This post comes from Charlie Antoine, an author in our series of guest bloggers. Learn more about him here.

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We have now entered a new year and it’s the time when people vow to make themselves better in one way or another through their New Year’s Resolutions. The word resolution means ‘to solve a problem.’ If individuals do it, why can’t businesses? If your 2015 wasn’t cracked up to what you hoped, now is your fresh start to try something different. Even if you had a successful 2015, this new year is an excellent opportunity to keep that momentum going and push for further growth.

In order to determine a resolution, we must determine where we have room for improvement. Were sales down in 2015? Did social media engagement not reach expectations? Looking to increase sales?

Marketing and advertising in 2015 saw the emergence of several popular trends, and I expect them to increase in popularity this year. Perhaps you overlooked some of these trends, so that’s another good place to start when defining your New Year’s Resolutions.

Suggestions for 2016 Marketing New Year’s Resolutions

Adjust your email marketing & social media strategy.

Email Marketing is rated by marketers as the most successful form of digital marketing delivering the highest ROI. You may look to increase your email marketing effectiveness such as open rates, click through, and conversion. Consider revamping elements in your email composition such as writing a compelling subject line, colorful hero banner, and informative copy. Promoting discounts and other sales promotions through email is a great way to inform your customers and increase revenue.

Social Media Marketing was also eventful last year. Instagram opened up its advertising platform to all businesses. This will grant new opportunities to reach users of the popular video- and photo-sharing platform. The popular vanishing photo app Snapchat launched native video advertising thus allowing brands to share stories with more than 60% of American smartphone users aged 13-34. Snap stories are already a popular way for brands to promote events and engage attendees in a specific geographic region.

MarketingProfs reported some interesting social media statistics. Some highlights worth mentioning:

• 90% of online specialty retailers in the U.S. use Pinterest
• 54% of B2B marketers have generated leads from social media
• When people follow a brand on Twitter, 72% are more likely to make a purchase from that brand
• Instagram and Pinterest engagement with brands declined, while Facebook increased

Increase video marketing usage.

Video marketing was HUGE in 2015. According to a recent survey by the Web Video Marketing Council, 96% of B2B marketers are now using video and 73% say that video has positively impacted results. Autoplay functionality on Facebook and Instagram allows for higher audience engagement. Viewers tend to watch about 3/4 of a video, which is quite high compared to text. Video analytics are also becoming more prevalent for better ROI tracking given that data-driven marketing is all the rage. On Twitter, Periscope now allows for live streaming on tweets. Lastly, Google ranks Youtube videos with large view counts higher in SEO.

Inform customers using content marketing.

Content marketing isn’t just producing content for the hell of it. It is a modern marketing strategic approach. According to the Content Marketing Institute, Content Marketing is defined as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” More content doesn’t necessarily mean more business. The key words are relevant and valuable. Successful content marketing provides useful information to make your target audience more informed resulting in trust and customer loyalty.

Grow your brand with storytelling.

Storytelling as a marketing strategy is a trend from 2014 that grew in 2015 and will likely continue to do so in 2016. It proves to be effective because it requires imagination and creativity, not money. An effective storytelling strategy will relate to the target audience resulting in their want to be a part of it. Stories are what people remember, and therefore they remember your brand more easily.

Start a new campaign.

A new year is a perfect time to start a brand new marketing campaign. Coordinate all elements of your campaign: branding, advertising, social media, email marketing, and sales promotion. Don’t be afraid to be bold and creative!

Increase revenue.

This might be a no-brainer because it’s the end game for all business, but it’s worth mentioning. Depending on the type of business you’re in, there are several things to do to try and boost sales.

Networking is key – The value of having connections is immeasurable. You never know when they will need your services or connect you with additional contacts. If you give them a positive experience, it is likely your reputation will spread via word of mouth.

Use LinkedIn to generate leads – If you aren’t using LinkedIn for B2B in 2016 you should be by now. LinkedIn is the best way to generate new leads online and the most popular B2B social media platform. It also helps you expand your geographic limitations.

Sales Promotions – As mentioned earlier, promotions and discounts are good ways to boost sales temporarily and increase demand. Visiting trade shows is another good way to promote your product or service as well as make connections in the process.

Start 2016 off with fresh ideas, revamped strategies, and popular marketing trends to increase your revenue and customer base. Marketing is constantly evolving and in order to be successful, you have to keep up. I often am amazed at the creativity of my fellow marketing colleagues and love that we all share the same passion. Let’s make 2016 a great year!