Have you thought about your New Year’s Resolutions for 2013? How about making sure it’s the best year yet for your business! With some effective marketing you can get your name out there, grow your business and generate more leads. Take a look at these top tips on how you can ramp up your marketing efforts in 2013 via your business website, social media, direct marketing, networking, press coverage and blogging.

Would you like to ramp up your marketing efforts in 2013?

 1. Take a look at your website

Your website is your shop front, so it’s important that it works for you as best it can. But when was the last time you updated it? Is it in need of a makeover? Take a look at it and think about how you could improve it. Could it do with a redesign? Would it benefit from some fresh web copy? Are you missing products or services that you recently started selling which you haven’t got round to listing on your site? Ensure it’s up-to-date and looking as good as it can for the new year ahead.

2. Plan your new social media strategy

There is plenty of evidence that social media can boost your business, but what can you do to get an even higher return on investment in 2013? Have you considered using a social media management system like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck? Have you thought about new ways to gain more followers and likes? Sit down and plan your social media strategy for 2013 and look at what you can do differently to ensure social media is working for you. Identify which social media channels work best for you so you can focus on them and refine your social networking activities to make them as effective as possible.

3. Consider a direct marketing campaign

In 2013 it’s important to think about where you can find new clients, while ensuring you nurture your relationships with existing ones. Direct marketing can be an efficient way to do this. Think about sending out sales letters, marketing emails or newsletters and consider what you want to convey to your prospects. Do you have new products or services that you want to let them know about? Are you running any promotions? If you’re hoping to reach a new customer base with your direct marketing, try a service like Royal Mail’s Simple Ways to Grow [affiliate scheme], which offers business data lists and email/direct mail services. (Give ‘Dina Behrman Communications’ as your reference for discounts of up to 80%).

4. Think about new networking opportunities

Did you make the most of any networking opportunities you had in 2012, or do you think you could get more out of it next time?  What you are hoping to achieve from networking and who you would like to meet – new clients or suppliers, potential affiliate businesses, a mentor, like-minded business people? Now think about where you could meet them. Take a look at  www.findnetworkingevents.com or Meetup for lists of networking options, make sure you’ve got plenty of business cards at the ready, then resolve to really make the most of whatever networking opportunities you have in 2013.

5. Consider how to get press coverage for your business

Have you thought about getting media coverage for your business but not got round to it?  Make 2013 the year it happens. Sit down and write a list of potential story angles about your business. Now think about which media outlets might a) be interested in running a story on your business and b) have the right kind of audience for your business. Write a press release and send it out to the appropriate local newspaper, magazine, trade publication or national news desk. Be sure to follow it up if you don’t hear back and when you do have a story in the press, make sure you shout about it on Twitter, Facebook and your website!

6. Resolve to blog more often

Blogging is a fantastic way to boost your business.  According to Factbrowser, B2B marketeers who blog generate 67% more leads per month than those who don’t, while figures from Hubspot show that 57% of companies have acquired customers from their blog. Have you thought about blogging but didn’t know where to start? Or have you started a blog with good intentions, but given up on it? Let’s make the coming year the year you really focus on your blogging efforts. Resolve to blog as regularly as you can, whether that’s once a month, once a week, or once a day. Take a look at this post full of blogging inspiration then write a blogging schedule for the next 12 months, and stick to it.

What are your New Year’s Resolutions for your business? Do you have any tips on how to supercharge your marketing? If so leave a comment below and let me know. For help with any aspect of your marketing, get in touch with me today.