It’s April! (How did that happen?)
As we step into the second quarter of 2025, it's the perfect time to reevaluate your marketing strategies to ensure you up your game in the months ahead. With shifting trends, evolving consumer behaviours, and new opportunities emerging, staying ahead of the curve is essential.
As you know, I’m all about simplifying marketing, so let’s take a look at some simple, actionable steps you can take to up your marketing game in Q2 and beyond, including the recommended social media posts formats and sizes:
Review Your Goals:
Take a moment to look at your marketing goals for the year. Are they still relevant? Are there any adjustments or changes you need to make based on your performance in Q1?
Use this opportunity to realign your strategies with your overall objectives to make sure you're moving in the right direction.
Dive into Analytics:
Take a deep look into your analytics from the first quarter to identify patterns, successes, and areas for improvement. This applies to social media, email marketing, and website analytics. Pay attention to metrics such as engagement rates, conversion rates, and ROI (return on investment).
Use these insights to inform your decisions moving forward, plan or adjust your content and optimise your campaigns for better results.
Refresh Your Content Strategy:
Keep your content strategy fresh and engaging by introducing new formats, topics, and angles. Consider incorporating user-generated content, testimonials, and behind-the-scenes content to capture audience attention and drive engagement.
Experiment with different storytelling techniques to keep your audience hooked:
👉 Use FB/IG Lives
👉 Post short videos to Stories (tips & tricks, tutorials, behind the scenes)
👉 Create an IG carousel post that tells a story - this could be a personal story, a business-related story, a client’s success story. Each slide of the carousel leads to the next bit of the story. This is a popular type of post that keeps people engaged and sparks curiosity.
Embrace Video Marketing:
OK, I know this is a tricky one, especially for introverts. However, video continues to dominate as one of the most engaging forms of content, and it’s here to stay. Incorporate video into your marketing mix, whether it's through product demos, behind-the-scenes, or educational content, tutorials, interviews. Leverage live video on social media to connect with your audience in real-time, show up authentically and build community.
Optimise for Mobile:
With the majority of people accessing content on mobile devices, optimising your marketing efforts for mobile is non-negotiable. Ensure that your website is mobile-responsive, your emails are mobile-friendly, and your content is easily consumable on smaller screens.
💡 Social media tip: Stop posting square images on Instagram! This applies to FB and LinkedIn too. Why? The bigger the post, the more eye-catching it is! It captures the entire screen space of your audience, which makes them stay for longer. The best sizes for IG images or slides are:
Single posts: 4:5 (1350 px X 1080 px)
Reels: 9:16 (1920 px X 1080 px)
Carousels: 4:5 (1350 px X 1080 px)
Stories: 9:16 (1920 px X 1080 px)
If you’re using a software like Canva, they already have the right sizes so you don’t need to worry about adjusting image sizes.
Don’t Rule Out Using Trends:
Stay up-to-date with emerging trends and incorporate them into your marketing strategy where relevant. Whether it's the latest trending sound for Reels, the popularity of audio-based content, or the growth of micro-communities on social media, capitalise on trends that align with your brand and audience.
Double Down on Personalisation:
Personalisation is no longer optional—it's expected. Leverage data-driven insights to deliver personalised experiences across the board, from email marketing to website customisation. Segment your lists and tailor your messaging, offers, and recommendations to resonate with individual preferences and customer behaviours.
Collaborate and Cross-Promote:
Many business owners are reluctant to collaborate with others out of fear of competition.
There is another way to approach collaboration, without risking “losing” customers to your competitors: Explore collaboration opportunities with complementary brands or influencers to expand your reach and tap into new audiences. Look for mutually beneficial partnerships where you can cross-promote each other's products or services, host joint events, or co-create content. Now, what is a complementary brand? This is a business that caters to a similar audience to yours, but offers different products or services.
For example: if you’re selling skin-care products, consider collaborating with a yoga or wellbeing brand.
Or if you are a wedding photographer, you could collaborate with a florist or an events-organiser to create a joint webinar. If you have a tutoring and education service-based business, consider collaborating with a parenting workshop organiser. Or you could collaborate with a local bookstore to promote literacy and provide learning resources. Or how about an after-school activity or sports club?
If you’re an artist or creative, you could collaborate with an art supply store, a gallery or interior designers for a joint workshop, webinar or event. Or you could partner with a local Café, fashion store or community centre to teach art classes or workshops, or talk about your art.
Focus On Relationship Building:
Focus on building genuine relationships with your audience rather than solely focusing on sales. Engage with your followers on social media, respond to comments and messages promptly, and seek feedback to demonstrate that you value their input. Create a sense of community around your brand.
Learn and Adapt:
Finally, always review, adjust and adapt your approach to marketing. Learn new industry trends, consumer behaviours, and competitive landscape closely, and be prepared to adjust your strategies as needed.
Embrace a test-and-learn mentality, and don't be afraid to experiment with new tactics and strategies that work.
It's time to set the stage for success. By regularly reviewing your goals, analysing data, embracing emerging trends, and prioritising personalisation and relationships, you can position your brand for growth and success in the ever-changing marketing landscape. Be flexible and willing to make changes as they’re needed, stay innovative, and most importantly, stay focused on delivering value to your audience.
Talk soon,
Gali
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