Building the right strategy now will help your business through the year. In an economic downturn, it's even more vital to plan and allocate budgets to the right place, creating a marketing plan can help you to do this.

For some helpful tips with a Digital Marketing Strategy read our blog Financial Crisis - Why Digital Marketing is Vital for your Business

​The main points to consider when creating a marketing strategy are:

• SWOT - identify your business’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

• Decide what you want to achieve - your marketing plan should be linked to your business goals, both short and long term. Have your business objectives in mind when writing your marketing plan.

• Know your customers - to gain an insight into your business and where it stands try asking your customers their opinions.
• Research the competition - find out who your competitors are, look at their strengths and weaknesses. It’s always worth knowing what your competitors offer that you don’t.
• Strategies - determine how you can best reach your target customers covering all marketing channels to achieve your plan.

• Budget - it’s important to have a budget set aside for your marketing and you need to stick to it.
  
  

There are a number of marketing channels you can cover in your strategy including:

• Email Marketing - newsletters/e-bulletins
• Website Content - Home page design, landing pages, products & services
• Blogs - Case studies and blogs
• Social Media - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn etc
• Print Collateral - Stationery, folded leaflets, flyers
• Vehicle livery and exhibitions stands
  
  

If you’re pressed for time a 12 month plan seems like too much to tackle, then you can try a 3 month plan. Here you would focus on short term goals and then branch out from this once you’ve completed it.

If you need any help or advice Creative Remedy are here to support you, so please get in touch if you have any questions.

Comment below if you would like to receive our 2023 Marketing Planner.

If your relationship with Instagram is in need of a boost then now is the perfect time to spend some quality time getting to know how to nurture your Instagram account and cultivate the perfect partner for your business.

Take Time to Connect
Instagram is a great way to boost your brand and engagement- you can post photos and videos of products and services, interact with followers and gain insights into their preferences.

1. Listen to your audience Your followers and customers will all publish a wealth of content that gives you all the information you need to create a detailed picture of your customer.
2. Looking Good Videos are a fantastic way to showcase your products and services, you can upload tutorials and product demonstrations and get immediate feedback from your followers.
3. Communication is Key Posting regularly with interesting and relevant content will really boost your engagement and your followers will like and share your posts so you reach a wider audience.
   
4. Build Trust  Brand loyalty requires trust and Instagram is a perfect tool to do this.
   

Our Top Tips for Keeping the Love Alive
 
Keep it professional- A business account is free and will give you much needed insights to help you tailor your content and post it at the right time for maximum reach.
 
Show you care- Post regularly and consistently with interesting and relevant content and make sure it is clear and communicates well.
 
Get your Hashtags On- Use up to 30 hashtags in every post. Make sure they are relevant to the post and make sure you always add brand specific ones to your posts. Research the most popular hashtags relevant to your business and make a list specifically for you and your key products and services.
 
Sell Yourself- Make sure your profile has all the information about your business clearly describes what you provide or offer. Use a great profile picture and make sure you include your website url!
 
Stay true to yourself (and your brand)- You want to try and mirror your brand identity as much as possible so try and use similar colours, fonts and images as used on your website and branding. Be sure to keep your voice and tone consistent too. Only use the best photos and videos, Instagram is a visual platform so use it to your advantage.
 
Share the love- Actively engage with your followers. Your best advocates might already be posting amazing content that is relevant to your business. Consider collaborations for maximum return for both parties.

Tip 1
Use hashtags for keywords where possible. This will help users find your content more easily: What is a hashtag? Find out here >
​
Tip 2
Choose appropriate and striking images for your profile pictures and cover images, this is what people see… and what will stand out in the sea of content being posted daily.

Tip 3
If you are new to social media, choose one platform and learn how to use this with confidence before moving onto the next.

Tip 4
To grow your audience by Joining groups, join conversations, engage by commenting on posts, hold contests, conduct polls. Respond to questions or enquiries efficiently and have something interesting, topical or humorous to say.

Tip 5
Tweet (Twitter) frequently and up to 5 times a day to get seen in the cascade of daily tweets. For other social media platforms consider the time of day you post and when your target audience might be active. If you are unsure try various times and measure your success.

Tip 6
Post new content to your website or blog, then post this to social media. You want visitors visiting your website and give them something to return for.

Tip 7
Invite your email contacts to ‘join’, ‘like’ or ‘follow’ your social media pages. Contacts can be exported from your computer, smartphone or tablet, your website, email marketing and sales software.

Do you have any social media tips you could share with others? Share your tips below:

Give yourself a makeover
Your LinkedIn profile is the first thing your new contacts will see so make sure you stand out for all the right reasons. First impressions really do count! Be sure to update regularly adding any new skills and accomplishments. Don’t be shy, make sure you include a picture to truly personalise your profile, it will make you appear much more approachable.
 
Show your business some love
By creating a LinkedIn Company page you are giving your customers and contacts all the information they need to learn about your business, your products and the services you offer. It’s free for anyone to set up company pages and having one really will benefit your LinkedIn profile.
 
Share the love
The more connections you have on your Company Page the more people will see your published updates. With InMail Don’t just connect to anyone, make sure you know them or have at least some synergy. Be sure to add any employees as they are far more likely to share any posts you make. Promote your company page on your website, in your emails and blogs to help try and encourage more people to follow you.
 
Communication is key
It’s easy to keep in touch with your contacts especially using LinkedIn messaging. You can use it to organise meetings and keep in touch with your connections. Sometimes a friendly chat is all it takes to reconnect with a business acquaintance.
 
LinkedIn is just as important as all other social media platforms, in fact in the last year it has seen huge growth with lots more people engaging on here daily. In platform advertising could transform it further. Show it some love and reap the benefits!