Uber Cool Buzzing Photo: Taylor Scott
If you are responsible for your businesses marketing efforts, it would be a good idea to have a Marketing Calendar. By this I mean, a calendar, devoted only to the marketing goals of your company.
You may be launching a new website, introducing a new service, promoting a competition on Facebook or Twitter or holding an event.
Don’t you love getting a new diary at the beginning of the new year? You know when you get a fresh new book and you can’t wait to write in it? (For me, that lasts only for a few days and my ever such neat writing, after a while, turns into utter scrawl!) As much as getting a new paper diary is temporarily exciting, you may also have online calendars, desktop calendars, personal calendars, etc. It can get very confusing!
Therefore it is best to devote 1 calendar to your marketing and I always find, to sit and research dates in the year that you can jump on as far as marketing goes, is also quite a lot of fun!
Clearly it’s never too late to get organised. It certainly doesn’t have to be January to write your marketing calendar, if you haven’t got one, make it one of this weeks tasks! You will feel so much better once its down! I promise! Use this marketing calendar to start you off!
There are the obvious, usual seasonal holidays of course, the likes of St Patricks’ Day and Valentines Day etc. But let’s dig deeper. What has your local city got to offer? What’s the media saying? What’s on TV? What will people be talking about on Twitter and Facebook? Have a look at ‘special days calendar‘ ‘Audio Book Month’, ‘Geek Day’ and one of my personal favourites, ‘Spoonerism Day’!
Obviously, I am not telling you to chat about ‘every kind of Day’ every day! but it’s a great way to pick a few out of the year and tie in with the marketing activities of your business.
For example, If you are a restaurant; you have seen that it is National Pecan Day (that does exist) next month and have decided to devote a whole weeks online activity to pecans. You are even making a special pecan pie ice cream in the kitchen as a ‘special of the week’ to tie the promotion in nicely. You’re posting unusual pecan recipes, information on where they grow and how they get to your kitchen, you have even shot a series of mini virals with your chef making dishes using pecans.
These days don’t have to have anything to do with your line of work of course. It could be a totally random promotion! “Just because” is always a great filler and gives a somewhat aloof, carefree and current attitude to your brand’s persona.
I think my point is, make sure you don’t miss any opportunities that could help boost your marketing and online activity. Make your life easier throughout the year by planning up front, so you know where you are and lastly, look beyond the ‘Pancake Days’ and the ‘Mothers and Fathers Days’…There is so much more to discover!
These links may help you with some ideas!