Today marks the highly anticipated tradition of our beloved Punxsutawney Phil and his famous shadow; when most wait with bated breath for the promise of spring and seasonal change. As we quote Bill Murray around the agency and toss out quips from the famous film that have forever marred this holiday, I realize that sometimes a digital strategy can also seem a bit stuck “on Groundhog Day.” Because most content and digital strategies are results-driven, and results take time, so often am I waiting…willing change…counting down the days to the next season to shift priorities or brand positioning based on these metrics. All of a sudden I feel trapped in a time warp, doomed to relive the same strategy over and over again…inspired by progress but plagued by monotony. Sound familiar?
If you’re like me, the good news is, whether or not Punx has forecasted an early arrival of spring, there are things that every company can be doing NOW to break out of the cyclical routine that has left them feeling creatively stagnant:
A/B Testing
Whether it’s creating dynamic social media messaging or staggering content on your blog at different times, A/B Testing — comparing two versions of the same outreach effort — can be a fun way to add a bit of variety to how you measure campaign performance. This means that even if you’re working within a stringent content and social strategy, you can still try publishing the same type of blog at different times on different days and tracking their reach; creating a different messaging campaign for one solution and then seeing which performs best within a target demographic. While it may seem like you’re veering a bit off the tried-and-true course, A/B Testing is a great way to engage with your audience and measure results.
Launch an Ancillary Campaign
Giving new life to a campaign, even if it’s ancillary to an overarching theme, can add a fresh dimension to your existing content calendar and support prior write-ups. These ancillary campaigns can be thought leadership pieces, a response to an industry trend or a sidebar piece to an existing article. In turn, if your audience is engaged with the current content, adding an ancillary campaign can help with targeting certain segments of your audience to further enhance site engagement and drive home conversion.
Socially Mirror the Experts
The truth is, if you’re bored with your social activity, so is your audience. Rule of thumb: If your social channels are only promoting your company’s work (insert yawn), then you’re really limiting who you are as a brand. Formulating brand personality by following, retweeting and positioning conversations with industry thought leaders is a fun way to really add layers to who you are as a company and helps dissolve the self-inflicted social confines you’ve created to professionally position your brand. Try creating conversations on LinkedIn discussion groups, perform industry scans and share out interesting articles with your target readers. Be dynamic in nature with your approach to support your current strategy while shedding light on your company’s overarching interests and culture.
As you take on the last few weeks of winter, be sure to get in front of your company’s projected shadow and give your strategy the refresh it deserves. It might just help blossom a new approach for your spring campaign or give you some much-needed insight into your audience!
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