3 New Year's Content Creation Resolutions for Your Business
With 2022 officially underway, you likely have a lot of goals and plans for your business this year. For many entrepreneurs, upping their content creation strategy should be high on the list of resolutions.
At Kristin Ratten Content Services, we help businesses of all shapes and sizes with their content strategy and creation. We offer blog subscriptions, email campaigns, and website copy in a done-for-you format so that you can focus on your money-making activities. Schedule your free consult today to get started.
Content Creation Resolutions for Small Businesses
Running your own company is the most exhilarating and exhausting experience possible. You probably never knew you could balance so many hats on your little ol’ head, right? And I bet you didn’t think you could keep so many plates spinning with minimal breakage.
But at some point, you need to streamline each area of your operations, and that includes your content creation. You can’t effectively market your business in this era of commerce without consistent, engaging content. But creating it takes time. So. Much. Time.
To simplify all of your content efforts, here are three New Year’s resolutions to consider for your business.
1. Get Consistent Branding or Product Photos
Here’s the thing. I don’t love social media. I post there for my business grudgingly. (Although I will watch the heck out of TikToks with dogs talking in computer voices about what they did wrong!)
However, social media is a crucial piece of your content marketing. Whether you love all things social or are like me and don’t enjoy it, having a ready stock of branding photos makes it so much simpler.
Booking a branding session should be one of your first to-dos this year. Ideally, you’ll get updated photos every quarter to have fresh images for each season. If that isn’t in your budget, try aiming for twice a year. At the very least, book one branding session with an expert photographer and get photos in different seasonal outfits.
Similarly, if you have a product-based business, get updated product photos that you can use throughout the year. When you sell products, excellent images are crucial and non-negotiable. So be sure to hire an expert in this type of photography.
If you happen to be in the Portland Metro area like I am, I highly recommend Jessica Gubuan of Bridgetown Pictures for branding photos and Malaina Kinne Photography for your product shoot.
2. Get a Website Audit
Your company’s website is foundational to its success. It’s where you showcase your expertise and authority in your industry. It’s where online searches will point your ideal clients. And it’s your company’s marketing cornerstone.
But it can only be all those things if it’s working at its optimal level. Investing in a website audit can help you find minor things you should tweak and significant issues that need attention. Most audits look at some or all of the following:
User Experience
Basic SEO Performance
Mobile Friendliness
Security Concerns
Broken Links
By running this type of report, you will have excellent data as you address functionality and visibility for your site. To take things up a notch, consider a full SEO audit that can dig into all the nuts and bolts of your website’s digital real estate.
These audits will help you determine how to craft your content so that your ideal customers can find you, trust you, and hire you.
I rely on Uyo Digital Marketing for all of my clients’ website and SEO audits. Their team can help you show up online with ease!
3. Get Your Email List Up and Running
I am continually surprised by how few of my clients and potential clients have email lists. That is until I convince them it’s time!
An email list is one of the simplest forms of content marketing you can invest in, and the investment is minimal for most entrepreneurs. Email marketing also has one of the highest returns on investment of anything you can do for your business.
If you don’t have one, you need one.
If you have one you’re not using, you should start using it.
If you think you don’t need one, you’re probably mistaken.
If you have one and use it regularly, yay! You’re ahead of the game! Also, you’re ahead of me since this is one resolution I need to focus on in 2022 as well.
For those who stop in their tracks because they aren’t sure what to write, here is my go-to formula for crafting a friendly and effective newsletter campaign.
Open with a brief conversational paragraph. This piece can touch on timely or topical events such as holidays. It can also talk about things you like or enjoy. For example, “Here in the Portland area, we got unusually early snow. It’s my perfect excuse to sit by the fire with my coffee. How about you? Are you a snow fan?” Nice and simple.
Add a short paragraph highlighting a recent blog on your website or a social media post you’d like to drive traffic to for engagement. Be sure to include the link! This spot is also a perfect place to note any sales or events you have coming up in the near future.
Share a helpful tip or interesting piece of research that is relevant to your audience and wrap up with a quick sign-off.
Composing your emails can really be that simple. You don’t need to overthink it, and you don’t need to be selling all the time. Use these interactions to stay top of mind for your list subscribers and to develop a relationship of trust and kindness.
A Fourth Resolution: Outsource Your Content
If you dislike the thought of writing anything to your email list or for your website, then your New Year’s content creation resolution should be to find someone else to do it for you.
Outsourcing your content is an excellent way to boost your company’s visibility by having consistent, fresh words on your site. And it allows you to keep focusing on your favorite hats that you wear as a business owner while setting aside one that you don’t love.
At Kristin Ratten Content Services, we serve busy entrepreneurs by creating optimized content for their blogs, web copy, and email campaigns. We also offer fractional Director of Content services for companies that need an extra level of support. Book your free consultation to see which step is right for your business.
