As we enter September, Q4 becomes a pivotal time for professionals and companies to ramp up their marketing activities. It’s not just about closing the year on a strong note, but also about setting the foundation for success in the following year. Here’s a comprehensive list of Q4 marketing to-dos that can provide momentum and direction for businesses and individuals as we get close to 2024.

1. Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile: Begin by crafting a compelling LinkedIn headline that effectively communicates your value proposition (why you do what you do and for whom you do it). Also, ensure your About section provides a succinct overview of your professional journey, highlighting key achievements without being too boastful and is written in the first person.

2. Monitor Your Digital Footprint: Google yourself to see what prospective clients or partners see when they search for you. In addition, setting up Google Alerts for your top clients and prospects keeps you updated with their latest news or mentions, giving you reasons to reach out to them.

3. Goal Setting: Reflect on the business development and marketing goals you set for the year, measuring your success and areas of improvement. This analysis will inform your objectives for 2024 and help you focus on future initiatives.

4. Strengthen Relationships: Now’s the time to reconnect with former clients and key referral sources. Personalized interactions can reignite collaborations and open doors for future partnerships.

5. Content Commitment: Dedicate time to produce valuable content that will resonate with your clients and prospects while showcasing your industry expertise. Whether it’s a client alert, blog post, a comprehensive article or all of the above, consistent content will reinforce your position as an industry thought leader and help you stay top of mind with the people who can hire and refer work to you – and that’s the whole point of why we create content. Here’s how to use content to grow your online presence.

6. Master LinkedIn Hashtags: Understanding and effectively using hashtags on LinkedIn can amplify your content’s reach and engagement. Use no more than five hashtags per post and ensure the hashtags don’t have too many or too few followers. Always use your company hashtag so you can find and index your posts later.

7. Expand Your Network: Draft a strategic LinkedIn connections plan, ensuring you’re connecting with individuals and entities that align with your professional goals. With 900+ million people on LinkedIn, your network should include at least 1000 or more connections. Of course the quality of your connections is more important than the quantity of your connections, but the more people in your network, the more people who will see your content and potentially hire you.

8. Analyze Past Performance: Dive into your analytics to understand the performance of your past blogs, emails and client alerts. This data-driven approach is so important to refine your future strategy and see which channels and content are working the best (and worst).

9. Seasonal Check-Ins: A simple ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ or holiday email can serve as a thoughtful touchpoint with key contacts, keeping you on their radar in a clever and meaningful way. Here are some creative ideas for your holiday card. Here are some ideas for creating a memorable holiday card that your clients will actually open.

10. Celebrate Your Best Content: Towards the year-end, create an email or social media roundup showcasing your most impactful content from 2023. You can repurpose blog posts, email newsletter content, client alerts, podcast episodes, videos, social media posts – pretty much anything that did well and to which you want to draw more attention. Here’s how to create a client-centric annual review.

11. Repurpose and Recycle: Identify evergreen content or past high performing posts, and find innovative ways to repurpose them to extend their shelf life. Here are some ideas on how to expertly and creatively repurpose your content.

12. Social Media Strategy: Design a robust social media calendar for Q4, ensuring a seamless transition into 2024.Here are some tips on how to create a strong social media strategy.

13. Enhance Online Presence: Update your website bio, matter list and other key areas to improve your SEO and searchability. Remember that if you don’t say you do something – people may assume that you don’t, so be inclusive about your experience. Highlighting speaking engagements and published articles on your website bio can help enhance credibility and establish your lawyers and firm as a thought leader in that respective area.

14. Refine Descriptions: Make sure the practice area or industry descriptions on your website are up-to-date, ensuring they resonate with current market trends and client needs.

15. Leverage Multimedia: Repurpose past webinars and videos into bite-sized segments, suitable for social media sharing, to boost engagement. Here’s how you can do this on LinkedIn.

16. Clean and Expand Email Lists: Ensure you’re sending communications to an updated and growing list of interested individuals. If you need help with data quality and CRM, outsource it to the best of the best – Chris Fritsch and the team at CLIENTSFirst Consulting.

17. Engage in Industry Activities: Commit to participating in an industry or bar association committee, supporting a social cause, diving into a pro bono project or getting active in your law school or past firm alumni association. These groups are great ways to meet new people, rekindle relationships and can lead to professional opportunities of all kinds.

Incorporating these activities into your Q4 strategy can ensure you’re not only wrapping up the year with a bang but also setting the tone for a successful 2024. Your marketing efforts now will lay the groundwork for future successes, so dive in with enthusiasm and intent!