1 to 3 Months Prior: Plan Your Marketing Strategy

In the months prior to your new B2B site launch, it is very important to create a post-launch marketing strategy. We have launched hundreds upon hundreds of sites as a B2B web design company, and one of the biggest components of pre-launch is a post-launch strategy assigning tasks and implementing marketing initiatives.

One mistake we try to help our clients avoid is making sure their target audience—both existing and potential clients—knows about the new website. We always say, we can build you the best website on the planet, but if no one knows about it, it is not an effective sales tool. Thus, depending on your company size and available resources, plan on developing your marketing strategy 1 to 3 months prior to site launch.

So, the lesson is: Don’t scramble. Be strategic about your marketing.

At the same time, it is important to give enough time—at least a week—between launching your website and marketing it. In case there are any minor bugs or glitches, it’s best to do a soft launch of your site—launching it without heralding it to the world. After you’ve ensured that the site is functioning flawlessly, then implement your marketing campaign of social media posts, eblasts, and digital ads. We will cover this in depth in our December blog, so sit tight!

Here are some pre-launch marketing strategy tips in the meantime:

1. Update social media profiles: Make sure your social media presence reflects your new website and brand. Consistency is always key. Make it clear that your social media profiles are indeed associated with your company and website. This means updating your profile image, banner or background image, etc.

2. Create a social media content calendar: At Lform, we generally create social media content calendars for our clients in monthly increments—about one month in advance. Content should be engaging and informative with a mix of user-generated content such as images from your followers, third-party content like useful blogs or articles from industry media, and original shareable content such as your own blogs and holiday wishes. Use a social media scheduling tool such as Buffer or Hootsuite for efficiency.

3. Skip the press release, create an email campaign: Sending out an eblast campaign notifying clients and prospects of your brand new B2B website is a great idea, but don’t stop there. Develop an entire eblast campaign or drip campaign with helpful tips and facts that will help them improve business while demonstrating you are the industry pro and thought leader. It’s far more effective than a press release with limited visibility unless you’re on retainer with a PR agency.

4. Update your marketing collateral: If the website launch includes a brand identity or name change, make a list of all the places that need to be updated. Think business cards, stationery, trade show banners, email signature, you name it.

5. Consider retargeting ads: Retargeting ads are brilliant and powerful. They elevate brand awareness, heighten brand recall, and drive site traffic and conversion.  

Beyond Marketing Your B2B Website

Once you’ve completed your marketing strategy and you’re getting ready to launch your site, we recommend completing a series of thorough quality assurance tests about one month prior to launch. In our next blog, we will cover these details and reveal the “Top 15 B2B Website Launch Tips You Should Know.” Stay tuned!