Health, finance and life are typical resolutions for our personal lives. We resolve to eat better, exercise more and spend less/save more.
What about your business life? What will you resolve to do better in 2014?
Let’s admit it. There are so many things in business that can’t be controlled. Prospects drag their feet in getting a project underway, customers get hot-under-the-collar no matter how well we communicate with them, and the weather and government can play havoc on the best-made plans.
This year, resolve to take action in things you can control to build your business. You may not be able to control the bitter-cold temperatures that make pouring concrete impossible, but you can write a blog post. You may not be able to appease the neighbor who doesn’t enjoy the noise and dust of economic development, but you can write an outstanding newsletter every month.
This is how businesses are built – step by step. Here are some content marketing ideas that may spark your resolution action plan.
- Blog regularly. What types of blog topics will you publish and what does “regularly” mean to you? Once a week? More? Define what blogging means to you and stick to it – no matter what.
- Stand up your email newsletter program. How will you approach it? Where will your “list” come from?
- Figure out Twitter … finally. With Twitter’s monthly audience of 30.8 million people, there MUST be something to this, right?
- Post daily to Facebook. How will you engage those folks so they actually see your posts?
- Utilize Houzz and participate in this growing community.
- Find a forum, such as Remodel Zone, or a group within LinkedIn to grow and learn from others in the industry.
Now that you have a content marketing action plan, here are some tips for sticking to those resolutions.
- Prioritize. Just because it is a new year and you feel like it is a “clean slate” it doesn’t necessarily mean you have a lot of extra time. Make a priority system. Start with [x] and once you have that mastered (say in 3 to 4 months), begin including [y], too.
- Dedicate time. To get better, you need to dedicate time and practice. What may take you an hour a day at the beginning of January will be easier and take less time the more you work at it.
- Stick to it. No matter what, stick to what you’ve resolved to do. Hold yourself accountable. This is the no-excuse zone.
- Observe & learn from others. If you are determined to learn Twitter (finally), start by spending more time listening and learning and less time tweeting. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how much you pick up when you dedicate time to observing first.
- Get guidance. If you don’t know how to setup your blog or stand up your email newsletter program, get help. Either find the resources online, or hire a construction marketing consultant (like me) who can get you up and running quicker than if you tried to do it all on your own.
- Be authentic. Too many business blogs, posts and tweets sound mechanical – like the compliance department took away your personality. Don’t be mechanical. Be authentic.
- Participate. Social media is about being social. Don’t be one of those folks who spends all their time online talking (or worse, automating) and never participating.
What will you resolve to take action on this year? Please share in the comment section below.
Photo credit: Satish Viswanath
