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Why your 2023 marketing is key to 2024 success

As we start 2024, it’s very easy to be drawn into all of the new year; new you rhetoric. Yet in the world of digital marketing it’s important to build on previous successes and not begin everything afresh.

Solid content marketing strategies take time to develop. All the information you gathered in 2023 about what worked and what didn’t should inform your content in 2024. Use this data to your advantage and double down on the successes, tweaking anything that underperformed.

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Data is your best friend

Data-driven marketing takes the guesswork out of creating your strategy for the year ahead. Making assumptions about your audience is the easiest way to prevent your marketing efforts from reaching their full potential. Instead, you should be basing your decisions on the facts and that means following the data.

All of the information you collected last year on your customers – from their interests and behaviours to wider consumer trends – can tell you a lot about how to reach out to them in 2024. From here, you should be able to improve your targeting and personalisation, resulting in higher ROI.

Refine your goals and KPIs

Well-defined goals and KPIs are key to ensuring your campaigns remain focused, so it’s always worth refining them, but don’t rewrite these aims entirely. Small tweaks can have big results. Retain the elements that are serving you well and develop those that are not getting the returns you expected.

Once again, this is where data should be informing your decisions. Scrutinise the metrics and let the numbers guide you towards the best strategy. Use 2023’s performance as a benchmark for 2024 and don’t be afraid to look even further back, comparing last year’s results to 2022. Check all of your analytics tools are set up correctly and capture the information you require to make informed decisions.

Plan in all the most important content now

After identifying what worked well last year, start planning the most important content now and schedule when it’ll be published. This will help you to set your budget for the year and ensure that the headline pieces don’t end up being rushed at the last minute.

Don’t be afraid to scrap any elements that didn’t get the returns you expected last year. Look at them objectively and decide whether they should be approached from a different angle or set aside completely. Sometimes a concept that relied heavily on copywriting could work better as an infographic or animation, so be prepared to explore alternative formats.

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Leave room for spontaneity

Nobody could have predicted the Barbenheimer phenomenon a year ago. Give your brand the space to lean into such trends when they emerge. An agile approach to marketing helps to demonstrate that a brand is relevant, with some of the biggest wins coming from content dreamt up in response to a surprising trend.

Any spontaneous marketing efforts must be aligned with your values and messaging. Facilitating creativity is key to moving forwards, but should never risk the reputation of the brand. Finding the line between these approaches is vital for innovation and success.

Reuse successful content

A year is a long time in digital. If a piece of content did particularly well, it can be tempting to keep sharing or linking to it, but there is another way. Don’t be afraid to take successful content and update it in 2024. This can be a better use of time than coming up with something from scratch.

By reusing the concept or amending an article to keep it relevant, you’re showing search engines and your audience that you’re keeping pace with changes in your industry. Updating old content means using fewer resources to create something with a proven track record of success.