I think we can all agree that the past two years can suck it! So, with the hope that 2022 may be a better year for the world, I wanted to share some ethical marketing New Year resolutions that will help your business in the new year. Whilst resolutions are frequently personal challenges and often associated with giving something up, I want to focus on taking things on in your business.

Marketing New Year’s Resolutions Ideas

If you are a business owner ready to make 2022 your year, here are some ethical marketing new year resolutions you can pledge to keep up the whole year.

Pledge to Consistency

Consistency is a vital part of the vast majority of marketing campaigns. By being consistent with your marketing you will grow your business faster and at a more consistent rate. Here’s how:

Posting blog articles consistently is a ranking factor, as is improving technical and on-page optimisations. When you improve your site or post high-quality content, you are signalling to search engines that you are an engaged owner that is adding valuable resources and a great user experience for your audience.
Maintaining a social media presence shows to customers, new and old, that you’re a serious operation that is proactive as well as reactive. Many potential clients will visit a company’s social media accounts to get a better sense of the company’s ethos and work. If your pages are not up to date, and you have no blogs on your site, how will your audience know you are still operational.
Email marketing is far from dead but the right consistency is key when it comes to maintaining a loyal audience. You don’t want to email your audience too frequently, risking annoyance. Yet, you don’t want them to forget about you by only posting sporadically every couple of months. Test your email and tweak it continually.

Planning Consistency

The hardest part is sticking to a plan, so you need to find a balance that works for you. A few things to consider are:

Putting aside an hour, afternoon, or day that is specifically for marketing work.
Hiring a new member of staff or hiring a marketing consultant or freelancer.
Creating systems and processes that help you automate what you can and keep focused on your plan of action.

Choose consistency and you’ll soon see your marketing efforts skyrocket.

Improve Your Inclusivity

For many, a new year resolution can be about learning something new. A new craft, learning a language, or trying a sport are common ideas. For my take on it, I’d like to invite you to learn more about inclusive marketing. Great for anyone who loves to read, research and learn about what it means to make your marketing inclusive and welcoming to all. Here are some specific ideas around this topic.

Learn from those who are affected by a lack of diversity and inclusivity. These are the people who will know what businesses can do to make their campaigns and businesses practices better for them. Just ensure you are asking and paying professionals for their opinion, don’t expect their knowledge and labour for free.
Read widely around a topic you are interested in. This doesn’t have to be just academic or factual papers though. Reading fiction, watching movies and listening to podcasts that are written, starring or dealing with issues for minority communities is a vital way to build empathy, compassion and a broader understanding of the subject.

I have some articles on this subject, including; Accessible Content and SEO, Writing with inclusivity in mind, and How to make content readable. We can all do our bit to make our campaigns diverse, inclusive and ethically driven.

Choose an Eco Goal

If you really want to up the goal on your marketing and your business as a whole, why not choose a big eco goal to focus on in 2022. Whether you’re a one-person wonder or a large company with thousands of employees, we have a responsibility as business owners to do our bit in the fight against the climate crisis. Here are some big steps to take this year, plus you can shout about them in your marketing too. Please note that some of the links in this section are referral links from which I get a kickback.

Swap to eco hosting – By choosing a web hosting platform that utilises renewable energy you can improve the environmental impact of your website and its traffic.
Switch to an electric fleet. If you offer delivery or need to get your workers to site, a big part of your company emissions will be from transport. Going fully electric or hybrid for company vehicles will make a huge difference to your impact.
Plant a forest and carbon offset – With companies like Ecologi, you can offset your staff emissions. They do this through planting trees and investing in carbon offsetting projects. Preserving and rewilding forests are a vital part of reducing carbon in the atmosphere.
Switch to a green energy provider. Your business has the power to make a big change by using renewable energy.
Offer more plant-based food. If you have a cafeteria, offer more plant-based meals to reduce the impact of food in your business. To take this a step further, go fully plant-based and vegan. Ensure you have a plan for food waste, another major contributor to greenhouse gases.

Make 2022 Your Year

I hope you’ve found this a fun and inspirational article. If you want to kick your 2022 marketing strategy off with a bang, get in touch. I offer a comprehensive marketing consultancy service, working with your business in a way that works for you. Whether you simply need a strategy, through to fully implemented SEO and content campaigns that will see your business grow. I want to work with businesses that want to grow their customer base with longevity in mind.