We’re nearly three-quarters of the way through 2016. As you and your company turn your attention to the fourth quarter, it’s a good time to look at what marketing efforts have worked and which ones have fallen flat.
The last months of the year can be the right time to focus on the initiatives that resonated with your audience so you can produce new leads.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways to promote your company in the final stretch of the year.
1. Take Advantage Of Late-Year Spending
As the year comes to a close, many of the companies you do business with might find themselves with extra cash on hand. Don’t get lost in the mix. Make sure your business is visible to prospects looking to spend money at the end of the year.
Part of that visibility comes from showing your audience how you can benefit them. Those companies with money to spend will have to justify their spending. Show them how your business can help make their lives easier this year and next year.
One way to do that is through the blog on your company website. It’s a key element of your marketing strategy for a number of reasons:
- Whether you make cars or candy or concrete, your blog shows visitors to your site that you know what you’re talking about. It lets you answer questions from customers and leads, and establishes your authority. And prospects are more likely to trust you during the sales process if they’ve read a useful blog post.
- Every post you create for your blog is the opportunity to create new leads. If you include a call to action in your posts – download this e-book, sign up for this free webinar – you can get their contact information.
- Your blog reaches people who don’t yet know you exist. Every post you create tells search engines that you have an active website. You’ve also created a piece of content that readers can share, thus increasing your audience.
- Think of a blog post as a gift that keeps on giving. Once it catches the attention of search engines, your site will get hits weeks and months – or even years – down the road. Hubspot says that a majority of the leads it generates each month – 90 percent – come from blog posts it had created in previous months.
On top of all that, your blog is space that you own, rather than rent. Facebook and Twitter are great for generating leads, but your blog is content that’s solely yours.
2. Focus On Next Year’s Budgets
No one waits until December 31 to think about next year’s budget. Your clients and prospective clients are going to use the fourth quarter to start planning their spending for 2017.
Now is the time to get noticed by launching marketing campaigns that show how your product or service can help their business in the coming year.
Talk with your existing customers and prospects to identify hot topics in the industry. It’s also a good time to create case studies and collect customer testimonials.
This will demonstrate your credibility to new prospects and show how you’ve succeeded in the past.
3. Stay Fresh In Your Customers’ Minds
As you make the effort to attract new clients, be sure to focus on your existing customers and prospects that you had identified before the fourth quarter began. Continue your lead nurturing campaigns to reach prospects who may be on the verge of becoming sales-qualified leads.
If you need help planning your fall marketing strategy, contact IQnection. Our digital marketing team is skilled at creating great content that speaks to your existing customers as well as the prospects you’re trying to land down the road.
You may feel like hibernating with winter coming, but your marketing doesn’t have to go to sleep.