As we head into the final months of 2021, use these 11 questions to reality-check your Q4 marketing strategy and end the year strong. 

1. Do You Know Your Audience?

For your audience to know you, you first need to know them. If you haven’t already, create a profile of your ideal audience. Be as detailed as possible, and include information about demographics, socioeconomic status, occupation, hobbies, and interests. Once you’ve clearly defined your target market, you can create content that speaks directly to their interests and needs to increase awareness, engagement, leads, and sales. 

2. Do You Know What You’re Doing Right?

There are always new marketing trends you can try to grow your ministry or business in new ways. But just because you try something new doesn’t mean you should stop doing what works for you. Review how your marketing strategies performed in Q1-Q3. What worked? What engaged your ideal audience the most? What led to increased engagement and conversions? Implement the strategies that work into your Q4 marketing plan to keep the momentum going. 

3. Is It Time to Try Something New?

If you go through your past marketing efforts and realize what you’re doing isn’t producing the results you want, then it might be time to try something new. While it can be scary to break out of your comfort zone, it’s worth it if it engages your audience more. Whether that’s trying a new social media trend, like using Christian influencers to reach a larger audience, or updating your website to a more modern format, go for it. You won’t know if it works until you try. And if you want help developing an updated strategy or testing new marketing trends, let us know. We are here to help! 

4. Is Your Website Up-to-Date and Optimized?

Speaking of your website, even if you don’t need to change your format completely, it’s a good idea to audit your website to ensure it’s up-to-date and optimized. Do you have a new campaign launching in Q4? That campaign should have a fresh landing page. As we head into the holiday season, it’s the perfect time to start Christmas advertising and year-end fundraising. Make sure you update your website with relevant messaging and graphics, so your audience engages with your campaign when they visit your site.

5. Is Your CTA Clear?

A call to action (CTA) is essential to drive your audience to a specific action. Your CTA may change depending on your current campaign goals, but it’s necessary to have one at all times. For example, if you have a year-end fundraising campaign, an excellent call to action is “Donate Now!” It is simple, straightforward, and helps your audience know how to best engage with you. “Save a Child!” is even better. You should include your CTA in all your advertisements, social media posts, and blog posts, and make sure to link to the best landing page match you have.

6. Is Your Message Simple and Relevant?

If your audience doesn’t clearly understand your mission, message, and goal, they are less likely to engage with your campaigns. Additionally, even if they understand what you’re doing, they will only participate if it is relevant or interesting to them. That is why it is essential to first and foremost know your audience. Then, you can clearly and concisely communicate your message in a way that engages and moves your audience to action because they care about what you do. Keep your message as short and simple as possible. Ask your audience to do the one and only one key thing you need them to do. 

7. Do You Have a PR Plan?

In times like these, when many unfortunate events are happening throughout the world, your ministry or organization may feel compelled to engage in the conversation. A PR plan can help you do that well. If you haven’t already, now is the time to prepare for how you will handle communications regarding local, nationwide, and worldwide events relevant to your mission. You can learn more about the importance of PR here. 

8. Are You Open to Feedback?

To know whether or not your market strategy is doing what it’s supposed to do, you need to gather valuable feedback from your audience. One way to do this is to send out a survey and ask your audience for their honest opinions. What you think is working may actually be deterring your audience from engaging with you. Ask the right questions, and be willing to make changes depending on the answers you receive. 

9. Is Your Business Adapting?

The COVID-19 pandemic is a penultimate example of how quickly things can change. During such events, ministries and organizations need to be able to adapt. The more flexible you are and quickly you adapt, the greater your impact in the near term. If your time to implement marketing changes is six months to a year, you should look at that through the lens of the digital age. 

10. Are You Making the Most of Q4 Marketing?

Q4 is a pivotal time for ministry fundraising and consumer product sales. As you enter the last portion of 2021, make the most of your marketing campaigns by speaking to your audience’s interests. Think about what is happening in their world: kids are going back to school, the holidays are right around the corner, and many things are happening in the world that need attention, support, and prayer. Adjust your marketing strategy to speak to the current needs and desires of your audience. 

11. Are You Planning for Next Year?

Before you know it, 2021 will be long gone, and the new year will bring exciting challenges! It’s not too soon to start looking ahead to 2022 and planning new campaigns to reach and engage your target audience. There are so many ways you can get your message out there, from PR strategies to Influencer campaigns to Advertising opportunities and more. 

If you’re ready to make the most of Q4 marketing or start planning for a great start to the new year, we can help. Contact us today to get started!