Okay, all together now … “Ugh, not another ‘resolutions’ blog post!”Yes, it’s another one to go with the millions of others already circulating online. [Paragraph about looking back on the outgoing year.] [Paragraph about looking ahead to the upcoming year.]Now let’s get to those four New Year’s resolutions that will bring a metric ton of success to your business in 2018 (no promises, though).
1. More Video
Dan Goodwin/FlickrHere’s a question: How much video is your business currently using? And here’s the answer: It doesn’t matter! Regardless of how much video your business is using, do more of it. You simply can never have enough video content online. Cisco studies have predicted that almost 70% of total internet traffic throughout 2017 will have been generated by video views and they expect that to rise to 82% by 2021. With phones continually getting more sophisticated and data plans consistently becoming more affordable, people are watching more video more often. Over 50% of marketers say video is the content type that earns the best ROI and it gets shared a whopping 1,200% more than text and images combined. Of course, you need to be strategic about video. Some ideas to get you started on your more video resolution:
Use Facebook Live to take people behind the scenes of your operation so they can meet the people who make your business run.
Host a Q&A session via live video.
Invest in some animated explainer videos.
Watch engagement soar.
2. Connect Your Content to the Buyer’s Journey
Gretchen Caserotti/FlickrIn a perfect world, all content would offer some kind of value. You can help make the world just a little more perfect by making sure your content always offers value to viewers. The best and easiest way to do that is to aim content at people at the various stages of the buyer’s journey. People rarely start at “I’m going to buy a motorcycle.” They go through the stages of not even knowing they want to buy one to thinking about it to seriously looking at which one to buy to being ready to drop some money down. You should make it a resolution to have content for every segment of that journey. For example:
Not even aware they want a motorcycle
5 West Coast Motorcycle Trips You Have to Do Before You Die
Thinking about buying a motorcycle
6 Ways Road Tripping on a Motorcycle Totally Beats Doing it by Car
Deciding which type of motorcycle to buy
Standard, Cruiser, Sport, Touring or Sport Touring: Which Type of Motorcycle is Best for You?
Ready to buy
4 Red Flags to Watch for that Tell You You’re at a Bad Motorcycle Dealership
Each bit of of content is aimed at a person who is in a specific segment of the buyer’s journey. If somebody wasn’t ready to buy a motorcycle, there would be no need for them to know the four red flags to watch out for. If someone isn’t yet aware they want a motorcycle, hearing about five amazing drives to do by motorcycle might get them interested in buying one. You can segment your email list depending on what content the prospects have looked at already to better help you focus your marketing. On your website, suggest blog posts depending on what area of your site people are on.
Get started on your very own Whiteboard Animation Video.
3. Make Your Website Even More Mobile Friendly than it Already Is
Karla Fitch/FlickrBy now your website is already responsive, but just like how you can never have too much (well-planned) video content, you can never be too mobile friendly. That’s because Americans spend over 70% of their time online via mobile device and website visits using mobile devices rose by 72% in 2017. Use Google’s mobile-friendly tester to see just how mobile ready your site is and once you know that, start testing layouts to make it even better. The more mobile friendly you make your site, the better it will stand out among your competition. People appreciate a smooth website experience on their phones and it might be the difference between you and a competitor whose site is clunky on a mobile device.
4. Dig Into the Data
Petras Gagilas/FlickrStop relying on your gut when it comes to marketing decisions (but let it keep making the lunch decisions).Remember a few paragraphs ago when we said you have to be strategic with video? Well, we’re amending that statement a bit to say you have to be strategic with all your online marketing and you should make it a resolution to base all your decisions on the data. Set goals, decide what metrics to measure so you can tell whether you’re reaching those goals and experiment relentlessly to hit those goals. Set a reasonable timeframe to measure if something is working and if it’s not, kill it and move onto something else. Never fall so in love with a marketing idea that you’re not willing to drop it. Let the numbers make the decision for you, not your intuition. Split A/B testing is obviously a big help when experimenting with different social media posts, blog titles, etc. Use it. And don’t forget the creativity! If your marketing looks like everyone else’s you’ll just get lumped in with them in the “forget” pile. Make and follow these four New Year’s business resolutions and you should see much success this year. Have a wonderful 2018 and click here to get started on planning and pricing your very own whiteboard animation video.
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