Marketing Budget: Do You Know How to Plan for 2023?

Who else has a New Year’s resolution of achieving a new level of growth in your business? Today’s world of marketing can be difficult to navigate with ongoing budget cuts, employee retention issues, and ineffective marketing. However, developing a complete marketing plan that you can budget for is a helpful way to avoid negative outcomes.

Over the last couple of years, the average annual marketing cost has increased by almost 4%. Most business owners are expecting their annual budgets to increase, which is also why many are anticipating a change in marketing channels. Traditional advertising is being phased out while new age avenues, such as social media and other digital media platforms, will be focused on more in upcoming years.

Many business owners have already made robust social media strategies for 2023, but there are some who are diving into the platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok for the first time. If you are one of those who plans to grow your business but have yet to allocate marketing dollars to the social world, it might be time to research what platforms would work best for you.

Curious how much you should be allocating for your marketing budget? The answer may depend on your industry, but pandemic spending has pushed marketing budgets to its highest level, nearly 14% of a company’s overall revenue on average. It is important to keep in mind that every business is different and this budget might only be a guideline for now. Maybe you aren’t there yet, or have already surpassed that average. No matter where you are with your budget, here are some tips to keep in mind to maximize your marketing budget:

Know the Customer’s Journey

Understand how you get a conversion. Starting from a quick social post to closing a sale, there can be a lot of roads the customer took to get to that final point. By understanding the journey, you will be able to determine:

• Which digital platforms are best to reach your target demographic
• How to effectively budget spending on those platforms
• What voice resonates with your demographic
• Are static or video formats more effective

This is key to ensure the best use of your marketing budget and attaining the best return on investment.

Repurposing Content

Using content from past years is a great strategy. The initial research has already been done and now you can repurpose and promote it across different platforms and in different formats. Video is becoming the biggest and baddest format to reach potential customers, so try making a blog into a fun video. Reusing what you have can make sure you are getting the most value for your budget.

Rework Your Marketing Strategy

Just as TikTok trends are constantly changing, your marketing strategy needs to be re-evaluated consistently. This could either be a bi-weekly or monthly review of what you have cooking to help you determine if you need to switch things up or keep pushing forward. We typically recommend businesses conduct a monthly review to ensure they are continuing to use the best marketing tactics.

Find a Specialist

Most small businesses don’t have the budget to hire an in-house marketing team, but what do you do when you have multiple marketing projects to manage while trying to run your business? Consider partnering with a marketing specialist such as Good Dog Graphics. You can bypass all the time to train and onboard a new hire, and keep all the benefits of experience.

If you have any questions about your upcoming 2023 marketing budget, what the best strategy is for your business, or even how to repurpose your content, let us know! We are here to help!