As the holidays make their annual visit, and a year ends to make way for a new one, we are likely reminded a little more than usual of the cyclical nature of our lives, and how the calendar is the foundation of the days of our lives. This timeline, pronounced as it is this time of year, can also be a valuable reminder that successful marketing is seasonal, just like the calendar.
A major aspect of seasonal marketing can be summed up in two words: Think Ahead! For optimum success, and to stay above the curve, SMB owners and their creative teams of writers and designers should be planning and executing their content marketing efforts with an eye on the future as well as today. In creating a marketing campaign, a website content wizard or top copywriter understands that positive results come from long-term thinking.
Social media might be in our face, in the moment. Well and good. And effective. Nothing can reach more people faster or trigger a call to action more quickly than social media. But “big picture” success requires a longer thread. In other words, your “spring fling” sale should be planned in late winter, your “summer blowout” in spring, your fall advertising in summer, and your “happy holidays” promotion in autumn.
This longer-term planning gives you and your team a foresight into target trends, customer likes and dislikes, buyer habits, slips or surges in the economy, and other factors that will prove invaluable in launching productive marketing strategies that increase conversions and heighten profits. Whether it’s an updated website, a revamped landing page, an email marketing campaign, or display and video web advertising, all of it benefits from advance planning on a longer creative timeline.
Pre-planning in advance also gives your writers and designers more time to execute their skills at peak performance levels, resulting in stronger, more absorbing and persuasive marketing efforts. When top writing and graphic design combine with timely seasonal placement and exposure, and a first-rate product or service, it’s a win-win, accent on “win.”
Some businesses and products benefit from even broader strategy when it comes to marketing their wares. Car manufacturers, the fashion industry, architectural firms, and real estate developers are among the enterprises that use advance timelines of as much as a year or two, in not only marketing their products, but in producing them as well.
Marketing for tomorrow. Forward thinking for fatter revenue!
Michael V is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
