The start of a new year is exciting. Many people reflect on the past 365 revolutions and start forming promises to make the next cycle "the best ever."
And it can be. We need to have a forward-thinking view when it comes to sales and marketing in the digital space. As you and your teams finalize budgets and planning for 2018, don't be afraid to take on new and innovative ways to reach and close customers.
Looking for some marketing inspiration for the new year?
Here are some of our digital marketing resolutions for 2018!
Sales Enablement & Email Marketing
Adam Stewart, Senior Inbound Strategist
We need to skate to where the puck is going in terms of the needs of modern businesses. For many, that means enabling sales using inbound best practices and automation. This will be the year of giving sales teams the right resources and steps to leverage tools and methodologies previously only adopted by marketing departments.- Take more risks with email marketing and workflows. Email continues to drive conversions for many businesses. Inboxes, however, are crowded spaces. In 2018, I'd like to focus on list segmentation, personalization, and crafting the best possible subject lines and content to improve open and click-through rates. That means taking more risks to get noticed, tracking the results, and making adjustments on the fly.
Internet Bots & Marketing Automation
Ashley Perron, Marketing Automation Specialist
- Bots are being positioned as the future of marketing automation. For 2018, I'd like to dive into this technology and identify opportunities where we can implement bots to better engage with prospects and customers.
Kayla Fullington, Inbound Marketing Consultant
In 2018, I'd like to focus on learning more about bots and how Denamico and our clients can benefit from implementing them, specifically on Facebook Messenger. I'm extremely curious to see how Messenger bots can fit into Facebook marketing strategies, and believe there is a great deal of potential in terms of customer service.
Mobile Design
Allison Perry, Digital Designer
Design for mobile first.Users expect a quick load time and ease of use when they come to your website. If they can't find what they're looking for, chances are they aren't going to spend too much time searching for it. In 2018, I'd like to keep mobile users at the forefront of our growth-driven design process to ensure we are always engaging our viewers in the best possible way.
Data-Driven Decisions
Mark Rolseth, Inbound Marketing Consultant
Let data influence more decisions.There's valuable insight in the data we collect, but we can't leverage that wisdom until the numbers are analyzed and talked about. In 2018, I'd like to have more frequent and consistent conversations centered around the quantitative performance of our marketing tactics. That means asking ourselves before making decisions, "what do the numbers have to say about it?"
Long-Form Content & Imagery
Anne Daly, Content Writer
Write more long-form blog posts. Long-form posts and pillar content are the up-and-coming inbound marketing strategies for 2018. Longer, more detailed posts help my clients stand out, and set them apart as the trusted experts in their fields. Plus, diving into my clients' specialties is more fun for me too!- Use images more strategically. The old saying holds water – a picture is worth a thousand words. What does this mean for my content writing? This year, I'm putting extra thought into choosing images that match my individual posts and the buyer personas I'm writing to. I'll also be choosing client photos over stock imagery whenever possible.
Heat Mapping & Conversions
Alise Riedel, Inbound Marketing Consultant
Leverage knowledge gained from heat mapping, especially platforms that integrate with HubSpot. I’d like to take more advantage of heat mapping technology to optimize web and landing pages for conversion. This means consistently looking at the data to make small, individual changes to garner the best possible results.
Cheers to 2018!
The new year will definitely be an exciting time for digital marketers and sales teams. As we look to technology to improve online lead generation, we need to remain cautious of chasing shiny objects. One eye should remain fixed on strategy as we continue to learn about and adopt new tech and tactics.
What's on your list of digital marketing resolutions? Let us know in the comments! And if you need some extra help with HubSpot or planning for 2018, let's chat!