Writing your own social media content can be tough and time consuming, especially trying to make it useful and engaging.
So we have created a free downloadable of content ideas, that you can utilise and tailor for you business.
Are you a new business trying to give your brand a well-deserved head start? Or an existing company looking to give your brand more recognition to bring in new leads? Well having a Marketing Plan is a great way to make sure you know how you are going to increase your brand awareness and sales for at least the next year!
“A marketing plan is an operational document that outlines an advertising strategy that an organization will implement to generate leads and reach its target market. A marketing plan details the outreach and PR campaigns to be undertaken over a period, including how the company will measure the effect of these initiatives.” – www.investopedia.com
Marketing Plans are so important for businesses, but that doesn’t mean they are easy to write, so we have outlined some of the most important parts of a Marketing Plan and how you can write them.
In the very first part of your Marketing Plan you need to include the Business Name, Location, Date Established, Owners and Product/Service.
Now, we know this sounds simple and maybe unnecessary however business information is crucial to the beginning of your marketing plan. Your marketing plan should be able to be passed along and easily understood whether that is by someone new joining your business, or an outsourced marketing agency.
A mission statement is used for a business to explain it’s purpose, in simple terms to the world.
It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what your companies focus is but here are a few things to consider:
Now place these answers to those questions in a simple sentence or two. Remember to keep your business mission statement short and to the point.
If you are struggling and need some inspiration, check out these examples.
Your business vision statement, can often get confused with your mission statement however they do have a difference!
Your vision statement is where you want to see your business. So what does your business look like based on your goals and aspiration?
Here are a couple of questions to consider:
Business Vision Statements can be incredibly inspiring to yourself and your employees, so make sure it is a statement you want to live by.
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats and Opportunities, all of these aspects are so important when considering where your business is heading and what might be holding you back.
Check out these descriptions below to understand what each part means:
Strengths: What do you do well? What is an asset to your business? What resources do you have? Ask others what they think the strengths within your business are.
Weaknesses: What can you improve on? Where do you need more resource within your business? Ask your team or people who know your business what they think you could improve on.
Opportunities: What new resources, trends or changes could you take advantage of? Relook at your strengths and look at those that you can turn into opportunities.
Threats: What do your weaknesses open you up to? What would be detrimental to your business? What are changes you have no power over that would harm your business?
Understanding who your ideal target market is, is an absolutely vital part of marketing your business. Without understand who your target market is, you won’t understand how to talk to them, what channels to use to reach them or what pain points you are solving.
A great way to really understand your target market is by creating a customer persona. To do this you can either download our Free Customer Persona Template to get a more indepth understanding or map out the following questions:
This will give you a real understanding of who your perfect customer is from a more personal perspective.
Your marketing goals give you the opportunity to hold yourself and your team accountable for targets, whether that is tasks, quotas, improvements in KPIs, or other performance-based goals.
All of your marketing goals should follow the SMART Goal structure:
Specific | Measurable | Attainable | Relevant | Time-based
This means you know exactly what your goal is, you can measure the results, it is achievable, relevant to your business and you know the timings of your goal. Making it a lot easier to monitor and measure how well your goals/campaigns are doing.
At the end of your marketing plan, you need to outline what actions/strategies you are going to do to complete each goal, ideally matching a strategy to each one of your goals.
This should include what strategy, what goal it relates to and how much it is going to cost (either monthly or yearly) so that you can understand how you are going to meet your SMART Goals.
It also means everyone looking at the marketing plan understands what needs to happen next, how it is going to happen and what impact it will have on the company.
Having a marketing plan is really important for your business and should give you a clear direction as to how you are going to increase your brand awareness and leads, as well as what that means for your business’ resources.
If you are looking for a document that you can easily fill in so you have a solid marketing plan, download our Free One Page Marketing Plan Template.
With the year starting not quite as we all hoped we wanted to bring some positivity with a few ideas on how to really focus on your goals for 2021. We cannot control the pandemic but we can control how we react to it and it doesn’t have to stop your business success. So set some goals and go for it! We have given you five ideas below. We hope they help and give your January a boost!
Of course, we couldn’t help but start with Marketing. Marketing is a business strategy that a lot see as a cost rather than an investment into their business success.
For a lot of businesses marketing is at the bottom of their task list, with it sometimes being forgotten because people don’t understand it.
But Marketing is so important, it is a way of attracting new customers, building your brand and engaging your ideal audience.
So, whether you hire someone in house or outsource to an Agency…Make Marketing a Priority.
For more Marketing help take a look at our Resources page here
In times like we are in right now, marketing often gets left behind. Everyone is looking to cut costs to save their business, and it pains me to see business owners make this mistake. Marketing isn’t a cost but an investment, and you will see a return if its done right! This is the time that you need to stand out and really promote your product or service. Do not stop marketing especially in what feels like the toughest time.
Emma Ellis, Managing Director
Planning is key for life not just business success!
Planning lets you set out where you want to end up and how you are going to get there with structured goals.
Lots of businesses run without real structure, or an idea of where they are wanting the business to end up. But this means that there is nothing to strive for and you don’t know what to prioritise next.
For your business we recommend having a Yearly, Quarterly and Monthly plan of what you want to achieve, which will help you stay focused on your end goal!
“Planning ahead is usually put to the end of everyone’s list but it can save you hours of time! Whether it’s simply planning out your day or planning your blog posts ahead, it will focus your concentration so that you aren’t wasting time. Having a plan will make you feel more constructive with your time and you’ll have less of that brain fuzz feeling where you don’t know where to start. I always plan content a month in advance with our content planner, allowing me to feel ahead of the game!”
Tia-Lily Girdlestone, Marketing Assistant
Delegating is so important, you shouldn’t and can’t do everything yourself!
What’s to say there isn’t someone on your team that knows more about the subject than yourself? Or maybe it will help them with their development? Just because you delegate it doesn’t mean you can’t have any involvement.
See if there are any Time-consuming, Teachable or Time-sensitive tasks that you can pass to your team or outsource!
“I really struggled with delegation when I became a Marketing Manager, it felt like I was giving away everything I did and that it wouldn’t be done properly. However, what I realised over the course of delegating was that there was new fresh ideas, learning increased and it gave me more time to train on new strategies. Delegation can just mean there is someone more experienced, or it just frees you up to do more of what you NEED to do!”
Tamzin Klyen, Marketing Manager
The last 12 months have been rough for a lot of businesses through no fault of their own, and lots are based right in your own community.
So, if you have the ability to offer out some support, whether it is giving people 15 minutes of your time to discuss business, how you can collaborate or giving them some free information, it’s a nice thing to do!
The more you help other people the more you will receive help back, so if you are referring businesses to that local accountant that you know, or the IT business that is based in your building, it means you are building a network of people who know your business!
“At the very beginning of the first lockdown, one of the very first things we decided as a team is that we wanted to give back. We wanted to be able to help people where we can, and that’s exactly what we did. Over the course of the first lockdown we completed over 60 hours of Free Marketing Meetings. Giving back to us meant we got to help a lot of people/businesses, and now we have seen those business flourish through offering out just a few hours a week to whoever we can. So if you have the resources and time then we definitely recommend doing what you can to give back”
Tamzin Klyen, Marketing Manager
Giving yourself time to recharge and get a clear mind is so important for your business success (and your family!)
Sometimes the best ideas come to you when you are out with the kids, walking the dog or maybe even cooking dinner, because it’s one of the few times you give your mind the opportunity to relax and be more open.
It also means you aren’t as stressed, and neither is your office environment, so take an early finish, or a longer lunch and do something you enjoy!
“It can be so hard to get this right, and I still haven’t, and lockdown 3.0 doesn’t help. I personally get up an hour earlier than everyone else as it gives me that ‘me’ time. I work out, I read, I meditate, I catch up on work. It’s a killer getting out of bed but it gets me in the right headspace for whatever the day throws at me. Another tip it to stop putting too much pressure on yourself. Try to define set time to be present with the family and with work and if it doesn’t happen, try again tomorrow and lower your expectations slightly. We are in a tough old world right now, so don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t always work out!”
Emma Ellis, Managing Director
We are always wanting to hear what people are planning for their new year, which gives us all inspiration, so let us know yours below! If you are still struggling and haven’t had a power hour with us yet, feel free to contact us. We appreciate it’s hard to get motivated right now, and if you need that extra boost we can help, we want you to strive for Business Success!
Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for more Marketing Blogs and Tips.
Ellie has been a breath of fresh air. We joined Amber Marketing just before the madness of the pandemic, which was obviously a very nervous time for all business owners. Ellie quickly filled me with confidence. She kept me motivated and smiling through the tough days and together we have come up with some great content. I must drive her crazy at times when changing my mind at the last minute or I come out with crazy ideas, she is always happy to help and gets me back on the right track. Ellie is very knowledge and has a passion for what she does, for a young girl she is very mature and confident. I have learnt a lot about many different things including what are targets customers look for to blogs for the website. It’s a huge comfort for us having Ellie and Amber Marketing by our side.
I first opened my eyes to what Emma does at one of her community business meetings she runs in London Colney
After working alongside my partner Paul 20 something years into his trade, we thought we’d tried and tested most marketing strategies and were tired of failed attempts at getting the right customers in.
How wrong were we! Step by step, Emma showed us what marketing actually is and how it should be applied to our very small business – how you need to get out there and show off your stuff – how branding is so important and the first impression you create for your customers. Her social media content planner is now my weekly bible.
With Emma’s help we’ve made small changes to how we work but these have had a big impact and once Emma’s happy we move onto the next step. And whilst we pay our monthly fee for the package we signed up to it doesn’t stop there. Anything marketing related I now ping Emma’s way for a quick look and reassurance that I’m doing it right!
Emma is a natural leader and a loyal soldier to her customers and goes over and above in everything she does. Would highly recommend Emma and Amber Mountain marketing to anyone. Thanks Emma!
As a small firm providing support to employers on people management and leadership development, image is important to us, but our marketing budget is limited.
I contacted Amber Mountain Marketing for support in developing a marketing strategy that targeted our ideal clients but with limited resources. They did not fail to deliver.
Their discovery questionnaire was a great tool to get us thinking about what we were offering our clients and what we wanted to achieve. They emailed the draft strategy within days of receiving our input and arranged to go through the strategy in detail with me. Their approach was friendly and collaborative. They listened to my questions and didn’t make me feel stupid in asking them!
I am an action focused person and put the first of your strategies in place the following day. I cannot tell you how delighted I was when I signed a new client just 24 hours on, as a direct result of this single suggestion. I can’t wait to see the impact of the other things you suggested.
I cannot thank Amber Mountain Marketing enough and would highly recommend them to all of my contacts.
Amber Mountain marketing are amazing!
Their passion energy and desire to help small businesses is testament to the driving force behind it all, Emma Ellis. I’ve been fortunate to work with Emma to sort out a solid marketing strategy for my business! Emma’s passion and enthusiasm to help us is undeniable. Emma’s knowledge supersedes anyone I’ve met previously and She has helped our business implement a solid marketing plan and has transformed our negative but mostly fearful attitude, towards anything marketing related. From the start Emma took the time to understand our industry despite it being quite niche.
I actually look forward to our sessions as Emma is a do’er and will always help us get things done. Delivers on all her plans for us without much waiting time. The results speak for themselves. More patients, more revenue. More visibility, more revenue, more followers more revenue.
Emma is an integral part to our business. The mountain we once feared is now a small bump we fly over and LAUGH at. Thanks Emma and the team at amber mountain.
Brilliant service! Second to none. Emma has helped me grow my business through her marketing. I have gone from teaching in a small community centre to now running my own dance studio. She is super professional, extremely personable and takes time to get to know you and your brand.
She’s always there to assist and preparing the next step to help grow your business. She goes above and beyond to do the best she can for you.
If you are looking to grow then I would highly recommend Amber Mountain Marketing.
Emma has been working with me to build a marketing plan for my business. I really like the way the Emma empowers you to take action and knows the steps that need to be taken in order to grow the business. She helps me to reflect on strategies that I have tried and what needs to be done next. Although she often pushes me out of my comfort zone, the rewards are evident already. I highly recommend Emma if you are looking to understand marketing and want someone who is fun and easy-going to work with.
Thanks Emma!
Emma started working with Utility People over 3 years ago now and she has been instrumental in moving our business to the next level. When she came into our business she very quickly saw we were a bit different to other recruiters and encouraged us to get that out to the marketplace. Emma completely rebranded us introduced us to values and implemented a new website and logo. It was great to finally be able to push our message externally through a brand!
Emma really understands our passion for being more than just a recruiter and has helped us get that message out there through social media, various blog content, whitepapers and most recently a Women’s Network to support our candidates. Clients come to us now because they can see we are different to our competitors and in reality we do not even see them as competition anymore! Needless to say profits have increased dramatically and marketing is now a very big part of our business.
Having set up Silverhill Cattery, I was struggling to build my customer base in the local area. Working with Emma I soon realised the importance of social media and interacting with my current and future customers. She helped me set up social media accounts and made my website more user friendly. I can’t believe the impact it has had. I’m currently building new chalets to keep up with the customer bookings!
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