{"id":506,"date":"2015-12-16T07:30:42","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T12:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/?p=506"},"modified":"2016-05-20T23:09:36","modified_gmt":"2016-05-21T03:09:36","slug":"content-marketing-strategy-year-end-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/content-marketing-strategy-year-end-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Content Marketing Strategy and [Free Year-End Checklist]"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"blog-post-wrapper cell-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"section post-body\"><a href=\"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-798\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1>A Year-End Content Marketing Strategy<\/h1>\n<p>For marketers \u2013 professionals who measure every metric in order to tell themselves and their clients what\u2019s working \u2013 the end of the calendar year is a special gift: It\u2019s time to measure what went right in 2015 and what to change and improve upon when defining your 2016 content marketing strategy. To make life easier, <a href=\"http:\/\/info.crestconsultingllc.com\/year-end-marketing-worksheets\" target=\"_blank\"><em>download your free 2015 Year-End Marketing Worksheets<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/info.crestconsultingllc.com\/year-end-marketing-worksheets\" target=\"_blank\" data-mce-target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Year_End_Marketing_Checklist_Crest Consulting\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Year_End_Marketing_Checklist_COVER_9bea.jpg?w=325&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Year_End_Marketing_Checklist_Crest Consulting\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>How do you measure success?<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s start with what went right.\u00a0Start your measurements from the beginning of each campaign and note what it was designed to do:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Generate more leads?<\/li>\n<li>Attract more visitors to your website?<\/li>\n<li>Convert visitors to subscribers?<\/li>\n<li>Get more email opt-ins?<\/li>\n<li>Make the cash register go ka-ching!?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you were successful, do you know why? Continuous improvement is a mandate. What will you tweak the next time to get even more leads, visitors, conversions and opt-ins?<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Measure Marketing Ruler Crest Consulting\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Ruler36d8.jpg?w=315&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Measure Marketing Ruler Crest Consulting\"  \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Hello World<\/h2>\n<p>Share the news of your success with the rest of the company. Share it with the sales department. Toot your own horn to management. Celebrate your wins and take the opportunity to ask what their needs, goals and priorities are for the upcoming year.<\/p>\n<h2>Repurpose Content<\/h2>\n<p>With this feedback in hand, determine which content you can repurpose. Can that presentation deck to the industry association become a SlideShare presentation? (LinkedIn now owns SlideShare, so this can only help your SEO ranking) Can you turn that popular blog post into a content offer such as a Checklist or Infographic? Repurposing content you already know is good takes far less effort than creating brand-new content, so look to re-use popular content whenever you can.<\/p>\n<h2>Examine Each Channel<\/h2>\n<p>Next, conduct the same exercise for your <strong>social media<\/strong> efforts.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Which channels performed best?<\/li>\n<li>Which deserve more time, money, and attention?<\/li>\n<li>Will you add new distribution channels in 2016?<\/li>\n<li>Will you drop poor performing ones?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_rich_text\" data-hs-cos-general-type=\"meta_field\" data-hs-cos-type=\"rich_text\">With a resource such as <a href=\"http:\/\/buzzsumo.com\/\">Buzzsumo<\/a> you can see which content titles and topics get shared the most on social media and analyze what content performs best for your competitors.<br \/>\n<\/span>Which campaigns were most successful? Did you take enough time to analyze which keywords evoked the most response and whether there was a pattern to the titles of your most popular posts?<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Marketing Results Crest Consulting\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Resultsaec8.jpg?w=340&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Marketing Results Crest Consulting\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Often during the year we will make an observation or ponder a hunch. Now is the time to look a little deeper at these ideas and, after examining the data, develop these thoughts into further plans. Which blog post was most shared? Which had the most comments? Which generated the most new subscribers? Who can you partner with and exchange guest blogs in 2016 to bring additional value to your readers?<\/p>\n<p>Do the same for your\u00a0<strong>website<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Which of your website pages were most visited this year?<\/li>\n<li>Does each web page have a specific focus and Call-to-Action?<\/li>\n<li>Where did your website visitors come from?<\/li>\n<li>Can you track the page they were on before they came to your site?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You need to look at your website in other ways, too. The conventional wisdom of just a few years back was that you could simply design your site and let it percolate for several months or a year before making changes. Today, <a href=\"turn-your-website-into-a-lead-generation-machine.html\" target=\"_blank\">successful websites are the result of nearly continuous examination and adjustment<\/a> to make sure your message is sharp and you are driving the behavior of those you want to connect with.<\/p>\n<p>Do the same kind of examination of all your content: your <strong>videos<\/strong>, your <strong>email<\/strong> campaigns and <strong>webinars<\/strong>. (You are doing all this, right?) This represents a small subset of the million little things necessary to make marketing work. It\u2019s worth it. Need help? <em><a href=\"http:\/\/info.crestconsultingllc.com\/year-end-marketing-worksheets\" target=\"_blank\">Download your free 2015 Year-End Marketing Worksheets<\/a>\u00a0here<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2>Different objectives for each campaign, segment and project<\/h2>\n<p>Don\u2019t flinch on determining which projects were a total flop. The data doesn\u2019t lie. Sometimes the best decision is to scrap it and start over. Make an effort to understand why some initiatives didn\u2019t work and how you can adjust in the coming year. Was the whole thing a bad idea or just poorly executed? Would it work better in a different format or distribution channel or targeted at a different audience?<\/p>\n<h2>Plan for the New Year<\/h2>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-798\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg?resize=416%2C278&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Celebrate\" width=\"416\" height=\"278\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg?resize=100%2C67&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg?resize=150%2C100&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg?resize=200%2C133&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg?resize=450%2C300&amp;ssl=1 450w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg?resize=600%2C400&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Celebrate.jpg?resize=900%2C600&amp;ssl=1 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 416px) 100vw, 416px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now you are ready to restart the process. As every marketer knows, your analysis and planning is never done. It\u2019s time to plan for the coming year with a list of goals and strategies for 2016. Save time!\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/info.crestconsultingllc.com\/year-end-marketing-worksheets\" target=\"_blank\">Download your free 2015 Year-End Marketing Worksheets<\/a>\u00a0now<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In order to improve and make 2016 an even better year, think about the best use of your time. How do you achieve the highest ROI for what you personally do? Consider utilizing outside expertise if it frees up your time to do more of those high-productivity tasks. For example; I can change the oil in my car. But if it takes me two or three times as long as it takes the quick lube joint down the street, and their work frees me up to create a content offer that people will pay for in the same amount of time (while waiting for the oil to be changed), then it\u2019s worth it for me to outsource the oil change.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the same for you in your business. If an outside expert in web development or landing page design, or copywriting, or A\/B testing or accounting can accomplish the task more efficiently than you can, AND it allows you to spend your time doing what you do best, then consider it a worthwhile tradeoff.<\/p>\n<p>When you complete your analysis, you might find that you were more successful than you remembered. Take a moment to celebrate! You did good work this year and no doubt learned many new things. Then move confidently into 2016.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"section post-body\">\n<p>Share your 2015 marketing success (and what changes you plan to make) in the Comments section below.\u00a0<em>A real person reads and responds to all comments!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Thanks,<\/p>\n<p>David<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/\">www.crestconsultingllc.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>At Crest, we help companies:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Create content that separates them from their competition<\/li>\n<li>Become subject matter experts in their field<\/li>\n<li>Measure the effectiveness of their marketing $$<\/li>\n<li>Generate a consistent pipeline of high-quality leads for less<\/li>\n<li>Turn clients into evangelists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oauth2relay685214527\" tabindex=\"-1\" src=\"https:\/\/accounts.google.com\/o\/oauth2\/postmessageRelay?parent=file%3A%2F%2F#rpctoken=604327614&amp;forcesecure=1\" name=\"oauth2relay685214527\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Year-End Content Marketing Strategy For marketers \u2013 professionals who measure every metric in order to tell themselves and their clients what\u2019s working \u2013 the end of the calendar year is a special gift: It\u2019s time to measure what went &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/content-marketing-strategy-year-end-checklist\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Content Marketing Strategy and [Free Year-End Checklist]<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-marketing-strategy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Year_End_Marketing_Checklist_COVER_-e1454434530209.jpg?fit=400%2C518&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ViyM-8a","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1301,"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506\/revisions\/1301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crestconsultingllc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}