An End-Of-Year Marketing Checklist
December 8, 2015
by Crystal Butler
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While you are scrambling to finish the last quarter’s tasks that may have gotten lost in the wrapping paper, I want to make sure you do not forget anything that will make 2016 your best year ever.
Here is a checklist to make your marketing is as impactful as possible.
Step 1: Identify any client reviews and prospect meetings you need to set up in time for the holidays. While this article is about end of the year marketing items, you are a financial advisor and your clients are your business. By making these contacts now, you will add more assets from an existing client or new client and you can account for that in next year’s marketing budget.
Step 2: Develop your marketing budget. Entering a new year without a marketing budget can be the downfall of your financial planning business. Your marketing budget not only creates an awareness of how much you can spend towards marketing, but it also helps you to determine what marketing opportunities you will be able to explore in the upcoming year. You know the importance of a budget as an investment professional; it empowers you and gives you the ability to tell your money where to go. Don’t get caught unprepared for the expenses of promoting and supporting your firm and any opportunities to try something new.
Step 3: Develop your marketing calendar for the upcoming year. A marketing calendar enables you to coordinate all of your marketing efforts and assists you in spending your marketing budget and time wisely. It can keep you on track, making sure that you are using every opportunity that you have to market without lapsing in your efforts. I use tools like Trello and MindMeister Task to plan out my client’s marketing campaigns for the next year. I generally break it down on a quarterly basis. An effective marketing calendar will help you take care of your planning, budgeting and staffing. This alone could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
Step 4: Create your content strategy for the upcoming year. I’ve seen content become extremely important when it comes to digital marketing, and this will continue to be the case in the upcoming year. Content marketing is seen as the force multiplier when it comes to marketing. It has an impact on social media marketing, search engine marketing and public relations. Plan out your content marketing ideas on your project board and/or set up a reoccurring tasks in your CRM to make sure it doesn’t fall through the cracks. Starting the new year off with a solid content strategy will give you a head-start.
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