It goes without saying, Q4 is the busiest time of the year for many businesses and the build-up can undoubtedly be overwhelming, especially when you’re unsure where to start or what to focus on.
But with all the pressure put to the side, Q4 is the best time to see a significant increase in overall brand revenue and finish the year off on a positive note!
To help you prepare your business for the quarter ahead, we’ve compiled the ultimate checklist so your brand can put its best foot forward for this final quarter.
Define Goals
It’s time to think SMART:
- Specific- Set goals specific to what you want your brand to accomplish during Q4, and clearly lay these out using organisational tools.
- Measure – Are you able to measure your goals? Ensure you have appropriate tracking and events set up in advance.
- Attainable – Are you being realistic with your goals and targets? Take time to investigate budgets, resources and prioritise quality over quantity.
- Relevant – Are your specific goals relevant to your business (and competitors!)
- Time bound – It goes without saying, start planning ASAP! Ensure all targets, goals and content is prepared in advance, therefore you can execute all ideas to the highest standard and keep things running smoothly over the busy quarter.
Website Audit
Ensuring your website is at its peak performance is always vital, however, it’s particularly important when going into Q4. It’s recommended to have your website audited at least twice a year or on a quarterly basis. With the increase in store traffic, having a site that runs at a high speed with effective branding, imagery and copy will guarantee an increase in sales.
Tip: when onboarding with Social Nucleus, you will have an in-depth website audit performed by your dedicated Account Manager.
It’s time for a glow up…with your email marketing. Having consistent and well communicated email flows prepped prior to Q4 could be vital for retargeting potential customers. We recommend creating a series of automated email flows triggered by the most common actions taken by your audience.
- Welcome flow
- Abandoned cart
- Thank you/post-purchase flow
- Instructional
- Product review
- Personalised flows (i.e birthday or anniversary)
Tip: Creating a simple pop up on your site to encourage signups is a great way to grow your mailing list.
Social Media
Keep the same level of consistency on your site and email campaigns throughout your social media platforms, to build hype around product discounts and anticipated sales.
This may call for an increase in overall social presence on your brand’s social platforms, for example creating original and trendy content that both advertises your promotions/deals and appeals to your current target audience.
Tip: Take extra time to create content that will increase user engagement during this preparation, as this will organically grow your social presence and appeal to a wider audience (as well as the algorithm!).
Plan for Q1
Planning for Q1? An obscene thought to many, but consistency is key in the world of digital marketing and keeping the same level of organisation and preparation will allow a smooth transition into the new year – set goals and keep your brand to the same standard.
And there you have it! We hope our checklist has helped make the Q4 planning process a little easier, so you can unleash your business’ full potential for this final quarter.
Looking to level up your quarterly planning? Book a call with Social Nucleus today – we’re ready to take your digital marketing to the next level for this quarter and beyond 🚀
