Consistency is Key for Your Marketing Program in 2024

As we enter 2024, it is crucial to maintain consistency in your marketing efforts. At L.A. Social Karma, we work with various small business owners and have observed that the most common marketing issue they face is the need for more consistency. This month's blog will provide valuable tips on achieving consistency in your marketing and explain why it is essential.

Marketing is all about building relationships with current and prospective customers, and just like in real life, the only way to build relationships is by showing up and being engaged with your community. Also, keep in mind that marketing is a long term game, meaning if you stop marketing now then you will not see the immediate impact, but over time you will see fewer leads and a decline in overall business. The most important thing you can do for your business is to ensure you keep your business in front of your customers with your marketing efforts. If you are not, I can assure you that your competitors are. 

A great way to be consistent with your marketing is to take some time and decide where and how often you want to communicate. Be realistic here! It is crucial to keep your marketing manageable…a little marketing is better than no marketing at all. 

Here are a few questions to consider when determining your monthly marketing needs: 

1. How much time do we have to dedicate to marketing each month? 

2. Do we have the know-how on our team? If not, what is our budget for outsourcing our marketing efforts? 

3. What channels? I.E., Facebook, Instagram, Email Marketing, Networking, Printed flyers, Digital Ads, Print Media, Blogging 

4. How often? 

For example: 

1. How much time do we have to dedicate to marketing each month? 8-10 hours 

2. Do we have the know-how on our team? If not, what is our budget for outsourcing our marketing efforts? We know Email Marketing, Facebook, and Instagram. 

3. What channels? Email Marketing, Facebook, Instagram 

4. How often? 2 posts per week on Instagram & Facebook, 1 Email Newsletter per month. 

To summarize, your monthly plan based on the above example would be:

1. One email per month 

2. Two posts per week on Instagram & Facebook (10-12 per month) 

Now, you have a simple monthly marketing plan. Each month, you know you need to create one email newsletter and two posts per week on Facebook and Instagram. Don't try and play catch up. Let the current month go and start working on the next month's marketing. If you don't do this, you will always be playing catch up, and feeling rushed doesn't allow for the thoughtful creation of campaigns, causes mistakes, and upsets employees because everything is always an emergency. 

We suggest using a simple Excel spreadsheet to map out your articles and promotions for your Jan newsletter and the ten social media posts in the first week of December. Planning on your part will give you an idea of the photos, videos, and flyers you need to create. Set aside a day to work on your content. Well-thought-out content can take several days to put together, not to mention the editing! But by starting a month early, you will have the entire month to assemble your content. Also, repurpose content. You can easily repurpose your social media content to use in your newsletters. Lastly, once all the content is put together, schedule the content using a scheduler tool. This will give you the bread and butter of your marketing. You can easily add items as they come up in the month, but you know the basics are handled. 

We hope you'll take control of your marketing efforts in 2024 with a bit of planning! Also, if you plan your content each month when 2025 rolls around, you can reference last year's content calendar for ideas!