I am really not sure how we have made it to the end of another year. Some months feel like they crawled by, while others seem to have ended in the blink of an eye. Ready or not we are entering into a new year as business owners and with it comes the task of planning for the impact we will have. My clients and I have already planned out our next year and I wanted to help you all do the same with a simple actionable plan. Grab a pen and paper because as you work through this blog you can actively create a plan for your 2022 content.
First...Recap 2021
Before you can effectively start planning for the new year, you must first look back at the previous year. What worked for you in 2021? What didn’t? Make a Plus/Delta list along with adjustments that you would like to make this coming year to address the things that didn't quite work out.
For example, if you weren't consistent with your posting on social media this year, maybe you can choose an accountability buddy and text each other daily to ensure follow-through. If you were struggling with customer retention maybe, you spend some time crafting an intentional customer journey or reach out for feedback from current customers. Start the year by addressing the weak areas and there is nothing to do but grow!
Ask your existing Audience
Every piece of content that you create should be made with your audience in mind. With that being said, how do you know what they want to see? FEEDBACK! There is that word again. Honestly, I have found this true in every career. Spanish Teacher of Content Marketing Specialist, the biggest thing to drive our choices, our strategies, and yes even our content should be DATA!
Sorry for shouting but please hear me! Ask your followers what type of content they enjoy most, then create what they want to see. You can post a question on your feed, throw a poll in your stories, or if you have a text community you can send it directly to their phones! Say whaaa!?
Your existing audience loves you; they want to see what you have to share, and they support you so ask them for their feedback and then listen. You would be surprised how many accounts don’t even bother to be social on social media.
Set goals AND objectives
How does the saying go? A goal without a plan is just a dream.
Well, I think that objectives might be more important than goals.
Goals are the outcomes that you intend to achieve this year. But your objectives are the specific actions and measurable steps that you need to take to achieve your goal. The important thing here is ACTION and MEASURABLE.
Here is a personal example. In 2022 I would like to host live and virtual education events where business owners can connect and learn how to optimize social media for business. My objectives might look something like this:
#1 Secure 2 in-person locations (one indoor and one outdoor cause pandemics suck!) by February 2022
#2 Test beta materials with at least 3 current clients and request feedback.
#3 Create and run social media ads for 2 weeks leading up to the event. Target area business owners and entrepreneurs.
Pick your social channels
You cannot be active on every single social media channel at the same time, nor do you want to. This is not our goal, and if it is our goal, we have other things that we need to worry about. You only want to focus your time and attention on the platforms where your potential clients and customers already spend time.
Do some research to find the top platforms that will put you in front of potential paying customers. You are already stretched thin with all that you have to accomplish and unless you have a dedicated social media team it can become overwhelming very quickly and your time is already stretched thin. With all that you have to accomplish, and unless you have a dedicated social media team, it can become overwhelming very quickly.
Even though you aren't going to be active on every platform, it is important to claim your business names across all platforms. Gaining ownership of your name on social will deter people from trying to create fake accounts and piggyback off of your hard work. Be sure to secure your URLs as well. If you have a podcast, I suggest grabbing up the name and URLs for that on top of your general company ones. Same for memberships, special products, etc.
Follow businesses & brands for inspiration
If you are going to get stuck on the scroll or spend hours watching Instagram reels, it might as well be productive. Following businesses and brands that inspire you and share valuable information to help you grow your business is a smart move.
You could start by searching hashtags and networking with other business owners around the world. When they provide tips, tricks, and hacks you will be on top of the trends. This can also be a great way to find trending audio. If I come across a reel that catches my attention, I will go to that creator's page and thumb through their other reels looking for audio that might be relevant to my audience as well. It's a great way to save time and use your social media for market research. Start by following us @chulasocial it’s a party over on my page :)
Layout your content strategy
Now that you know where you are going to be sharing your content. It is finally time to create your strategy. What will you be sharing? Is it educational? Entertaining? What value will it bring to your audience? How do you best present information?
All of these questions are important to help you layout your content strategy. You do not want to spend hours making YouTube videos you hate and have limited engagement. That would certainly make it difficult to continue. Ask yourself what your talents are, what your skills are, and what you enjoy. Content can be a blog or a podcast, or maybe you need to focus on email marketing this year. Whatever it is that you are creating, let’s make a plan and be consistent!
Preparing a content calendar can help tremendously. You can use it to mark release dates, launches, events, and predetermined posts. You can also keep track of holidays and special trends that you can hitch to on social media. I have made a template for you. This Digital Content Calendar is a free download designed to help keep you organized in 2022.
psst... If you are still struggling with how this all translates onto your social media, check out this previous blog post: 5 Noteable Tips for Stand Out Social Media Posts
Find helpful tools
Trust me I get it. It can get overwhelming quickly but that is where automation and helpful tools come in. You can save yourself time and headaches by taking the time to set up your tools at the beginning of the year. Schedule your posts ahead of time (psst. You can schedule your stories now too!) schedule calls and have reminder emails issued automatically, have your proposals, contracts, and invoices handled for you on automation, and much much more.
Some of my favorite tools are:
Facebook Business Suite: Post scheduling and analytics
Canva: Drag and drop design tool
Honeybook: Tools for the Modern Creative Professional
Hello Bonsai: Bulletproof contracts, e-signing, proposals & invoicing
The new year brings a lot of hope, and YOU CAN DO THIS! You have everything it takes to have a successful year. If you do want someone to join forces with you and help, take on some of the strategy, design, or platform management Chula Social is excited to help. You can schedule a free call and/or join our Chula Social Club Newsletter Mailing List where you can receive help like this to your inbox every month. I promise not to flood your inbox, only value!
Now go forth and make 2022 yours!
