Keep on top of the yearly events your audience is already getting ready for in 2025 with the D2 Creative Holiday Cheat Sheet! From major holidays and health observances to lighthearted special days to help mix up your marketing, this guide will help you stock your marketing calendar with the dates your audience has on theirs.
What’s Keeping Marketers Up at Night?
In a survey conducted by D2 Creative, more than 100 marketers have identified several key challenges for the upcoming year:
Lead generation emerges as the top concern, and with good reason as form submissions and the acquisition of new leads tends to be the prime indicator of success in a digital campaign.
To address this, we advise marketers to adopt an omnichannel approach, leveraging social media, email marketing, webinars, events, pay-per-click advertising, and AI-driven automation to nurture leads and drive conversions.
Personalization remains crucial, with tailored content, targeted ads, customized emails, and individualized offers proving effective in engaging diverse audiences.
Another significant challenge revolves around creating compelling content. We urge marketers to focus on providing educational and informative materials that address specific pain points and informational needs of their target audience. This includes deploying multimedia formats such as videos, infographics, podcasts, and interactive content to cater to various consumer preferences.
Implementing robust search engine optimization (SEO) strategies is also recommended to enhance content visibility and attract organic traffic.
Finally, user-generated content can further bolster community engagement and add credibility to brand messaging.
Demonstrating return on investment was the third top critical concern for marketers. To effectively measure and showcase ROI, it’s essential to establish clear marketing objectives aligned with broader business goals. Defining key performance indicators (KPIs) such as lead generation metrics, website traffic, conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and customer lifetime value provides a structured framework for evaluation.
Advanced analytics tools and multi-touch attribution models are invaluable for tracking and attributing conversions across various stages of the customer journey, from initial awareness to retention, thereby offering a comprehensive view of marketing effectiveness.
Explore the infographic below for a breakdown of these challenges and insights. You can view, download, and share it with your team to strategize for success in 2024.
LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and all of those other platforms are the same, aren’t they? You post pictures and videos. You comment. You “like”. You “friend”. So that must mean you can create one piece of content and blast it across all of your channels, right?
No.
Please don’t do that.
The average person uses 6 or more different social media platforms per month, and are on each one for, generally, a different reason. They’re not looking to all those different platforms for the same content. Their behavior on each platform varies, and so does what they want to see across different platforms.
As a brand, you’re not expected to create content like a user but you are expected to create content for users, so keeping your target audiences’ preferences top of mind should be key to your overall content development process.
There are several pieces to consider when creating content, including what content usually looks like on the platform and what users are expecting of your channel. These expectations should form the foundation of your content strategy for each platform.
For instance, users on Instagram are looking to be inspired and entertained. The content they consume generally falls in the buckets of aspirational, luxury, culture, and personal vlogging, and the easier it is to consume and engage with the better. Instead of leaning heavily or only on a feed of posts, develop 2 to 3 Story slides, including engagement stickers that users can quickly interact with as they thumb through.
Want a head start on creating the right content for all your channels? Check out our Social Media Platforms Content Cheat Sheet . With insights into user behavior, content preferences, and even how often you should be posting, this high-level outline will help you understand what you should be keeping in mind when developing truly engaging posts.
Get ready for bite-sized insights, tasty tips, and a few laughs along the way. D2 Bites is a fun and engaging digital series where digital marketing expert Laura Lentchitsky (that’s me!) sits down with pros across the industry for quick, digestible conversations over snacks.
Each guest shares their expertise in things like SEO, social media marketing, video production, web design, and more – all in easy-to-watch clips that won’t take a big bite out of your day.
Patrick Sodano Shares Hot Takes on Heat Maps and Web Design
In this episode of D2 Bites, VP of Creative Pat Sodano demystifies heat mapping technology, revealing how it informs web design, balances creativity with analytics, and enhances user experience by tracking where visitors click and scroll.
Vijaya Singh’s Guide to Authentic Social Media
In this episode of D2 Bites, social media expert Vijaya Singh reveals the secrets behind her new content cheat sheet, discusses the evolving role of social media in MedTech, and explores the balance between authenticity and trendiness across platforms.
Kenny Kudzma Talks AI and Why Robots Aren’t Taking Over Just Yet
In this episode of D2 Bites, writer Kenny Kudzma shares his approach to content creation, using AI, tackling writer’s block, and how video game music fuels his creativity, all while discussing its role in the changing landscape of digital marketing.
Whether for advertisements, social media, emails, or just about anything else the question always comes up: “How can I maintain a consistent, and quality stream of content for my brand?” As a digital marketing and communications agency, one of the strategies we’ve found works best is creating content pillars.
Content pillars are a strategic approach to organizing and planning content for your brand. They are a set of overarching topics representing the key themes or messages you want to communicate to your audience.
Organizing your content around a set of content pillars allows you to create a cohesive content strategy that supports your overall marketing objectives. This approach ensures that your content is aligned with your goals and consistently delivers value to your audience.
Creating Effective Content Pillars
Here are some tips for building a content pillar strategy that works:
Define your brand’s core values and mission. Your content pillars should be aligned with what’s most important to your brand. Consider what sets your brand apart from others and what messages you want to communicate to your audience.
Conduct research. Find out what your audience’s needs, interests, and pain points are, then use this information to build content pillars that will resonate with them.
Choose 3-5 overarching topics. The topics you choose for your pillars should represent your brand’s key themes or messages. Make sure they’re broad enough to allow for a variety of content types but specific enough to keep your content focused and consistent.
Develop a content plan. Once you’ve established your content pillars, develop a content plan that aligns with each one. The topics/themes of the pillars will inform the types of content to create for each pillar and the channels you will use to distribute it. You can also create pillars by channel or platform. For example, we frequently create content pillars for social media content. This helps maintain a steady stream of monthly topics and ensures the most important ones are always covered in a long social media calendar.
Evaluate and adjust. Monitor your content strategy regularly to confirm that it’s performing well with your target audience. Don’t hesitate to adjust your content pillars as needed to keep them relevant and effective. You’ll be able to measure which pillars are driving the most traffic and engagement, and which need your attention.
We share the goal of creating a cohesive and effective content strategy that drives results for your brand, and there’s even more that’s possible after first taking the time to fine-tune the pillars supporting it. If you need a hand getting started or honing your content pillars, we’re available to help.
Navigating social media as a marketing tool can be a complex and ever-evolving task, and even the most skilled social media managers can face challenges along the way. Here are some common areas where companies may struggle to effectively connect with their audience on social media.
Too many marketers neglect the social part of social media; treating it as just another sales channel rather than a place to connect with their audience. This kind of thinking causes social media managers to not respond to comments, questions, and concerns, or participate in conversations. When you don’t engage with your followers, it makes your brand seem cold and uninterested in them, which keeps you from making real connections.
Something we as digital marketers notice frequently is when accounts focus too much on sales. People can easily recognize content that’s trying to sell them something, and will quickly tune you out if that’s all you give them. Instead, try to balance sales-focused posts with content that’s relevant and interesting to your followers. Providing value to your followers by sharing helpful information, tips, advice, and even humor makes your social media presence more enticing to follow and makes the content that.
It’s important to remember social media strategies aren’t one-size-fits-all. You have to remain aware of the audience you’re trying to reach, and the rules and etiquette on each platform in order to make a real impact. For example, on Twitter people expect short, to-the-point updates, while Instagram is a visual-first platform where users engage with longer posts, including lengthy reels, carousels, and post captions.
Too many marketers base strategies on what feels right, rather than what’s proven. From engagement statistics to follower demographics, social media sites give users in-depth data on how and why posts perform—so use it! This means tracking your results and using them to determine what’s working and what isn’t so you can make informed decisions about your social media marketing. By ignoring this data, you put yourself at risk of wasting time and money on ineffective strategies.
Social media marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses to connect with their audience and build brand awareness, but it requires careful consideration and execution. To avoid these pitfalls and create an effective social media strategy, it’s essential to prioritize engagement and build real connections with your audience. This means responding to comments and questions, sharing valuable content that resonates with your followers, and staying attuned to the norms and etiquette of each platform. Additionally, regularly analyzing performance data and adjusting strategies accordingly can help ensure that you’re getting the most out of your social media efforts.
Lastly, remember that authenticity is key. Stay true to your brand voice and values, and don’t try to force a particular social media persona that doesn’t align with who you are as a company. With these tips in mind, social media managers can overcome common challenges and create a successful social media presence that connects with their audience and drives business results.
Social media has become an essential tool for businesses to build their brand and connect with their target audience. It can be overwhelming to know where to commit your time and resources with so many platforms available. In this article, we will discuss tips on how to use social media to build your brand effectively.
It’s important to define your brand identity before you start posting on social media. This includes your brand voice, messaging, and visual branding. Your brand identity should be consistent across all social media platforms, making it easier for your audience to recognize your brand.
Not all social media platforms are created equal. Choose the platforms where your target audience is most active. For instance, if your target audience is primarily professionals, LinkedIn may be a better platform to focus on than TikTok. TikTok has over a billion users, but if they aren’t interested in your company or product then the platform likely won’t provide much return.
Read the top recommended social platforms for life sciences brands.
Creating quality content is crucial for building your brand on social media. Your content should be visually appealing and aligned with your brand messaging. Use a mix of formats such as photos, videos, and graphics to keep your audience engaged. If you’re looking to grow organically, however, you can’t publish a few good posts and expect to go viral. Focus on being consistent with your post schedule, and prioritize relevant and timely content that adds value for your audience.
Remember: social platforms are about building relationships and the conversation must be a two-way street. Engage with your audience by responding to comments, messages, and mentions. This shows your audience that you value their input and are listening to their feedback.
Hashtags can help increase the visibility of your content on social media. Use relevant hashtags to reach a broader audience, but avoid using too many hashtags as it can make your content appear spammy. Like with content, quality is more important than quantity. How many hashtags and which ones you use will also depend on the platform. Facebook and LinkedIn, for example, don’t have as much hashtag engagement compared with Instagram. Refrain from using hashtags that are too broad so your post doesn’t get lost in a sea of content. You’ll want to use specific hashtags that are relevant to your post and target audience, as well as branded or campaign-specific hashtags if you have them.
Collaborating with influencers can help increase your brand’s visibility and credibility on social media. Find influencers who align with your brand values and have a similar target audience. User-generated content (UGC) – aka content created by users or customers – has become increasingly important for brands, as it’s generally viewed as more authentic and can bring a new level of creativity and engagement to your social media page. Leverage the power of UGC by encouraging your customers to create and share content about your brand.
Monitor your social media metrics regularly to track your progress and make data-driven decisions. Metrics such as engagement rate, reach, and follower growth can help you identify what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to adjust your strategy accordingly. Depending on the platform you use for tracking, you can see additional insights, such as when your followers are most active. That can help you identify the best days and times to schedule your posts so they perform better.
Social media can be a powerful tool for building your brand if used effectively. By defining your brand identity, choosing the right platforms, creating quality content, engaging with your audience, using hashtags strategically, collaborating with users and influencers, and monitoring metrics, you can build a strong social media presence for your brand. Remember to be consistent and authentic, and stay true to your brand values throughout the process. And, of course, download our social media guide for even more tips.
Finding the best platforms to use for B2B social media marketing (SMM) is not as simple as it seems. Given the plethora of social media platforms, it does not make sense for you to waste time trying to build and cultivate a presence on all of them. When it comes to figuring out SMM, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, even for companies within the same industry. That’s why we recommend different options and tactics based on your goals and general industry best practices.
A social media strategy should include both paid and organic components. It’s no secret that most social media platforms operate on a “pay-to-play” model for brands. The easiest (and fastest) way to grow a social media presence and boost post distribution is to increase your ad budget on that particular platform.
However, companies often undervalue the importance of organic social media marketing, even though it creates the foundation of trust and consistency with followers and strengthens the brand. Another way to think of it is this: Why spend money just to drive interested prospects to a deserted social media page? Instead, take the time to create a content strategy with a focus on posts that educate, inspire, and entertain your audience.
When your company is looking to connect with prospects in a professional setting, network with other companies in the space, or recruit and onboard prospective employees, which platform would you choose? LinkedIn easily comes to mind. Why? Because for years this networking platform has diligently made itself relevant to businesses and professionals.
At D2 Creative we’ve run several successful LinkedIn advertising campaigns for life science and medical device companies, thanks in part to LinkedIn’s audience-building capabilities. For organizations looking to connect with people based on things like job titles, industry, job seniority, or company name, LinkedIn has proven to be the best option.
As the demand for video content continues to increase, life science and medical device companies can use YouTube to publish promotional and educational content. Promotional ads, run through the Google Ads platform, can increase the reach of your videos with comprehensive targeting based on search terms used, websites visited, interest, and more.
Facebook remains one of the strongest social platforms across multiple countries and users. The size of the platform’s user base can’t be ignored, and while the majority use the platform for entertainment rather than professional purposes, it’s a decent option for retargeting because of how frequently users return to the app throughout the day.
For all posts, make sure you’re optimizing your content by platform. Content designed specifically for the platform that it’s going on will perform better. Since specs and requirements tend to change, we like to reference up-to-date guides like this one from Sprout Social.
Medical device and life science companies would be missing out on quality marketing opportunities if they didn’t use LinkedIn, YouTube, or Facebook. These platforms allow businesses to target buyers with a combination of organic search and paid advertising. By picking a few notable platforms such as these and creating a comprehensive social media marketing strategy that incorporates paid and organic search, companies can increase engagement and grow their followers.
