For some companies marketing budgets are a game of use-it-or-lose-it. Most often it seems like there is not enough budget to go around all year and a lot of marketing directors tend to remain frugal to ensure all their initiatives are implemented. Yet the end of the year nears and they are faced with a surplus that they now must spend to ensure they don’t lose that budget in the upcoming year. That is when the question looms: How to spend your extra marketing budget wisely so that it does not look like you’re spending money for the sake of spending it.
Here are some great tips to help you spend your extra year-end marketing budget wisely and help propel your brand into the upcoming year.
1. Holiday Promotions
If you are working with a marketing agency or an internal marketing team, direct some of your remaining budget towards holiday promotions. Just like you, other companies may be faced with the same marketing budget surplus dilemma and are ready to take advantage of some good deals before the year’s end. So, take advantage of that and promote your brand, services, and products with special offers to sign some deals or move some inventory. This will have tax advantages and will help your company hit the ground running revenue-wise in the new year.
2. Planning Next Year’s Marketing Initiatives
You can engage your marketing agency or brainstorm with your internal marketing team to get a jumpstart on your marketing strategy for the new year. Most firms or government agencies wait till they get their budgets in the new year and then start planning their marketing initiatives. That is inefficient because you lose one or two months of the year to budgeting and planning. Why not hit the ground running by doing that work ahead of time so that you can market all year round? You can plan based on your existing year budget and if you end up with less or more in the new year you can adjust your plan accordingly. Now that is super smart planning which will help you get started while your competitors are still in the planning phase.
3. Investing in Video Content
Because of TikTok and Reels, the marketing game has changed forever. These days if you can’t say what you need to say in 1 minute or less you are going to be swept up. So, it makes sense to take advantage of this hot medium and boost your brand’s profile. Your marketing agency can certainly help you with content ideas so that you can create a relatable content strategy and start producing right away. If you have not considered producing short-term videos yet it is time to seriously think about it. TikTok and Reels are in their infancy and the pandemic has made these platforms even more relevant. So, if you have an extra marketing budget you can invest it in producing a library of videos that can be segmented into short form and disseminated over the next 12 months.
4. Self-Education
There is always room to improve. Investing in the education of yourself or your marketing team is crucial to stay one step ahead of your competition. Technology changes at a pace that is hard to keep up. Just look at the conversation around Crypto and NFTs. The future is here and if we are not equipped to understand it fast, we may be left behind. Hiring consulting experts that can help you understand the new technologies and how to leverage them as future marketing vehicles is key to long-term success. So, if you have an extra year-end marketing budget left you can invest it in consultants that can help your brand get ready for the marketing of the future.
5. SEO Strategy
Investing in SEO always pays off. Search patterns change daily, and your website’s SEO may not be as relevant today as it was last year. It is always good to consult a capable SEO/SEM team to make sure you have periodic audits of your website and its content to make sure you are taking advantage of the algorithmic changes that happen in search engines. Google constantly changes the game and if you are not on top of the changes your ranking suffers. This is a sound strategy all year round, but it is even more important to have your SEO strategy set before you start your new year.
If you need help with any of the initiatives outlined above, we can help. Contact us today and set up your free consult.
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