It’s nearly the end of November and we’re all putting in the final push to complete our annual sales goals.  But have you started thinking about the coming new year?  Lots has changed dramatically in the online marketing arena in 2010.  Social media went from being a buzz word your savvy techy friends were tossing around to the tool driving your entire marketing plan.  Gone are the days when your business, local or global, could ignore the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

As the year comes to a close, be sure to take stock of your marketing dollars.  What has worked successfully for you in marketing online this year?  What has produced the most measurable results? (you did measure your results right?)  Is there a better way to use social media tools such Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to create a more effective and measurable result?  If you’re doing your social media marketing inhouse, is it working well for you?  Have you considered hiring someone to do your social media marketing for you?  If you have hired outside help, do you need to make any adjustments for the new year?

If you didn’t measure your marketing this past year, start a strategic marketing plan with measurable goals.

What will you be doing to improve your profitability in 2011.  Let me know in the comment area below

The new year celebrations have come and gone.  Now it’s time to get back to work.  Everywhere I look are questions about a New Year’s Resolution.  During all the reverie, it’s easy to pass off an anecdotal comment as resolve without putting much thought into it.  Now is the time to start that thought process.

My preference is to start at the end to get to the beginning.  What is it that you wish have accomplished by this time last year?  Be realistic, but do dream some.  A goal is only worthy if you need to stretch outside your comfort zone a bit to accomplish it.  However, there is no use saying you’re going to run a marathon next week if you didn’t start training last year.  Determine a goal you believe you could reach if you did the work to get it.

Here are a few guidelines to get you started:

1. BE SPECIFIC – Keep your goal narrow enough that you’ll know when you accomplished it.  Use numbers to help codify it ( for example:  I will serve 5 new clients each month or I will earn an extra $100 per week).
2. BREAK IT DOWN – To get to your goal, you’ll need to start with baby steps and grow.  Break down the steps into “TO DO” items you can check off each day or each week.  (for example:  I will collect 5 business cards each week and follow up with every one or I will write 3 paragraphs in my blog each week).
3. PUT A DATE TO IT – A goal is just a dream with a date attached.  Be sure to put dates on the goals.  (for example I will make an extra $100 per week by March 1, 2010).
4. WRITE IT DOWN – Sounds simply, right?  So have you done it?  None withstanding that the Harvard (or Yale) class study was a hoax ( See Sid’s blog for more discussion) , writing down your goals on paper and reviewing them regularly make a difference.  This doesn’t have to be fancy.  My husband keeps his on a few sheets in his planner.

Give it a try.  We’ll do it together.  I’m starting to write my goals as soon as this post is finished (especially since this blog is also one of my goals).

Happy New Years!