How to Revamp Your Marketing Plan in 2024

It’s a new year, so you know it’s time for a new marketing plan.

That doesn’t mean you need to chuck your entire existing strategy out the window; we’d actually probably recommend against that. But now is the time, if you haven’t already, to reassess what was working, consider your new goals, and develop a marketing plan based on consumer behavior, the existing market, and your business objectives for the new year.

And that’s what we’ll help you do today, as we walk you through how to revamp or create your marketing plan for 2024.

Dive Into Your Data

Before you do anything else, take a look at your existing marketing platforms and their analytics.

You need to determine which platforms are currently working for you, and how effective they are.

Google Analytics (and other website analytics tools) can help you get an idea of where your site traffic is coming from, whether paid or organic traffic is sending you the most clicks, and how your content marketing efforts are performing.

You can also get an idea of which platforms are bringing you the highest quality traffic. Which sources bring you site visitors that are more likely to view more pages, sign up to your email list, or make a purchase? And which brings in solid traffic at the lowest cost?

You’ll want to stick with the most impactful platforms, but don’t necessarily discount the less effective ones— you may need to just take a look and consider if the platform isn’t a good fit for your audience, or if you want to try new strategies.

Get Specific About Goals

Your marketing strategy should always consider your current business objectives.

If you want to launch a new product, for example, you don’t want to just continue on marketing the old product you’ll sunset, even if it’s getting great results.

Or maybe you want to expand into a new audience. You’ll rely on different marketing tactics when appealing to a professional audience compared to a personal one, for example.

And what types of growth do you want to see? Is social media follower growth important to your business objectives, or are leads and brand visibility more important?

Use SMART goals, which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. You can use free SMART templates to speed up the process.

So you may say that you want to generate 100 new leads for your business within four months to scale to the point where you can hire new staff. Or, you may want to increase blog traffic from 200 monthly visitors to 2,000 monthly visitors in six months using a combination of new SEO practices, distribution strategies, and an increased volume of content to better build your brand authority.

Know This Year’s Must-Have Platforms

Marketing platforms and strategies alike go in and out style for a variety of reasons, including changes in the market and in consumer behavior.

It’s important to note, though, that even the general “must-have platforms” may not always work for your business. Even when Pinterest was massive for most brands, SaaS brands were better off focused on LinkedIn.

So, here’s the general advice you want to take into account for must-have and expected-to-be-high-performing platforms for 2024:

• TikTok is still one of the top-performing platforms, particularly for B2C content. It has 30.8 million daily active users right now, and as people are scrolling, they can discover new brands and content (like yours!). Get the latest strategies here.
• Instagram Reels is right behind it. You can cross-post your TikTok content right onto Instagram Reels, which offers the same benefits and may help you reach a diverse audience. Some users, after all, prefer one platform over the other; I’m a Millennial who doesn’t use TikTok, but I do scroll on Instagram Reels. See some Instagram Reels best practices to get started.
• Content marketing is still in, but it’s more competitive. AI made an already over-saturated platform even more so, flooding it with poor quality content. To stand out, you need to invest in creating high-quality and actionable content that speaks to your core target audience, and you want to be writing for users at all stages of the funnel. Learn more about creating a winning content strategy here.
• Google Ads is invaluable for capturing user interest. Even if the cost-per-click (CPC) is higher than other platforms, don’t count it out; strong campaigns can lead to high click and lead quality, which pay off significantly. This guide to Google Ads is extensive, and a great place to start.
• LinkedIn is the B2B platform. LinkedIn isn’t just for job searching. People are building personal brands and making real connections with potential customers. It’s a prime platform for sales people and marketers alike to reach new audiences and drive leads. Their ad platform can also be expensive, but it’s also invaluable for brands who want to expand their reach quickly— especially SaaS brands. See how to market on LinkedIn here.
• Video is still important. Platforms like YouTube can be extraordinary; you can educate users on your industry, and also on your product yourself. It’s a great way to engage users at all stages of the digital sales funnel, including those discovering you, actively researching you, or who are already customers.

General Best Practices

And when it comes to social media, remember these general best practices:

• Engagement matters. Comments, shares, and saves matter more than likes, and they all matter more than just initial views. Algorithms weigh engagement heavily, and high-engaging posts drive visibility boosts.
• Be platform-specific. A LinkedIn video post is going to look starkly different from a TikTok video, and that will look different from YouTube. You can cross-post some content, but only when it aligns with multiple platforms best practices.
• Use visuals. Some platforms, of course, like TikTok and Instagram, require it. But make sure you’re using visuals on platforms like Facebook and in content marketing, too. Create infographics, step by step walk-through tutorials, and even behind-the-scenes content your audience wants to see.
• Consider findability. Content marketing often focuses heavily on SEO and search functions on your site. YouTube accounts should also be using SEO best practices to increase their visibility, and Instagram and TikTok need to consider hashtags and captions, which add context and impact who sees and finds your content.

AI: To Use or Not to Use?

AI made quite the splash in the marketing world in 2023, much to the amazement to some and fear of others.

Everyone has their own take on how AI should be used and when.

And here’s ours: AI can be a useful tool, but you should never, ever rely on it heavily for your marketing creation.

There are a few reasons for this, and it includes using AI to generate both copy and imagery:

• It’s not reliable. There are so many documented instances of AI not understanding nuance at best to making up information (or pulling inaccurate information) at worst. This is a huge gamble to take.
• You can’t copyright it. Right now, you can’t copyright anything that comes out of AI, because it wasn’t your creative license. That differs from all other copy, content, and imagery you create on your own, which is automatically protected by copyright.
• There is little to no originality. AI is only capable of regurgitating what’s already been put online. It might be able to do it in a brand voice that sounds like anyone from Clint Eastwood to Frodo Baggins, but it’s still nothing new.

Instead of using AI, consider using tools that are designed to speed up your processes while still keeping human creativity and intricacy in the driver’s seat. Some examples include:

• Snappa uses drag-and-drop technology and extensive free photo libraries so you can create any graphic or image quickly, regardless of design experience.
• Hemingway can help you proofread and improve the quality of your content.
• Loomly is a social media management tool that can help you curate new ideas for social content (in addition to general social management, scheduling, and analytics).

Final Thoughts

When updating your marketing plan, remember that it should always center around your business objectives and who your target audience is. Both of those things may shift year-over-year, and your plans need to pivot accordingly as a result.

And as a last note, a combination of evergreen content like content that pays off long-after it’s created and immediate-acting content like PPC campaigns (which drive results now, but stop the second you stop paying) is a good mix for many brands. Test out different combinations of platforms to see what works for you, and remember to treat them all as a part of a funnel.

Ready to create new, stunning visuals to engage your audience across all platforms in 2024? Get started with Snappa free here!