Dear business owners and leaders we feel you — it’s almost the end of the year. You might feel like you are running out of runway to do all the things before 2024 closes. But don’t panic! Here are a few pointers to help you prioritize and set your business up for success next year.

Marketing Planning at the End of the Year

Need a short list of what to do to start your next year in marketing off right? From a marketing perspective, check these off the list:

• First, set your marketing goals.
• Then, define strategies to align with those goals.
• Next, define or redefine your target client or customer. Remember, you are probably not your target audience, and your business cannot be all things to all people. Focus is key.
• Make sure content strategy for January is defined. Outline your content calendar to get a jump on organizing and posting when the holidays end and work begins again.
• For social media and blogging, develop your copy and create the visuals for your posts now, and get them queued up and ready to go January 1.
• Email marketing for January means developing your content now, and the creative that is aligned with the content so you’re ahead of the calendar and know what to focus on for January content.
• Overall, other marketing initiatives are worth considering. What worked this year and what other new ideas do you have for 2025? Think about where you need to be marketing-wise in the coming year.
• Set your marketing budget. Initiatives you have planned for 2025 will be determined by this. Remember, don’t waste anyone’s time on the next big idea or initiative if you are not willing to invest what it takes to accomplish that idea. Budget for your marketing as accurately as you can now.

Rev Up for Beginning-of-the-Year Business at the End of the Year

From a business perspective, have you done these things? Getting your business ready for 2025 involves your whole team. First, get them onboard with your business plan and then show them how it relates to them with these three tips:

• Share your Q1 priorities for the business and calendar them with your team.
• Set a team kickoff meeting in Q1 to set the tone for the new year.
• Focus on strengthening company culture with this kick off meeting and other types of team touchpoints, activities and communications.

Now Look Forward to A Great New Year of Success

The new year will be bright. Strap in and get things done. But you can do it. The Front Porch Marketing team is here to help. Let us make 2025 the best year yet for your brand and business.

During my senior fall semester at the University of Arkansas, I am taking courses that challenge my creative thinking. One of my courses, Creative Strategy, focuses entirely on developing an advertising strategy for a client of our choice. After defining target audiences and brainstorming strategic approaches, we reached the central reason for the course: writing our creative strategy statement.  

What is a creative strategy statement? 

This statement defines the purpose of a campaign and identifies how advertising and marketing efforts will benefit target consumers. Each aspect of a campaign should consider how it can bring value to its audience, and this strategy statement helps make ideas more tangible and attainable.  

How should you prepare to write one? 

Before writing this statement, the campaign team needs to have conducted the necessary research. The creative strategy statement is a great tool to guide advertising strategy and development, so it’s important to properly prepare to write it. This means taking time to define key elements of the campaign, which can be done by: 

• Customer research: Who are your current and potential consumers? What can you learn from their behaviors that may dictate how this new campaign appeals to an audience? 
• SWOT analysis: A SWOT analysis is a classic method for analyzing your brand – and for good reason. Writing out the benefits and challenges that your brand faces compared to competitors can help you discover innovative ways to meet consumer needs. 
• Current advertising approaches: Looking at and dissecting current advertising can reveal a lot about what works and what doesn’t. From analytics to behavioral reactions, there are multiple ways that a brand can strengthen its advertising presence. Then, the brand can become more distinguishable by ditching what’s not working and enhancing what is. 

What should it include? 

These statements should be succinct, only using a few sentences to provide relevant information. Developing these statements may look different depending on the client or the campaign, but important details include: 

• A description of the target market: Who do you want to reach, and what characteristics are necessary to consider when developing material? 
• Benefits offered: Why should your target audience pay attention to this campaign? What value can they get out of it that incentivizes action?  
• Customer need addressed: Offering benefits is only important if they directly and positively impact the consumer. What need does the target market have that the campaign can satisfy? 

What does this statement mean for the campaign? 

The information provided in this statement connects the strategic with the creative. Writing out the necessary details provides the parameters that advertising and marketing materials need to guide them. This statement can also help a team ensure they have thoroughly and accurately identified the target market, selling argument and tone of the campaign.  

As I enter the second half of my fall semester, the course is shifting to the development of creative work. From magazine ads to a digital ad series, my work from now on will be guided by the creative strategy statement. By combining research and recognizing the needs to be addressed, the statement is a great tool to ensure campaign materials are cohesive and on strategy.  

It is not Marketing/Sales, it is Marketing and Sales. In one week, two things happened that spurred me into sharing that marketing and sales are in fact two separate functions. That work together.

Marketing and Sales, Thing One

A former client who is a successful business owner shared at a recent weekly team meeting, that his team discussed the need for a marketing strategy and a stronger brand presence. The salesperson on the team was pushing hard for additional marketing resources. And he wanted to lead the charge. They “went back and forth about the where, how and the value of a stronger brand presence.”

The business owner was skeptical because he had grown his business traditionally from word of mouth. (Clearly too much time had passed since we worked together.)

He continued his story to me, “Front Porch Marketing was the first marketing resource I thought of to visit with and have a clearer picture of what needs to be done and in which priority.” For that, we are honored.

Marketing and Sales, Thing Two.

I attended a networking group event. The speaker was a small business consultant who shared ways for business owners to increase revenue and improve profitability, among other things. The presentation was great until we got to the slide that included the line, “Marketing/Sales.”

I thought “It is not Marketing/Sales.” They are not the same thing. They are not to be lumped together. These are two very distinct functions that both contribute to growing a business.

Why You Need Marketing

Marketing is no longer just an option for small businesses and nonprofits who want to grow. I am happy to share one-on-one my experiences over the last two years on this. Occasional marketing effort does not make your business grow. A marketing foundation must be built, strategized and utilized. You need consistency, conviction, and connection for marketing to succeed. These three things are must-haves when you’re marketing your business in the year 2024.

How Sales is Different From Marketing

Sales people and departments are responsible for generating new leads, converting those leads and closing deals. Sales leaders look at the ideal target customer or client and the product or service they are selling, and make a match.

First, there are inside sales: looking at existing customers and how they can grow their business. These sales people are also converting inbound calls and emails to direct business.

Then there are outside sales. This team’s approach focuses on face-to-face interaction with potential customers. They do this by attending targeted conferences and events. Building their network and relationships is the goal.

How Marketing and Sales Teams Can Work Together

At Front Porch Marketing, we sometimes work directly with sales leaders. Again, for that we are honored and grateful. Sales people overall have a defined pipeline, and may rely on the marketing people to feed that pipeline. These sales leaders know they need marketing. They do suggest initiatives to support their agendas. But most share what they are trying to achieve and trust that we will strategize and implement what is right for business growth.

We also work with smart, small business owners and nonprofit leaders, who believe they need to elevate their brand and grow brand awareness to grow their toplines. That’s marketing. Few of these types of companies have an in-house marketing team though. They may have a person or two in marketing, but even this small crew cannot manage or specialize in all the marketing things they might need. And that’s where we typically come in.

I could go on and on about the difference in marketing and sales functions. But alas, I must get up bright and early to French braid an 11-year old’s hair for school. So cheers to all of you marketing people and sales people growing the top and bottom lines, working with those you love, for those you love. All the while, taking care of your loves. Like we do.

In marketing, innovation in creativity is crucial; but can you measure creativity? How do you know if a logo, ad, website, or campaign is truly successful? Is it just about likes, shares, and clicks, or is there something else we should be measuring? Success and impact can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the goals of the creative.

Defining Success: Start with Clear Goals

Before you establish KPIs (key performance indicators), the most important question to ask is:

“What does success look like for THIS creative project?”

This question should be at the heart of any creative brief. Without a clear definition of success upfront, it’s impossible to measure the effectiveness when you measure creativity.

For some clients, success might mean brand awareness. For others, it could be about changing consumer behavior. Creative work designed to boost sales will have different measures of success compared to one focused on building a brand. Defining goals early on ensures the creative team can craft work that aligns with the client’s expectations and makes measuring success straightforward.

Measure Creativity for Excellence and Business Results

Creatives naturally focus on the artistry behind the work — how visually compelling, emotionally resonant, or innovative it is. And while creativity is essential, it’s important to balance artistic excellence with business objectives. After all, the goal is to create work that not only looks amazing and speaks in brand voice, but also delivers results like lead generation and sales.

Key Metrics for Measuring Creativity Success

Here are some of the key KPIs to look at when measuring creativity:

Brand Awareness Metrics

Impressions and Reach: This tells us how many people saw to the creative. It is important for brand awareness projects, where the goal is to get the brand in front of as many eyes as possible.

Brand Lift Studies: These studies measure the increase in awareness or perception of a brand after exposure to a campaign. They are valuable tools for understanding how well a campaign has boosted brand recognition.

Engagement Metrics

Clicks, Likes, Shares, and Comments: While these metrics are often the most visible, they shouldn’t be the only indicators of success. High engagement shows that the audience is interacting with the content, but it’s important to dig deeper. Are the comments positive? Are the shares coming from your target audience?

Time Spent on Content: Measuring how long users spend interacting with your content, such as watching a video or visiting your website (bounce rate), can give a more meaningful indication of engagement.

Conversion Metrics

Click-Through Rate (CTR): This metric tracks the percentage of users who clicked on a link or call to action (CTA). It’s a good indicator of how well the creative has inspired action.

Conversion Rate: This is the ultimate measure of success focused on driving sales, sign-ups, or other actions. It tells us how many users completed a desired action.

Cost Per Conversion (CPC): For performance-driven campaigns, this metric reveals how efficient it is in driving conversions. A lower CPC means the campaign is delivering results cost-effectively.

Behavioral Change Metrics

Customer Retention and Loyalty: If the goal is to change consumer behavior or build long-term loyalty, metrics like repeat purchases, subscription renewals, or increased usage of a service are essential.

Survey Responses and Brand Sentiment: This analysis (e.g., using social listening tools) can help measure shifts in consumer perception, loyalty, or trust in the brand.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Sales and Revenue Impact: Ultimately, many campaigns are judged by their impact on sales. Calculating the ROI helps determine if the investment in creative development and media spend led to an increase in revenue or profitability.

Attribution Models: It’s crucial to understand which touchpoints in a multi-channel campaign contributed to conversions. Attribution models help allocate credit to different parts of the campaign, giving a clearer picture of which parts are driving success.

The Intangible Impact When You Measure Creativity

Not all success can be measured by numbers. Some of the most important outcomes of creative work are harder to track with traditional metrics. For instance:

• Cultural Relevance: Did the creative become a part of the cultural conversation? Was it referenced in media or among consumers in a way that went above and beyond the initial goals?
• Emotional Resonance: Did the creative evoke the desired emotional response from the audience? Creativity that strikes a deep emotional chord can lead to lasting brand loyalty, even if it’s not immediately measurable in terms of clicks or sales.

Long-Term Impact of Creative: The Bigger Picture

Creative success doesn’t always show up immediately. In many cases, especially with brand-building or perception-changing campaigns, the true impact is felt over time. That’s why it’s important to continue to monitor brand health metrics. Surveys, focus groups, and long-term tracking studies can reveal shifts in brand loyalty, sentiment, and customer behavior that directly correlate with marketing and creative efforts.

Overall, creative work’s goal is to inspire, engage, and ultimately drive action. But it should also contribute to the long-term success of the brand. When measuring creativity with both short-term and long-term impact, we can truly understand the value of creative efforts and continue to refine approaches to deliver even greater results in the future.

Mobile marketing is still a key component of successful business plans in 2024. Businesses can no longer afford to ignore the mobile audience given the rise in smartphone users. Mobile marketing is important for reaching customers where they spend most of their time, as mobile devices become more prevalent in daily life. According to EarthWeb, as of 2024, mobile devices accounted for around 58.26% of all web traffic worldwide. This change emphasizes the necessity for companies to give mobile consumers top priority in their marketing plans.  

The convenience that mobile marketing provides is one of the key factors that makes it so important. People use their phones for information gathering, shopping, and socializing, which presents businesses with plenty of chances to connect with potential clients. Personalized communication through SMS, push alerts, and mobile-friendly emails is another benefit of mobile marketing that can increase engagement.

 Optimizing Your Website for Mobile 

Businesses require a phone-optimized website to effectively reach mobile users. By guaranteeing that content adjusts for different screen sizes, responsive design improves user experience. Furthermore, since slow websites may turn off visitors, quick loading times are important. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) can be used to increase performance and speed.  

SMS Mobile Marketing  

Since SMS marketing is instantaneous, it is quite successful; timely advertisements and updates have high open rates. For immediate client connection, this basic communication tool is crucial. 

Social Media Engagement 

Mobile marketing of content is a must since mobile devices are used for the majority of social media interactions. Having mobile-friendly links and clear images will greatly increase the impact of your social media approach. 

Mobile Marketing Apps 

For a more consistent and customized user experience, consider downloading a mobile app. Apps improve consumer engagement through better feature integration, such as push alerts, and frequently result in higher conversion rates. 

Mobile marketing is essential for companies hoping to succeed in 2024. Given that mobile devices already account for most website traffic, it is obvious that mobile devices should take priority in your marketing plan. Improving user experience, increasing engagement, and boosting conversions can be achieved by creating a mobile app, utilizing SMS marketing, optimizing your website for mobile users, and participating in social media efficiently. Having a mobile-first strategy can help a company stay relevant and competitive as the digital world changes.

We’re hard at work on The Porch — even though its summer — and we wanted to share some of our proven digital strategies so far this year. The summer has flown by, and our team, business and clients have enjoyed many successes balanced with time with family and friends. As we roll into back to school whether it is elementary school, first year of college or next term of an MBA program, we have big goals on our mind at home and work.

With that being said, we are sharing digital strategies and tactics resulting in business success. Here’s what is working for our clients.

We Use These Proven Digital Strategies and Tactics for Our Clients

There are a handful of proven digital strategies that we are using to help build our clients’ brands. Often these strategies work together, and build upon each other. Sometimes they even share assets, which helps marketing budgets go further.

Email Marketing

Consistent communication whether it be weekly or monthly is paramount. Open and click rates for our clients’ email marketing exceed their peers’ average performance. And, their unsubscribe rates are lower than benchmark.

Keys to email marketing success include consistent communication, compelling content and professional creative and visuals.

The results include business growth by referral from existing clients and customers as well as inquiries from prospects and connections.

Digital Advertising

Our clients are spending their ad dollars on digital advertising strategies and tactics this year. The results continue to exceed the norm. LinkedIn and Google ads, geotargeting and retargeting continue to result in business growth.

Social Media

Content calendars are king. Client connections and reach on social media for the companies we work with have been strong — above industry averages. Social continues to be a proven digital strategy YoY.

LinkedIn continues to lead on the business-to-business front. Our clients’ senior leadership are embracing the power of LinkedIn. They are consistently active. This is resulting in broader brand awareness and increased employee engagement among other things.

Hashtag strategies continue to evolve. Less is more is proving successful for our clients. Protip: Utilize free tools to evaluate the relevance of the hashtags you use. We are happy to share our go-to tools. Email us!

Blogging

At least two blog posts per month continue to engage our Clients’ key audiences, their existing customers and new prospects. Google Analytics confirms this on the monthly reports we provide to clients. In addition to this, our clients’ websites’ SEO is benefiting from this proven digital strategy.

Video

Short and long form video marketing is increasing our clients’ SEO. Videos are a proven digital marketing tactic that also provides compelling, engaging content for social media. Repurposing these videos for digital advertising has also been a hit.

Website Refresh

Continuing to add content whether it be through blogging or keeping the look and feel of your company’s website updated has been a win this year as a proven digital strategy in 2024. Have you looked at your website lately? Is it working hard for your business? If not, we can help. If you don’t know how to figure out if it is effective, we can help with that too.

Implement These Proven Digital Strategies and Tactics for Success in 2024 and Beyond

The fall time period is the perfect time to re-assess your marketing plan and add some of these proven digital strategies to your brand mix. Reach new customers. Broaden your brand’s horizons. Share new products. Build loyalty. It’s all possible by starting now, and sticking with it.

In today’s interconnected world, the boundaries between PR and Digital Marketing are increasingly blurred. Both disciplines play a crucial role in shaping a brand’s image, reaching target audiences, and driving engagement. When blended effectively, these two disciplines can create a powerful force that amplifies brand messages and achieves strategic objectives. In best practices terms, that means integrating them to maximize their combined impact.

Align the Goals and Strategies of PR and Digital Marketing

Successful integration of PR and digital marketing begins with aligning goals and strategies. Ensure that both teams or functions are working towards common objectives, whether it’s enhancing brand visibility, generating leads, or driving website traffic. Establish a unified strategy that leverages the strengths of both PR and digital marketing.

For instance, if a PR campaign is focused on increasing media coverage, digital marketing efforts can complement this by amplifying the coverage through social media channels and paid promotions.

Create Consistent Messaging

Consistency in messaging is crucial for maintaining a coherent brand voice across all platforms. Ensure that the messaging in your public relations materials — such as press releases and media pitches — aligns with the content shared through other marketing channels, including social media posts, email campaigns, and website content.

This consistency helps reinforce your brand’s key messages and creates a unified narrative that resonates with your audience. Regularly review and update messaging guidelines to ensure alignment across all communication efforts.

Leverage PR and Digital Marketing Data and Analytics

Data and analytics are invaluable tools for optimizing both of these efforts. Use insights from digital marketing analytics — such as website traffic, social media engagement, and conversion rates — to inform PR strategies.

Conversely, PR metrics, such as media coverage and sentiment analysis, can provide valuable context for digital marketing campaigns. By integrating data from both camps, you can make informed decisions, track performance, and adjust strategies to achieve better results.

Enhance Content Distribution

Content distribution is a key area where these two team players can intersect. PR efforts, such as media placements and influencer partnerships, can drive traffic to digital assets, such as blog posts, landing pages, or social media profiles.

Further, digital marketing trends can help amplify public relations content by sharing it across social media platforms, using SEO tactics to improve its visibility, and leveraging paid media to reach a broader audience. Develop a content distribution plan that outlines how these marketing efforts will work together to maximize reach and engagement.

Collaboration on Campaigns

Collaborative campaigns that integrate can lead to greater success than isolated efforts. For example, if you’re launching a new product, a coordinated campaign that includes a press release, social media announcements, influencer endorsements, and targeted digital ads can create a comprehensive promotional strategy.

Foster communication and collaboration between teams to ensure that campaigns are well-coordinated, messages are consistent, and resources are used efficiently.

Engage with Your Audience

Engagement is a critical component of both PR and digital marketing. Use PR efforts to build relationships with media, influencers, and industry thought leaders, while leveraging digital marketing channels to interact directly with your target audience. Encourage two-way communication by responding to comments, participating in conversations, and addressing feedback. Engaging with your audience in a meaningful way helps build trust, strengthen relationships, and enhance your brand’s reputation.

Harnessing the Power of PR and Digital Marketing Integration

The intersection of PR and digital marketing offers a wealth of opportunities for brands to amplify their messages and achieve strategic goals. In today’s digital age, it’s not just a best practice — it’s a strategic imperative for achieving holistic and impactful communication. As you navigate the complexities of modern marketing, remember that the partnerships in marketing can be a powerful tool for your brand’s growth and success.

With the rise of social media platforms, influencer marketing has gone through a significant transformation. Influencers have come to be key players in the marketing scene, appearing on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and more. To build more genuine and meaningful connections with their target audience, brands take advantage of the reach and power of these digital personalities. 

Evolution of Influencer Marketing 

Influencer marketing was simple in the early days of social media. Companies partnered with well-known bloggers and YouTubers to market products using endorsements and reviews. Influencer marketing became much broader as sites like Instagram and TikTok became popular.  

Influencers in today’s world can range in size from small influencers with fewer but very engaged audiences to large influencers with millions of followers. With this diversity, marketers can tailor their campaigns to appeal to certain groups and demographics. Influencers are becoming more than just brand ambassadors; they are content creators that include brand messaging into their own personalities and styles to relate to and de-commercialize marketing.  

The Challenges Going Forward

Influencer marketing presents challenges even with its benefits. Keeping authenticity is important because audiences can recognize fake endorsements, leading to openness on sponsored collaborations. Since influencers’ behavior might affect related brands, proper screening is important. Return-on-investment tracking can be difficult, requiring companies to use tools and set exact key performance indicators. A brand’s values consistency, popularity, and follower demographics are all important factors to consider when choosing a good influencer.  

To sum up, influencer marketing is an effective tool that helps businesses engage with their target audience by providing real and interesting content. Despite the challenges, it can still be an exciting and significant part of current marketing campaigns with proper preparation and successful execution. 

Summertime is replete with outdoor events and reporters are covering stories in person. The summer can also be a slow time for businesses. Plus, organizations also may be in a planning period in the summertime before events intensify during the autumn/winter months.

So How Can You Make the Best Use of This Summertime Season?

This can be an optimal time to strategize pitches and story angles for the upcoming fall and holiday season. If your clients have Fall/Winter events or announcements, media pitching should start now to ensure long lead story inclusions. Here is a selection of ideas for summertime pitches that will position your clients’ events for success in autumn/winter:

• Share the event’s history and purpose.
• Include testimonials or previous pieces to illustrate the event’s community impact.
• Submit B-Roll from past events to educate the media on attendance levels and a visual of community involvement.
• Invite reporters to attend the event for on-site coverage opportunities.
• Offer exclusive interviews with speakers and notable attendees.

Other Summertime Media Opportunities

If you do not have any specific media planning to do for the fall, use the summertime to dig into what is currently trendingin the newsto promote your client’s brand. This can be done by pitching your client as an expert source to speak on a topic and be quoted in a story after news breaks. Or you can focus on your client’s brand ethics, products, or backstory and how it aligns with what is happening in the news cycle.

When pitching the media in summertime, it is also a great practice to limit email subject lines between one and five words. Further, limit the media pitch to 50–79 words. Overall, the entire body of your pitch should not exceed 149 words. Applying these best practices on your PR pitches will help you and your clients grow your media opportunities this summer!

Here on the Porch, we create a lot of specialized content for our clients. Websites, social media, newsletters, videos and the like. As their marketing partner, we operate as an extension of their marketing department. We think through their branding, their voice, their business goals and more to make sure that their content is right — every single day. In other words, we work hard to make it rock! And we love what we do.

Our clients trust us to use our expertise to help them grow their businesses. They know that a smart business owner doesn’t try to do everything themselves — instead they surround themselves with other experts who can help them achieve their goals.

How Can You Best Utilize Your Marketing Partner to Make Your Content Rock?

Say you’re a business owner who doesn’t know how to — and honestly doesn’t have the time to — create your own marketing. So you do the smart thing and hire a marketing partner to help grow your business. First, realize that your marketing partner is an expert at creating smart, on-target content for your business and is also in it for the long haul like you are. They want you to succeed.

Helpful Tips for Businesses Utilizing a Marketing Partner

1. Remember: You are not your audience. What is spoken and written internally in your company, doesn’t necessarily make sense to your client or customer. Trust your marketing partner’s recommendations on brand voice, relevancy of message and content
2. Your time is a valuable asset so use it wisely. Provide big-picture counsel. Spending your valuable time giving big picture direction up front on content initiatives vs. spending your time editing every post, is time well-spent. Let your marketing partner help you focus on other important parts of running your business by taking the daily detail of marketing content off your plate.
3. Digital content lasts nanoseconds. Today’s post is forgotten by tomorrow and replaced with another one. This process builds your brand’s personality over time. Each social media post is not precious, it is simply the next stepping stone on your brand’s path.
4. Trust your content creators. The copywriters and designers on your marketing partner’s team do this day-in and day-out for multiple clients. They are experts. They know your channels better than you do and are creating content using best practices for their industry. Just like you use best practices in your industry.
5. Work ON your business, not IN your business. You can’t be everywhere at once. Surrounding yourself with experts who know how to do things that you don’t know how to do is the smart move. Marketing, copywriting, and design professionals on your marketing partner team all have expertise and knowledge that can help you grow your business in ways you couldn’t have imagined. Let them do their job, so that you can do yours better.

Our Overall Advice? Trust Your Partners.

Digital content creation is a marathon with no finish line. It is a day-in and day-out process that builds your brand, and your audience, over time. Digital content like social media, blog posts, newsletters, and websites are crafted with your audience in mind. And they’re crafted to build your brand long-term. So don’t over-think every single post. Don’t over-edit every single piece of content. Whether it’s social media, blogging, email marketing, video scripting or any piece of your digital content universe, it all works together to build your brand and make your business a success in the eyes of your audience and potential customers.