5 Content Marketing New Year’s Resolutions You Can (and Should) Keep

Jeff Thomas Jan 6, 2016 12:37:43 PM

OK, if you’re like most people, you scoff at the idea of New Year’s Resolutions. In late December, we make ‘em, by February, we break ‘em, and the concept of “resolving” to do something doesn’t cross our minds again until the end of the year. That’s the pattern for the vast majority of people who make resolutions, and a much larger percentage of the population doesn’t even bother to make them.

But failure to keep promises related to your personal goals doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set some business goals. In fact, if you publish your resolutions within your company, the accountability you feel can be a powerful driver toward achieving them.

So, here are some resolutions you should make regarding your content marketing efforts for the next 12 months. Repeat after me:

We will blog more regularly. Blogging is an excellent way to establish yourself as a thought leader, earn the trust of your audience, and ultimately convert prospects into customers. But those positive results don’t come as the result of a handful of posts splattered randomly on the calendar. Frequency and consistency matter.
We will develop a list of blog topics. Achieving resolution number two is the best way to achieve resolution number one. Coming up with ideas for blog posts is often the most difficult part of the task. If you develop a list of topics in advance, and maybe even take it a step further and start to flesh some of them out a bit, you’ll find that writing the posts feels like less of a chore.
We will develop a content creation calendar. That mental list you keep of the content pieces you’d like to create and when you think you can have them completed is great, but it’s too easy to edit. Other priorities come up, and before you know it, your timeline has shifted… again. Whether it’s online or on the wall, develop a calendar listing the materials you are going to produce and when they will be finished. Then stick to it.
We will do more to promote our content. One mention of a piece of content in an email blast does not a promotional campaign make. You’ve gone to the effort to create great materials, don’t stop short by failing to stir up interest using social media, cross-promotion within content, paid advertising, or whatever it takes.
We will do more to repurpose our content. This resolution is the “low hanging fruit” of the bunch! I bet if you put your mind to it, you could come up with a dozen ideas for how to repackage and redistribute your content right now. (And I won’t be offended if you stop reading this post here to go do that!)

Yes, January is just another month. But if you’re honest with yourself, there is a “clean slate” feeling that comes with it, and a sense of hope and optimism. Run with that! And if you need some help sticking with your resolutions, give us a call. We love to prove the naysayers wrong. Happy New Year!