Monday 19 December, 2011 at 12:22 pm / 0 comment

End of Year Content Push

The end of the year approaches! Are you starting to think about the new year? Well, take a breath because 2011 isn’t over yet.

by Jessica Lee, Marketing Team, Ephox 

We wrote previously about why your content strategy needs to focus on conversion in the run up to the holidays. Keeping that in mind, there are a few other steps you should take before 2012 arrives with a splash.

Looking back, did your 2011 content strategy proceed as planned? Have you let certain plans fall by the wayside?

For example, if you’ve been too busy creating content and developing a strategy, you may have ignored a crucial element: measuring with analytics. It’s not too late to put aside some time to study them. As long as you’ve installed appropriate analytics software, you’ll have access to data going back as far as you need (If you haven’t installed analytics software, why not?).

The end of the year is the time to take stock of what’s worked and hasn’t worked. Be critical. You’re not doing yourself any favors by ignoring failures. However, it’s important to be very specific in your critique.

1. Do you have the right people on your team? Take a hard look at who’s producing the most successful content and at who’s got the strongest voice for your brand. Consider that in your future strategy. Different writers have different talents, so make sure you’ve got the right people on the job.

2. Are there people in your company that are preventing you from achieving your goals? Be proactive and creative. Find new ways to engage employees that aren’t directly involved in content production, to make them more invested in your success.

3. Make sure that your content strategy goals complement broader business goals.

The important thing is not to be discouraged, but to learn from your mistakes. You have a lot of work to do before you lose personnel to holidays and vacations. It’s important that you allow them to participate in your critique so that they won’t be blindsided when you create your 2012 content strategy.