Mapping out your 2024 Content Marketing

👉🏻 DOWNLOAD 2024 PLANNING CALENDAR

When do you begin mapping out the coming year and how detailed does your planning get?

Eleanor Roosevelt said "It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan". 

From dreaming to planning

I have just returned from Fiji, where last week I attended a brand design mastermind. We had 4 incredible presenters. The first presenter was Kristina Karlsson of Kikki K stationary fame.

Who describes herself as a Global Dreaming Expert. I love dreaming, my greatest achievements all began with a wild crazy dream. So I loved her session which talked about how big can we dream.

What was so powerful though about this mastermind was after the dreaming session, the following 3 presenters Sarah Pirie-Nally, Nicole Hatherly and Shaynna Blaze help turn the dream and vision to life through planning. 

Strategy vs Plan

As a Marketing Strategist, I begin with a strategy which then helps me create a plan. A STRATEGY is the big picture long-term vision that outlines your business goals, objectives, and overall direction. It the "what" and "why". A strategy focuses on your purpose or mission.

It's adaptable and can evolve over time in response to changing circumstances or market conditions. Think about we had to pivot in 2020. It considers your core values and vision.  

A PLAN has the actionable tasks to achieve the objectives in the strategy.

It details the steps, actions and activities that you need to bring your strategy to life. A good plan is structured and specific. It will outline timelines, budget and resources. It defines how, when and who.

So, how can having a marketing strategy and a content marketing plan help you achieve your business goals next year?

It can provide clarity and focus of what to do, it can identify resources  you may need to allocate. It will help you create key performance indicators (KPI’s), metrics to measure success.

What is Content Marketing

Content marketing provides relevant and useful information to your audience to help solve problems. Which then builds a relationship and trust with potential customers, making them more likely to do business with you or recommend you. 

You can sharing your content via;

• Social media 
• Blogging
• Podcasting
• Email newsletter
• Ebooks and hosting webinars

CONTENT CATALYST PODCAST EPISODE - MAPPING OUT 2024

According to the Content Marketing Institute;

78% of B2B marketers rate content marketing as a top marketing strategy. 

With video content an effective being trend 

A well-thought-out content marketing plan will allow you to have consistency in scheduling and help you repurpose content. To effectively increase brand awareness, to drive website traffic, generate leads and nurture customers. 

Most importantly, create content that resonates with your audience to solve their pain points.

Where to begin

I start by mapping  out key campaigns and events, then align the content marketing plan around this.

Consider monthly content themes and topics. Create your content around holidays, seasons, and trending topics. Because we need 20 touch points to make an impact, I vary my content formats to support each learning style and reinforce my messaging. 

By varying your formats you will engage with your audience based on how they like to consume content such as long form content like podcasts, blogs, or short form content using social media.

I begin my mapping out my year using a google sheet calendar planner to show a snap shot of each month.Then use I use Monday.com to flesh out my plan. 

So have you haven’t already, now is the time to start planning your 2024.

Dwight Eisenhower said "Proper planning will be the difference between success and failure". 

 If you would like to map out next year, I have a free 2024 calendar planner which you can download from my website debszabo.com/calendar

If you’d like some support with your strategy or help planning your campaigns and content marketing for next year, I am offering 1:1 sessions to give you clarity and direction. You can book a free 30 minute session on website debszabo.com/coaching

So my Final Thought is….

Don’t just dream it, plan it!

Deb Szabo

Marketing Strategist | Video Marketing Coach