Quarter 3 (Q3) marks the mid-way point of the fiscal year, which requires shifts in campaign planning and marketing strategy to coincide with the swiftly changing environment and upcoming deadlines. Reviewing, planning, and adjusting marketing goals during Q3 will set your company up for success in Q4 (a.k.a. busy season due to tax deadlines and holiday campaign planning). 

The following guide will breakdown how you can navigate and reassess your marketing strategy during each month of Q3. 

July 

• July marks the beginning of Q3. Start preparing your marketing strategy by reviewing Q2’s performance.
  • Social media: What received the most engagement?
  • Email Marketing: Open and click-through rates
  • Website: What garnered the most traffic (pages, blog posts, etc.)
  • Marketing Channels: What drove sales or conversions? ROIs?
  • Engagement: Customer feedback and reviews
• Once you have analyzed previous data, you can use it to develop your plan for Q3. 
  • Start by listing 2-3 actionable goals for your brand’s marketing strategy. (Example: your goal could be to increase your email subscribers or revenue of sales by x %). A measurable goal gives you a visual for the direction of your strategy. 
• Plan your content for July.
  • An editorial calendar is a seamless and effective way of keeping up with monthly trends. Tailoring your content and promotional campaigns to the most relevant topics during a specific season will drive traffic to your business’s channels, increasing the likelihood of conversion. 
  • See our blog on July’s Trending Topics for your brand’s marketing strategy and to create relevant content.  

August 

• August is a pivotal month for businesses to solidify their strategy and gain new leads (potential customers). Students and educators will return to school at the end of the month. Since the baseline for your strategy has already been created, it is time to put promotional campaigns into action.
  • Boost Email Marketing: Though underutilized, email marketing has created some of the highest ROIs for businesses. It targets audiences directly and for a specific reason. A well-structured, clear email campaign can increase, and create consistent click-through rates. 
  • Educational Content: Industry related blog posts, emails, and webinars are an effective promotional strategy for generating new leads and earning credibility before the final month of Q3. 
  • Review Analytics: Wrap-up August by analyzing how your businesses campaigns performed using your updated marketing strategy. This is so you can have a clear view of what worked and what needs to be changed before Q4.
• Create content for August using the month’s relevant topics (back-to-school, summer-to-fall transition, etc.).

September

• In the final stretch of Q3, September is the time to establish authority through your marketing strategy. This can be accomplished by creating content and campaigns relevant to the month’s trending topics, strengthening social media presence, collecting social proof for your channels, and preparing for Q4.
  • Content Marketing: A strong content marketing strategy is about quality over quantity. Repurposing content previously used by turning it into a blog post, LinkedIn article, or a social media post saves time, but also keeps your content consistent across a plethora of channels.
  • Social Media Presence & Connection: Social media is a great way to reach your audience and other businesses. Before Q4 begins, connect with and share the content of other businesses on Facebook and LinkedIn while also posting industry-related content for them to share. Building a network of like-minded business owners builds your brand’s reputation and boosts who is seeing/interacting with its content. 
  • Social Proof: Publishing any reviews, testimonials, or case studies conducted over Q3 across your website and other social media platforms shows relevancy and improves morale. 
  • Prep for Q4: Collect, organize, and finalize your data from Q3 to prepare your assets for Q4. Ensure you are prepared for tax season and begin planning your campaign strategies for the holidays. 

As the quarters of the fiscal year shift, so should your marketing strategy. The content being produced and the channels being used to reach audiences and gain new leads should be catered to the current season.

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