DEFINE YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS WITH A STRATEGY CALENDAR THAT WORKS
Planning your creative, communication, and marketing efforts for the year are essential. And, smart implementation and touchpoint mapping focused on your ideal audience will promote positive results.
To help, we recommend dividing marketing calendar development into three main parts: defining goals, planning, and execution.
Defining Goals
Your business goals should shape the marketing calendar. Start by clearly defining what you are trying to achieve, your key performance indicators (KPIs), and who you are trying to reach. Once outlining these steps, you can begin to craft a purposeful calendar to help achieve your goals.
Special note: Keep in mind your target audience can change based on the initiative.
Planning
Successful marketing requires meaningful planning. Every event, campaign, single or multi-touch effort should be designed to meet the goals you've established. Starting with an annual calendar, place items that are known or date-specific, such as holidays and tradeshows. As the year takes shape, identify gaps, and fill in with purpose.
This annual calendar becomes the framework to refine your plan and look at each month and touchpoint more closely. Define specific deliverables, such as:
- Social Media Posts
- Email Marketing
- Appreciation Campaigns
- Surveys
- Newsletters
- Mail Pieces
- Statements
- Etc.
A marketing calendar should clearly outline timelines and act as a tool to keep you and your team on track. Setting calendar and follow up review dates will ensure timely achievements.
Execution
Measuring results, tracking milestones, and reviewing progress is essential to evaluating success. Well-structured efforts are ideal, and "whole team" support will achieve the best outcomes. Ideally, active stakeholders play an influential role in building the calendar. If not, present the schedule of events to them, address any concerns, and obtain the necessary support.
Special note: Calendars can (and in some cases should) evolve and adapt with future refinements, schedule changes, or evolving marketing goals.
In any case, a strategic calendar can help you stay organized and on-track as you manage all of the moving pieces of your marketing plan. Be sure to check-in and report progress on your way to marketing bliss!
Aedieno is a boutique creative agency. To discuss smart marketing strategies and communication calendar development, please contact us.
