on the theme or to write content to be included. A key part of any newsletter is your marketing messages and a newsletter can deliver these to your clients in a creative and personal way.

So, if you need help keeping your New Year’s Marketing Resolutions contact us at:

office@scala.uk.com, 0114 4070159.