How To Evaluate Your Content Ecosystem To Prepare For The New Year

We’re heading to the end of the year and we’re beginning to feel it. With a brand new annum rapping at your front door, it’s just about the perfect time to pause, look at what the last 11 months have been like and prepare for the new year. Whether you own a big business or a small one, just as you look into your inventories and balance sheets, make it a point to evaluate your content ecosystem, as well.

Here are the top 5 areas to dig into, especially if you are running a small business that you are trying to scale up. (As for the elephant in the room—AI—we will address it in another post.)

1. Step out and take a good, long look at your digital storefront

You know by now that your website is your brand’s real estate on the web. Make sure you have a business website. (If you’re still running your business without a website, do read the blog post 5 Reasons your business ought to be on the internet.

If you have a website, make sure it looks like it’s been updated to look like it is living in the right decade. Old World doesn’t really ‘charm’ in this area because aesthetics change, user friendliness is constantly being redefined, and keeping your site secure and technologically updated is a moving goal post.

2. Relook at how your business content is faring in terms of visibility

It’s time to pull out your analytics and see what the graphs are showing in terms of visitors and visitor acquisition. Are your webpages and blogposts optimized for search? What are the searches that are bringing in your readers? (If you are new here and would like to pick up the basics about optimization, visit the blog post - What is SEO and why your site needs to be optimized. What areas do the analytics seem to tell you to focus on? Brainstorming about the statistics and charting out a content strategy for the following year is the right way to go about things.

3. Run through your social media efforts, wins and challenges

As far as your social media game is concerned, did you make any new moves this year? How has it helped or changed the direction of your social media efforts? What are the areas that have been doing well? Over the course of the year, has your community and engagement grown on social media? What types of content did your audience seem to gravitate towards? If you’re still on the fence about marrying your business with social media presence, check out the blog post Should every business really be on social media?

4. Do a detailed audit of all your digital channels

Doing a yearly audit of your site and socials is not a bad idea. Now is a good time to look into not just your content but also the structure of the site and see what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to be updated. And that’s everything from the site’s architecture to the navigation, from the on-page and off-page elements to the technical aspects. Take a long, hard look at the intersection of your website, socials, and all the other digital marketing channels you might be using. (If you’re visiting this blog post long after the year has gone by, or the next one is approaching its halfway mark, please know that there’s never a wrong time to do a detailed audit.)

Download your evaluation checklist -- at the bottom of the post.

5. After you evaluate your content ecosystem, rework your strategy

Most importantly, before the year winds up, make sure to have your strategy for the new year in place. Some things might need setting up much before New Year’s Eve. So get started on analyzing the numbers and brainstorming the content plan. You could even get started on the new content calendar.

Your Audit Checklist Here's a Christmas/New Year gift for you from stepUP Content. Feel free to use this no-fuss checklist featuring the most essential elements you need to evaluate your content ecosystem and to amp up your content marketing efforts.

Now that you know how important it is to work on your content ecosystem and keep your brand looking good on the internet but you feel it’s taking too much time away from running your business, think of making stepUP Content, your brand-building partner. Send us an email about your business and what areas you would need help with. If it’s all too confusing, we can help sort it all out and help you make a list of content and content-related priorities, and help you with only the areas that are challenging to you and that — at a price that works for you. Reach out to us and book your free consultation.