Will 2018 Be the Year of the Minimalist Marketer?

2018 is the year of the minimalist marketer. Marketers can thrive by being minimalistic and knowing which content and materials will help to catapult your company to new marketing heights – onward and upward writes, Kerry Nelson, Senior Director, CX Marketing at Infor.

With the beginning of each new year comes the annual, obligatory round of New Year’s resolutions. Oftentimes, these resolutions are inspired by the idea that removing the clutter from our lives will help us to focus on the things that truly matter. Individuals return to the office after the winter holidays, bright-eyed from decluttering their homes, only to have an excess of emails and assignments bring them right back to the reality of the American business market – one where “more” is never enough.

Perhaps the same approach taken in decluttering closets and garages could be applied to a marketing content plan . Just consider the amount of content a marketing department creates — a good portion of it likely unused by anyone outside of the marketing team. While there is no secret recipe that marketers can follow to declutter and reorganize this year, there are simple tweaks that, when done correctly, can go a long way.

To ensure that 2018 is the year of the minimalist marketer, executives should start one step at a time. Here is how:

Perform a thorough – and strategic – content audit

Just as you feel compelled to clean out your closet once January strikes, marketers should do the same with their workspaces. The first step: take inventory of the documents that have piled up on throughout the year and file away any of those documents that are no longer needed.

That is not to say that the items being tossed were not well made or did not have a specific place or purpose. Marketers are repeatedly taught that they must constantly be feeding the hungry “content engines” within their organizations. And while content may be king, remember that more is not necessarily better. Quality must be a significant consideration . As Marie Kondo, the famed author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, said, “We should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of.”

With a thorough and ruthless content audit, executives can best decide what to keep, and most importantly, what to create.

Focus on creating better, not just more content

Marketing departments are inundated with written content. There are blog posts, bylined articles, landing pages, nurture campaigns, product brochures, solution overviews, social media posts, PowerPoint presentations – and that is just the beginning! The list goes on and on, and that is without even taking into consideration the list of new items in the pipeline.

Instead of more content, marketers must take a step back and focus on creating better content . For example, what if marketing departments created “pillar” pieces so essential that they only required a yearly brush-up to remain relevant? These pieces may not be easy, fast, or inexpensive to produce, but they will add lasting value – and serve as something that can be reused and repurposed each year.

This type of content results in a more enriching customer experience because, after all, customers do not want content just for content’s sake, they want the right content that tells the organization’s story clearly and concisely.

Keep the momentum going, all year long

It is no surprise that only 8 percent of people actually keep their New Year’s resolutions. The reason: people are discouraged by small failures or quickly become derailed by setting too many unrealistic goals. It is important to understand that missteps are completely natural. When making personal resolutions, goals must be realistic – and the same rings true within a marketing department .

Think back to the previous point about creating quality, evergreen marketing content. This is a hefty goal and one that cannot be completed after just one team meetings. Knowing this from the onset is what sets apart those who will quit and those who will persevere. Further, it is important to set small, incremental goals that, in time, will help you reach your overall target. Perhaps this entails writing one headline a week or holding one more team brainstorming sessions each month. Defining the steps necessary to achieve your target is just as important as identifying the target itself.

Just as New Years’ resolutions act as a means for individuals to move forward with the intent of improving oneself, finding a way to apply the “reset” button on your marketing department will only better your organization.

As the mother of minimalism, Marie Kondo, says, “Once you learn to choose your belongings properly, you will be left with only the amount that falls perfectly into the space you own”. Knowing which content should be discarded and which should remain will leave you with only the best materials that will help to catapult your company to new marketing heights – onward and upward.

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