Waiting until September to begin your Q4 marketing puts you behind the mark. Honestly, the preparation starts when you first create your yearly marketing plan. By mid-year, you can evaluate where you are on your marketing goals and adjust accordingly to set the stage for a successful year-end. Allow yourself the opportunity to get the most out of your Q4 marketing by beginning early and sticking to a plan!
Building and strengthening relationships takes time. Releasing content early and often throughout the year is one way to ensure you have your audience’s attention heading into Q4—especially in years when the noise will most certainly be harder to cut through, such as ones with Olympic games and presidential elections (um, hello, 2024!). In times like these, paid placement will be more expensive (with less inventory), so earned media may be more impactful, and that requires preparation and planning earlier than you might expect.
Ensure you’re developing compelling content around your calendar. If you are in the B2B or B2C space, make sure you’re thinking about not only your own content calendar but also holidays and nonholidays. In addition to Christmas and New Year, consider creating content related to Small Business Saturday, Giving Tuesday, and any awareness days relevant to your industry (World Teachers Day, Mental Health Awareness Month, etc.).
Carefully craft your message during this time, with consideration for the other things your audience will be consuming. For example, during the campaign cycle, viewers will likely be looking for an escape from all the constant political ads. Dialing back the promotional piece of your marketing plan and keeping 80% or more of your posts informative, entertaining, and educational might help boost your organic growth.
The end of the year is always a busy time, regardless of any extra events. Take a close look at your distribution strategy and decide on the best way to reach your audience as they rush from one place to the next. Consider what combination of website, email, social media, and ad placements will get through to your target market. Increased frequency could also help make an impression on your audience while their attention is fleeting.
This time of year is likely busy for your organization, too! But sticking with your marketing plan is key to success from this year to the next. Remember that marketing efforts take time to build and that preproduction is the most time-consuming piece of video production. Start planning now so projects can get done, keeping your presence seen and felt going into the final months of the year.