Ready to up your marketing game 2024 but not sure where to start or how to do it? Well, you’re in the right place. Before we dig into specifics, if you’re sitting there thinking ‘But I don’t have a marketing budget! I’ve got, like £20 to spare…” I feel you. Seriously, been there, felt that frustration. But here’s the thing, a marketing budget is a scary sounding corporate term that generally makes people think of pie charts and spreadsheets and lots of data spat out after spending thousands on flashy campaigns and adverts of hilarious black sheep.
Okay, that last part is probably just me, due to a conversation with a fellow marketeer about one of their own campaigns which, as it turns out, I still find epic. It lives rent free in my head. But we don’t all have that kind of cash to flash, nor do we all sell cars and need high profile TV ads. If you’re an entrepreneur, solopreneur, or small business owner. If you have a team of you, or perhaps you and a few other people, you likely feel like the black sheep of the business world.
Marketing budgets are for other people. Bigger people. Not little old you.
Well, you’re wrong.
Every entrepreneur and business owner needs to market themselves if they want to generate leads, make sales, and land new clients or customers. That’s an unavoidable fact. Whether you choose to do this in traditional ways by attending networking meetings and events, or digitally online, it doesn’t matter. Whether you’re big or small, doesn’t matter. Whether you have any money to spend on marketing or not, it doesn’t matter.
You still need to market yourself. And to do that you need a marketing plan and a budget. The key thing to remember here is that ‘budget’ does not need to equal ‘money’. It can. And it’s often a lot easier when it does. But there are many reasons companies choose to avoid spending money marketing and instead invest time.
The amount of time you or your team have available to spend on your marketing is also a marketing budget. So, whether you’re looking to spend time, money, or a combination of both, understanding what your marketing budget is for 2024, and where best to ‘spend’ it for maximum returns is vital.
Here are some savvy strategies that will not only maximise your ROI but also make your marketing journey enjoyable. From analysing what worked (and what didn’t) in the past to staying ahead of the digital curve and even turning your customers into your brand’s biggest advocates, we’ve got a roadmap for your success.
So, grab a cup of your favourite beverage, and get comfy…
Review Past Performance
As an entrepreneur or a small business owner, understanding the success of your past marketing efforts is crucial. This is not just about looking at sales figures, but digging deeper to understand why certain campaigns worked and others didn’t. Here’s how to do it:
Start With What Worked (And What Didn’t)
For entrepreneurs and small business owners, the best way to evaluate 2023’s marketing success is by focusing directly on the results — new clients or sales — and tracing back to the activities that led to them. Here’s how you can do that:
- Start With the Results: Look at every new client or sale you made in 2023. Where did they come from? This could be a referral, a social media post, a local ad, or your website.
- Trace Back to Specific Activities: For each new client or sale, identify the marketing activity that brought them in. This will help you understand which of your efforts were actually effective in attracting business.
- List and Evaluate Activities Based on Results: Now, create a list of all the marketing activities that resulted in new clients or sales – posting on social, traffic from search, engaging in Facebook groups etc. Next to each activity, note down how many clients or sales each one brought in. Note any additional activities you did, and that they resulted in zero new clients or sales.
- Time and Money Investment: Assess how much time and money you spent on each effective marketing activity. Remember to value your time; set a fair hourly rate for yourself based on your skills, experience, and income goals. How much did you need to earn per working hour in order to reach your income goal for 2023? If you didn’t set one, consider retroactively setting one. How much do you need to cover all your expenses and pay yourself the salary you want?
- Calculate ROI of Each Activity: Apply your hourly rate to the time spent on each activity to calculate its total cost, adding any direct expenses incurred. For each marketing activity, calculate the return on investment (ROI). Subtract the cost (time and money) from the revenue generated by the clients or sales it brought in
- Rank Activities by ROI: Organise the activities by which ones gave the highest ROI. Also, consider the quality of the clients or repeat business they brought in. Which activities brought in the best clients and the most revenue?
- Rank By Quality of Clients: Look at which activities generated the clients you LOVE working with, and the customers who have turned into repeat business and returned to buy more products. rank your activities by those that brought you the best clients and customers.
- Align Activities with Your Preferences: Compare this list to your list ordered by highest ROI – are you getting the best ROI from the best clients and customers? This will tell you which customers make you the most money. You may assume the ones you love working with are the most lucrative but this isn’t always the case – there have been years when huge chunks of my income came from clients I hated working with, or projects I found really stressful, tough, unpleasant, or just boring.
- Decision Time: Based on this analysis, plan your marketing strategy for 2024. You might choose to focus more on activities that bring in enjoyable work, even if the ROI is slightly lower. Or, you might prioritise higher-income activities if that aligns better with your goals.
Look For Engagement Trends
Engagement trends on social media and other platforms give you insight into how your audience interacts with your content. This includes likes, shares, comments, and other forms of engagement. High engagement often suggests that your content is resonating with your audience, catching their attention, and encouraging interaction. However, it’s crucial to differentiate between engagement that boosts visibility and engagement that translates into business growth.
While a high number of likes or shares can enhance your online presence and brand awareness, they don’t always lead to direct sales or new clients. When they don’t, your engagement is a vanity metric, rather than a KPI (key performance indicator). In other words, they make you look great to other people and give you the feel good factor, but they’re not making you any money.
Evaluate which types of content not only receive high engagement but also contribute to your bottom line. Does a popular post lead to website visits, inquiries, or purchases?
Creating Content with Dual Goals
The ideal scenario is when your most popular content also drives business growth. This synergy means that your content is not only engaging but also effective in converting audience interest into tangible business results.
If certain content is popular (high engagement) but doesn’t directly result in sales or new clients, you might still consider continuing it for its brand-building value. However, balance this with content more directly aimed at driving sales or inquiries.
When planning your content strategy for 2024, focus on creating a mix of content that achieves both visibility and business growth. Monitor the types of content that have both high public engagement and a strong track record of converting that engagement into business results.
If you find a disconnect between popular content and profitable content, consider adjusting your approach. Maybe the content needs a clearer call to action, or perhaps it’s targeting the wrong audience segment.
Practical Tips
- Regularly review your analytics to understand the direct impact of different types of content on your business goals.
- Experiment with different content formats and messages to find the sweet spot between engagement and profitability.
- Keep a pulse on audience feedback and preferences, adapting your content strategy as needed to ensure it aligns with both your brand image and business objectives.
- In summary, while high engagement is a positive sign of content performance, it’s essential to ensure it aligns with and contributes to your business goals. Strive for a balanced content strategy that not only generates buzz but also drives business growth.
Adapt To Digital Platform Changes
In 2023 and 2024, major social media platforms have continued to evolve, impacting how content is displayed and engaged with by audiences. Entrepreneurs and business owners need to stay agile and adapt their strategies to these changes to maintain effective online presence.
Facebook: Facebook has been focusing on fostering meaningful interactions, emphasising content from friends and family over businesses. To maintain organic reach on Facebook, it’s vital for businesses to create content that engages the audience in conversations, encouraging them to interact more with the post.
Instagram: Instagram’s algorithm has been giving priority to posts based on user interests, timeliness, and the user’s relationship with the content creator. Businesses must focus on consistently posting high-quality content that resonates with their audience and spurs engagement. In 2024, Instagram is showing more content by profiles the user doesn’t follow in their main feed, not just in the Discover tab. This change underscores the importance of garnering engagement from core followers.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn has been giving priority to content from users who engage regularly and those who receive significant engagement, even from those you don’t regularly interact with. It’s beneficial to engage and comment on other people’s posts to boost the visibility of your own content. Additionally, LinkedIn now considers ‘dwell time’ on content, meaning the longer your audience engages with your content, the more it will be prioritised by the algorithm.
TikTok: With TikTok testing a horizontal full-screen mode, there’s a push towards more immersive content experiences. This indicates a need for creativity in content creation to fully utilise the screen space and engage viewers. Image based content is now currently performing as well (and sometimes better!) than video content.
Tips for Adapting to These Changes
Diversify Your Presence: Embrace various platforms and experiment with different content formats to reach broader audiences.
Engage Your Audience: Focus on creating content that sparks interaction and meaningful connections.
Stay Updated: Keep up with the latest algorithm changes and trends to ensure your strategies are effective.
Measure Success: Track engagement, reach, follower growth, and conversions to refine your strategy and maximise ROI.
As social media marketing continues to evolve, staying informed and adaptable is key. By diversifying your presence, prioritising engagement, and keeping abreast of platform changes, you can navigate these dynamic digital landscapes successfully. Remember, the goal is to create a balanced strategy that not only resonates with your audience but also aligns with your business objectives.
Enhancing ROI Through Competitor Observation
Incorporating insights from competitor analysis can significantly enhance the ROI of your marketing budget. By closely observing your competitors’ strategies and audience interactions, you can make more informed decisions on where to allocate your marketing funds for maximum impact. Here’s how:
Invest Strategically in Proven Tactics
Observation Leads to Informed Allocation: By analysing which marketing tactics resonate with your competitors’ audiences, you can allocate your budget towards similar strategies that are more likely to succeed. For example, if a competitor’s successful social media campaign focuses on user-generated content, consider investing in campaigns that encourage audience participation.
ROI-Focused Experimentation: Use competitor analysis to identify which marketing strategies yield high engagement. Allocate a portion of your budget to experiment with these tactics, constantly measuring and comparing the ROI to ensure they align with your business objectives.
Stay Ahead with Trend Adoption
Budgeting for Trend Integration: When you notice competitors successfully adopting new trends or technologies, set aside a part of your budget to explore these avenues. This proactive approach ensures you’re not left behind and maximises the potential ROI from emerging market opportunities.
Cost-Efficient Trend Exploration: Identify cost-effective ways to incorporate these trends into your marketing strategies. This might involve reallocating funds from less effective channels, ensuring you stay within budget while exploring new opportunities.
Maximise Engagement with Audience Insights
Data-Driven Content Creation: Allocate resources to creating content that mirrors the successful themes and styles used by competitors. This approach can potentially increase your content’s effectiveness without significantly increasing spending.
Budget for Engagement Tools: Consider investing in social media management tools that enable efficient audience engagement and competitor analysis. These tools can offer a high ROI by saving time and providing valuable data for strategy refinement.
Subtle Audience Engagement for Brand Building
Cost-Effective Community Engagement: Engage with competitors’ audiences in a non-invasive, helpful manner. This strategy doesn’t require a large budget but can significantly increase your brand’s visibility and reputation.
Allocate for Value-Added Interactions: Ensure part of your marketing budget is dedicated to activities that enable you to add value in spaces where your competitors’ audiences are active.
Tailor Strategies for Unique Impact
Customised Strategy Implementation: Use competitor insights to tailor strategies to your unique brand voice and audience needs. This ensures that your marketing spend is directed towards activities that resonate specifically with your audience, thereby maximising ROI.
Budget Flexibility for Adaptation: Maintain flexibility in your marketing budget to quickly adapt strategies based on competitor analysis and audience feedback. This agile approach can lead to more effective spending and higher ROI.
By intelligently incorporating observations from competitors into your marketing strategies, you can effectively maximise your ROI. This involves a balanced approach of investing in proven tactics, staying current with trends, engaging with audiences strategically, and continually adapting your strategies to fit your unique business context. The key is to use these insights to make informed budgeting decisions that align with your overall business goals and audience preferences.
A Word Of Caution…
Maintaining self-awareness is crucial when analysing your competitors. It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparisonitis, where you constantly compare your efforts to others and either become paralyzed in your own marketing initiatives or stretch your resources too thin trying to keep up with what everyone else is doing. This phenomenon is akin to trying to keep up with the ubiquitous Joneses. It’s a balancing act; while it’s beneficial to learn from others, it’s important not to lose sight of your own unique brand identity and capabilities. Overstretching in an attempt to match every move of your competitors can lead to inefficient use of resources and straying from your core business strategy. Remember, what works for one business may not necessarily work for yours, and it’s essential to focus on your strengths and market positioning.
In other words, look to your competitors for inspiration and ideas, as well as a cheeky shortcut to engaging with people already interested in what you’re doing. BUT don’t try to become them. If you’re mirroring the types of content, strategies, or tech they’re utilising, you need to do it in your own way. The aim is not to copy them.
The best example I can give for how to do this is SEO competitor research. When we’re trying to decide which keywords are worth investing time and resources in, we often do competitor research to see what the competition is ranking for and what’s driving a lot of traffic for them. If it’s equally relevant to the site we’re working on, we will work on ranking for the same keywords. We may even look at the content they have that already ranks. BUT we do not copy this content. We look at it so we know what you’re aiming to outrank, not so we can do what they have already done. Their content helps us choose a direction for our own, but what we create is an entirely unique take.
Document Your Findings
If all of this is sounding like a lot of work, it is. but, it’s well worth it. If you want to ensure it’s LESS work in 2025, do yourself a favour and document everything you do in your marketing in 2024 as you go. This doesn’t need to be extensive or time consuming. Here are a few tips for documenting as you go…
Simple Record-Keeping: Maintain a straightforward list of your marketing activities throughout the year. This includes a log of blog posts published with their URLs, details of ad campaigns run, records of emails sent, and any new marketing assets created like lead magnets or nurture sequences.
Stay Organized in Real-Time: The key is to do this contemporaneously rather than trying to reconstruct the past at year-end. It’s far easier and more accurate to note down these activities as they happen than to retrospectively sift through a year’s worth of work.
Timely Collection of Analytics: For campaigns with a fixed timeframe, make it a practice to run a report and collect analytics at the end of the campaign. Add this data to a designated folder or digital space where you’re compiling your 2024 marketing efforts.
Accessible for Future Reference: You don’t necessarily need to analyse this data immediately. The important thing is to have it ready and waiting for when you do your comprehensive review at the year’s end.
Leveraging Documentation for Future Strategies: By keeping an ongoing record, you’ll have a valuable repository of what was done and what it achieved. This will not only save you time when planning future strategies but also helps in understanding the narrative behind your marketing numbers.
Benefit of Hindsight: This approach serves as a reference to avoid repeating past mistakes and to capitalise on successful strategies. In marketing, learning from past efforts is crucial for growth and improvement.
Remember, efficient documentation is about capturing the essence of your marketing journey – understanding what resonates with your audience and using these insights to guide your future decisions. With organised records, you’re setting yourself up for a more informed and less labour-intensive planning process in the future.
Assess Seasonality and Campaigns
To truly maximise your ROI, it’s critical to align your marketing budget with the ebbs and flows of the calendar year. This involves analysing past campaign data to pinpoint key periods when your marketing efforts are most effective. For example, if your business sees a surge in customer engagement or sales during specific seasons or holidays, these are the times to amplify your marketing activities.
Identify Seasonal Highs and Lows: Look at your historical sales data to identify times of the year with the highest revenue. These periods often correspond to consumer behaviour trends, such as holiday seasons, back-to-school periods, or industry-specific peak times.
Allocate Budget Proportionally: Once these key periods are identified, allocate a larger portion of your marketing budget to these times. This ensures that you’re investing more heavily when there’s a higher likelihood of return on your marketing spend.
Analyse Previous Campaigns: Dive into the performance of past campaigns during these key periods. Which strategies yielded the highest ROI? Was there a particular channel or type of content that resonated with your audience? Use these insights to inform your future campaign strategies.
Plan for Off-Peak Periods: It’s also important to consider strategies for off-peak times. While these periods may not drive as much revenue, maintaining a baseline presence keeps your brand top-of-mind for consumers. Budgeting for consistent, year-round engagement can pay off when peak seasons roll around.
By meticulously planning your marketing budget around seasonality and informed by historical campaign performance, you can more effectively allocate resources to maximise ROI. This strategic approach ensures that your marketing efforts are not only well-timed but are also rooted in data-driven insights.
Strategic Task Allocation
When determining whether to handle tasks in-house, delegate to your team (if you have one), or outsource, using a clear decision-making framework can significantly impact your ROI. Here’s how to decide who does what in your marketing…
Identifying Your ‘Zone of Genius’
Start by asking whether the task falls within your personal ‘zone of genius’. If it does, and you have the time and desire to do it, it’s most efficient for you to tackle it yourself. (If you’re unfamiliar with the term zone of genius, check out this blog, and I also highly recommend The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks).
For tasks outside your zone of genius, assess if you have the time and willingness to do them. If either is lacking, it’s better to pass them on.
Assessing Team Capabilities
Repeat this process for your team. Consider if a task falls within any team member’s zone of genius. If it does and they have the capacity, delegate it to them.
In cases where a task is crucial but falls outside the collective expertise of your team, or if they lack the time, consider outsourcing.
Economic Evaluation
Analyse the cost-benefit of doing a task in-house versus outsourcing. Ask if you (or your team) can generate more revenue doing other tasks than the cost of outsourcing.
Consider the quality of the outcome too. Outsourcing can often result in a higher standard of work, especially for tasks that require specialised skills.
Here’s A Real World Example…
As an example, I’m fully capable of website development. I can build in WordPress and have built several websites by myself. However, it is not my zone of genius. So, someone else handles it. I have a website developer on my team, and websites are his zone of genius, meaning the work goes to Simon unless he doesn’t have the capacity to do it, in which case I consider outsourcing elsewhere.
Likewise, I’m a trained proofreader. Prior to specialising in content marketing and founding The Write Copy Girl, I had a different business offering proofreading and editing services as well as creative cover design and help with self-publishing and book launches. I’m quite capable of editing and proofreading, but it’s time-consuming for me. I’m not fast at it. I’m also not nearly as good at either website development or proofreading as people who spend all their time doing it.
So, just as Simon gets all the web development, Kate gets all the proofreading and editing. In both cases, I could do it myself, but the time it would take me to achieve the same results would be excessive, and I can earn far more in that time doing my thing than it costs me to pay Si or Kate to do their thing. Beyond that, they will do the job to a higher standard.
Maximising ROI through Strategic Outsourcing:
Maximising ROI isn’t just about reducing expenses by handling everything in-house. It involves recognizing when outsourcing can generate greater returns.
By outsourcing tasks to specialists, you not only ensure a higher quality of output but also free up your time to focus on activities that generate more revenue.
This approach can lead to better client retention and repeat business, as the quality of work is often higher when done by specialists.
The key to maximising your marketing ROI lies in strategically evaluating each task based on your personal and team’s strengths, economic feasibility, and the quality of output. By adopting this refined approach to task allocation, you ensure that every aspect of your marketing strategy is optimally executed, thereby enhancing overall efficiency and effectiveness.
Determine Your Budget Allocation
When determining your marketing budget for maximum ROI, it’s important to consider how much you can realistically allocate based on your current business status. Two approaches are commonly used:
Budgeting Based on Available Funds: For businesses with limited disposable income or those not generating high revenue yet, the key is to start with what you have. Even if your budget is minimal or zero, effective marketing is still achievable, especially if you’re willing to invest time in self-implemented strategies. This approach has proven successful for many businesses in their initial growth phases.
Budgeting Based on Income Goals: The other approach involves calculating your marketing budget based on your desired income target. Historically, marketing budgets have averaged around 10.9% of company revenue, but this dipped to 6.4% in 2021 before rising to 9.5% in 2022. For 2024, it’s recommended to allocate about 10% of your goal turnover to marketing. This accounts for various economic factors and industry-specific challenges. If your calculations exceed your available funds, consider investing your time or your team’s time to supplement financial constraints.
In both cases, once you’ve established how much time and money you can dedicate to marketing, allocate these resources to the strategies you’ve identified as most likely to yield the best ROI. This could include prioritising specific marketing channels, campaigns, or activities based on their past performance and potential impact. Remember, the key to maximising your ROI is not only about how much you spend but also ensuring that your spending is strategic and aligned with your business goals and capabilities.
Understand the Cost of Digital Marketing Services
Understanding the costs associated with various digital marketing services is a key part of budgeting effectively for your marketing strategy. If you find that your budget doesn’t stretch to cover professional services for these strategies, it’s important to have a realistic understanding of the time investment required to perform these activities yourself.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization): SEO costs can vary widely. Factors affecting the price include the complexity of your website, competition in your industry, and the specific goals you have.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Advertising: The costs for PPC campaigns are often based on the competitiveness of the keywords you’re targeting and the geographic area of your ads. Remember, you pay for each click, so the budget can fluctuate based on the campaign’s success.
Content Marketing: This includes blog posts, videos, infographics, and more. Costs here can range depending on whether you’re creating content in-house or outsourcing to professionals, and the quality and frequency of the content produced.
Social Media Marketing: Social media marketing costs can vary depending on whether you’re using paid advertising on platforms, the level of engagement and content creation required, and whether you’re managing it in-house or outsourcing.
Email Marketing: Costs for email marketing services depend on the size of your subscriber list, the complexity of your email campaigns, and whether you use a paid platform or tool.
Each of these strategies requires a different set of skills and amount of time to execute effectively. For instance, DIY SEO might involve learning about keyword research and content optimization, while managing your own social media marketing might require daily hours spent on content creation and audience engagement.
Whether you choose to invest financially in professional services or invest your time in doing these activities yourself, understanding the costs and time commitments involved is crucial for planning an effective digital marketing strategy within your budget constraints.
Have A Client/Customer-Centric Approach
Nothing maxes your ROI quite like the clients or customers you’ve already won doing your marketing for you at little to no extra cost. Think about it. If every new client recommends you to one other person, you’re getting two new clients for the price of one. Imagine what happens when a client becomes a brand ambassador that happily endorses your product and service to multiple people, sending a steady stream of new leads and sales your way.
Engaging your customers effectively and turning them into brand ambassadors is a powerful strategy for generating new leads and building brand loyalty. Here’s how you can incorporate this into your marketing plans:
Leverage Customer Reviews and Testimonials: Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews or testimonials. You can automate this process by sending follow-up emails after a purchase, asking for their feedback. These reviews not only serve as social proof for prospective customers but also boost your online reputation. Strategically place them on your website, emails, social media and other marketing channels. If you feel they’re worth it, flesh them out into fully-fledged case studies to include in nurture sequences, blogs, etc.
User-Generated Content Campaigns: Run campaigns that incentivize customers to create content featuring your products or services and share it on their social media. This can be encouraged through contests, where customers tag your brand in their posts for a chance to win prizes or receive discounts.
Referral Programs: Develop a referral program where existing customers are rewarded for bringing new clients to your business. This could be in the form of discounts, free products, or even monetary rewards. Referral programs not only encourage word-of-mouth marketing but also deepen existing customer relationships.
Promo Codes for Brand Ambassadors: Set up a system where loyal customers, or brand ambassadors, are given unique promo codes that they can share with their network. When their contacts make a purchase using these codes, the ambassador can receive a benefit, like a discount on their next purchase or access to exclusive products.
Customer Engagement on Social Media: Regularly engage with your customers on social media. Respond to their comments, feature their content on your page, and create a community around your brand. This increases customer loyalty and encourages them to share your content more widely.
Personalization and Recognition: Personalise your communications with customers and recognize their loyalty. This could be through personalised emails, acknowledging their anniversaries with your brand, or offering them special deals on their birthdays.
Feedback Loops: Create opportunities for customers to provide feedback on your products or services. This could be through surveys, feedback forms, or direct conversations. Not only does this provide valuable insights for improvement, but it also makes customers feel valued and heard.
By integrating these strategies into your marketing plans, you can effectively turn your customers into advocates for your brand, amplifying your reach and strengthening your market position. Remember, the key to successful customer engagement and brand ambassadorship lies in genuine interaction and appreciation of your customers.
Plan Your Marketing Budget In 2024
The road to planning your marketing budget (in any year) needs to begin with the understanding that maximising your ROI should be the name of the game. Approaching everything budget-related through the lens of ROI allows you to make smart choices when it comes to budgeting your money, time, and other resources. It’s a road paved with data-driven insights, strategic planning, and customer-centric approaches. By analysing your past performance, adapting to platform changes, incorporating competitor observations, and smartly allocating your resources, you can create a marketing budget that aligns with your goals and yields exceptional results.
Remember, it’s not just about how much you spend, but how effectively you spend it that truly counts. And that ‘spend’ can be in time or money; you don’t need to have a ton of cash to effectively market your business. Just the will and time to learn how to effectively do it yourself, until you’re earning enough that you can pay someone else to do it!
So, embark on this journey armed with knowledge, adaptability, and a customer-first mindset to achieve your marketing goals in the coming year. And if you want to learn more about exactly how I built a six-figure business with zero marketing budget and nothing but my ability to write, sign up below and read the first chapter of my book, Divine Blogging, absolutely free…
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