Where to Focus Your Marketing in 2023

A  new year means renewed opportunities for business owners. Chances are most of you want to grow your business in the new year, and marketing can help. I talked on my podcast with Lindsey Miller, lead guide at Content Journey, an Oklahoma City-based content marketing agency with clients all over the U.S. Lindsey gave some advice on five things to focus your marketing on in 2023.

5 Things to Focus Your Marketing on in 2023

You only have so much time and money to spend on marketing. You’re running a business, after all. But you still want to grow that business and make sure people have heard of your brand. So, here’s Lindsey’s advice on focusing your marketing efforts in 2023.

1. Double Down Where You Are

You can’t be everywhere all the time. Just look at all of the social networks out there. In recent months alone, Twitter users splintered off to multiple sites like Mastodon, Tumblr, and Post. But you don’t have to be everywhere. Instead, think about where you’re spending your time and meeting your audience already, then double down there, Lindsey advised. Because, she said, it’s much easier to cultivate an audience than build a new one. She said:

“Ask yourself where your customers or potential customers are and go there. Because, at the end of the day, you’re building a business. Choose where you can spend your time wisely because that’s the only thing you don’t get more of. Spend your time wisely and build your business where it makes sense.”

2. Repurpose Your Content

Take the content you’ve already created and repurpose it in multiple ways, Lindsey said. For example, the podcast Lindsey and I did was video and audio. I also used it for this blog post. And we’ll be sharing it on social media in smaller pieces. 

It’s a good use of your resources when you can take one piece of content and use it in various ways. Lindsey said it’s like getting a lot of information out there in multiple formats through basically one effort.

You can then share this content at various times with the audience who enjoys that format most. One effort can give you content for a month or whatever your publishing calendar dictates.

3. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

You don’t need to have unique content everywhere, Lindsey said. Instead, reuse things that work well for your brand. 

So, for example, if you have an email subject line that gets excellent open rates, reuse the same format later. Or, share the same post that got a great response on Facebook multiple times throughout the year. 

“The same people aren’t going to see it or, if they do, they won’t recognize it,” Lindsey said. “Your mom’s the only one that’s going to see the whole thing every time, and she’s going to like it all anyway.”

People also change and grow to need your products or services. This approach to messaging exposes people to great messages they didn’t see the first time or weren’t the right fit for them then. Lindsey said:

“Maybe they didn’t need it that day, or it just wasn’t relevant then, but now all of a sudden, they’re in a different space, and it’s a message they need. It’s about relieving pressure from ourselves, but also listening to our audience — giving them the right message at the right time. Just because our idea is from 2020 doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant for someone in 2023.”

4. Use Video

Video can be repurposed in multiple ways, as discussed above, making it a valuable approach to producing content. Also, statistics on video use show that people not only watch brand videos before making a purchase, but they want more of them. 

Lindsey said to make sure your videos have captions to allow some people to watch and others to read. Also, remember that search engines treat video and text differently, so running them together on the same post on your website is valuable. Video makes a great supplement to your other marketing efforts.

There are several platforms out there fighting over videos views right now, so give them a reason to fight over your content. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube all want to win. So if you create a video post it across each of those platforms. And you are going back to #2 and repurposing your content!

5. Be Consistent

It’s easy to get excited about lists like this and want to launch all of the initiatives. Many of us will start the year strong with our marketing efforts, but then running a business and life get in the way. The next thing you know, you haven’t posted on social media or your blog in months. You can’t remember the last time you created a video. 

A lack of consistency is a massive problem in marketing, Lindsey said. It’s why she founded Content Journey. Not necessarily because people can’t do their own content marketing but because many don’t have the time to do it consistently.

Lindsey said the most important thing is to choose a schedule you can stick to. For example, you don’t need to blog every day, and you don’t have to blog every week, although it is better if you do. If all you can do is once a month, that’s fine, but do it every month.

“Whatever your cadence is, make it consistent,” Lindsey said.

Working with Content Journey

Lindsey gave us all sorts of ideas on the podcast for our 2023 marketing. I have pages of notes from our conversation and feel like they’ll really help me up my game in the next year. You should also listen to the podcast if you found this post helpful. There’s even more practical stuff there. Book a call if you’re interested in learning more about working with Lindsey and Content Journey. She’s happy to talk to you about how she can help you grow your business. Tell her Heady sent you and you will get a bonus when you become a client!

#GoWin