Kelly Ehlers is Founder and President of The Evoke Agency, a 4x Inc 500 and 5000 firm focusing on social media, content creation and PR.
As the saying goes, “Proper preparation prevents poor performance.” At my agency, we teach our team members to overprepare for their individual contributions, but the adage rings true at a leadership level as well. Planning your 2025 marketing strategy is crucial for success. The digital world is constantly changing as trends, technology and consumer behavior quickly shift, and brands that neglect planning often overspend and still fall short of their goals. As you prepare for the new year, here are five tips to help you shape a marketing plan that drives results.
1. Get Clear On Your Business Goals
Before diving into marketing tactics, clarify your overall business objectives for 2025 by asking yourself these questions:
• Am I focusing on growth, market expansion, engagement or customer retention?
• What key messages do I want to communicate and to whom?
• What are my brand’s current strengths and weaknesses?
Answering these questions will help you set clear, measurable goals to tailor your marketing strategy to.
2. Consider Platform Changes
To capture consumers’ attention, brands need to stay on top of digital platform changes such as algorithms and trends. If you’re not already leveraging AI in your marketing plans, you are missing opportunities to optimize relevance and stay current with technologies.
As you build your social media strategy, focus on engagement, saves, likes, shares and comments, rather than followers or impressions. Consumer engagement reflects a genuine interest in your business, ultimately leading to increased customer loyalty, better algorithm performance and higher conversion rates.
3. Rethink Influence
Influence is no longer about partnering with the person with the largest following count; instead, it’s about working with the person who aligns with your brand’s values and mission and can resonate with your target audience the best.
Try working with micro-influencers. Selecting influencers based on their relevance to your brand’s message and ability to foster engagement will ultimately lead to meaningful connections and higher conversions. It’s not about who has the most followers, but who can create the most impact.
You also could consider partnering with industry leaders and having your employees create content.
4. Understand Why People Follow And Engage With You
Today’s consumers have a lot of options. Why should they follow you? Understanding the motivations behind why users follow your brand and tailoring the content to their needs and interests is key to planning a marketing strategy that delivers significant results. By identifying and delivering on the key reasons users interact with your brand, you can ensure your marketing resonates and builds brand loyalty.
5. Embrace Edutainment
Edutainment, content that educates and entertains, can be a powerful tool for your brand’s online presence. By offering informative yet engaging media, you can position your brand as a thought leader while providing value to your audience. This type of content fosters deeper connections with your followers, keeping them coming back for more. Consider using webinars, podcasts, tutorials and interactive social media posts to seamlessly incorporate edutainment into your 2025 marketing strategy.
As you prepare your business for 2025, commit to understanding both your business goals and your audience’s expectations. Focus on creating a marketing plan that integrates engagement, influence and edutainment to enhance your brand visibility and drive genuine interactions.
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