How is it December next week!? November is flying by, with a lot of exciting projects and events, including a couple of bespoke websites, two additions to the RentaSite community, and some branding/graphic design work—as well as an amazing fundraising gala for Speed of Sight Charity.
Anyway, the point is: 2025 is quickly creeping up on us, which means we need to start preparing for the year that is to come.
2025: Marketing as a startup
If you’re a startup and in your first year, and especially if you’re an {insert your top/C-level title of choice here}, chances are your LinkedIn is being hammered by people trying to sell you things. How they’ll generate you X leads, help your recruitment efforts, increase your website traffic by Y%, build the bespoke app you never knew you needed, and so on.
Deep down, you know what you need. You know what support would be helpful: you just need to decide what you’re investing in.
But, if you’ve landed on the Healthy Pixels website, chances are you’re open to discussing your digital presence in some way or form. So let’s focus on that:
Planning for 2025
If you’re new to the game, chances are you’re still working out a lot: Try to get into the habit of planning a couple of months ahead. Define some goals, whether they’re related to leads, finances, social media followers, or something else entirely.
That plan might change as you go, but will help provide some direction.
So, what are your goals for January and February, possibly even March? Write them down somewhere, whether it’s in an Excel/Word document, a task management platform, or even (ideally not, though) a post-it note.
Lead Generation
When Healthy Pixels first started, a coach promised the big bucks. They also charged big bucks.
Only to say that cold messaging was the only way.
Having invested, I gave it a go. It didn’t work. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like how it made me feel (it was icky). Coaching cancelled.
Back to networking. Which is where every Healthy Pixels project this year has come from.
So if you’re a startup: consider attending networking events, possibly joining one that meets regularly.
Let that be your primary “outreach” strategy in your first year or so.
Online presence
Whilst doing your networking, build your online presence: set up a website, and find out what social media platforms work best for you. After going to said networking events, people will likely look you up – whether it’s for their own benefit, or for referrals. The last thing you want is for them to not find you.
- Website: Unless you have funds to invest, your website doesn’t need to be complex. This is the whole premise of RentaSite: an opportunity to build a professional website that generates trust without breaking the bank or overcomplicating things. No SEO or paid media. It’s simply a trust-builder; your digital footprint. Your website should focus on what you do and how your services or products will benefit your end-user, and make it easy to sign up/get in touch with you.
- Social media: Start generating some momentum around the company on socials. What platform works best for you depends on your target audience, and where you enjoy hanging out. In the beginning, focus on providing valuable content: tips and tricks people can implement instantly, or visuals that clearly show the before-after of your service/product. You want to show you’re skilled and reliable. If you do choose to go to networking, make sure your LinkedIn is up-to-date (whether you’re active or not).
Your visual identity
Here is a somewhat unpopular opinion (amongst designers) on the subject of visual identities for startups: You do not need a comprehensive visual identity in year one.
Again, agencies may be trying to sell you costly and comprehensive identities if you have that C-level title on your LinkedIn. But if your income is low and/or sporadic, you’re likely trying to keep costs at a minimum. If you’re still testing ideas, figuring out your niche, your USP, and your target audience: Do not invest heavily in the ins and outs of your visual identity.
Until you receive funding, get a good deal, or are more (financially) stable:
- Invest in a strong logo (no Canva, please)
- Define your core colour palette
You can figure out the other elements as you go. Graphic designers and artists may notice visual inconsistencies, but unless your target audience are very visual people, they won’t take note of you trying some different visual directions.
You do not want to be all over the place, but focus on one strong logo, using consistent colours, and making yourself accessible online.
The big bucks won’t make the most difference in that comprehensive visual identity while you’re still finding your feet. But once your target audience and USP are a success (whatever that looks like for you), do invest more heavily in your overall appearance, when the time is right.
2025: Marketing as an established business
When are you established, really? This obviously varies, but for the sake of this, let’s say you have survived year 1 and are still going strong. You’ve worked out your target audience, niche and USP. And you’re ready to start making the big bucks.
Planning for 2025
With more stability comes clarity. And clarity allows you to better prepare. Start mapping out goals for all of 2025, broken into Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4. What you include obviously depends on your current situation and your long-term goals. For the sake of this post, we’re focusing on your branding and online presence, so write down your:
- Lead generation goals (number of leads/income, SEO/PPC efforts),
- Online presence goals (social media content calendar, website blog posts, newsletter),
- Visual identity goals (it’s time to incorporate proper consistency in your identity)
Lead Generation
Hopefully, with more financial stability, you’re in a position where you can invest more into the company, and get a good ROI. Stick with networking if you can, and if you have found other outreach methods that work for you, stick with what you can. But consider also:
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): Make your website appear as high up as possible on the 1st page of search results on Google/Bing etc. when people search for specific keywords. This includes writing content with these keywords in mind, using descriptive image alt texts, and appropriate meta titles and descriptions. There is also a technical side of things, as well as link building and external content. It’s recommended you get an SEO agency involved.
- PPC/Paid ads: SEO is often a long-game, whereas PPC (Pay-per-click) could yield more instantly visible results (does not mean one is better than the other). Where SEO is called “organic”, PPC are “paid” positions, whether it’s the “Sponsored” search results on Google, the visual ads you see on social media, and so on. PPC is a comprehensive topic that requires industry research and managing bids and budgets, so it is highly recommended to involve a specialised PPC agency.
Investing in SEO and PPC is great to generate more traffic to your website, but neither will be successful if you’re sending that traffic to a poor website. Which leads us nicely on to your online presence:
Online presence
- Website: If you’re unhappy with your website, 2025 is the year to change that. Get one that is custom-built, incorporates your branding, and has a crystal clear funnel. Consider hiring a professional copywriter if you haven’t already. If you go with SEO and/or PPC, make sure you have keyword-specific landing pages that make your visitors feel like they’ve landed on a page made specifically for them.
- Social media: Social media trends change constantly, with some trends coming and going over night. While you don’t need to jump on every trend, make sure you’re somewhat up-to-date. First of all, make sure your posts fit the actual platform: Instagram is great for beautiful and captivating visuals, on TikTok you need quick and engaging videos, on LinkedIn people are more open to personalised, longer copy (but even LinkedIn recently introduced reels). Secondly, test different formats to see what best fits your brand, and what you enjoy doing the most.
Visual identity
It’s time you show that you’re established. Where you might have tested and explored directions in year one, you need to establish some consistency in your visuals. If you have the money to invest in an agency, do that, but if you can’t, then at least define some clear guidelines:
- Visual style: Are you using illustrations or photography? If you’re using illustrations, are they 2d or 3d? Abstract or more concrete? Detailed or simplistic? What colours are they using, and should certain ones be more prominent than others, is a set accent colour needed in each illustration?
- Stock imagery: While recommended, it can be hard to take own photos for whatever reason. If you have to use stock imagery, set some guidelines. Studio setting (e.g. no background or strong colours), or more authentic feel? With or without people – if with people, should we see their faces, or just see e.g. arms, or from behind? Bright or dark?
- Icons: Are your icons outlined or filled? Rounded or sharp? Detailed or simplistic? Abstract or not?
- Corners: Do you use rounded or straight corners? If they’re round, how round are we talking?
- Font(s): If you haven’t already, make sure you define one or two fonts, and only use those.
How can Healthy Pixels help your 2025 marketing efforts?
Marketing can feel overwhelming, which is why many companies outsource it. If you’re considering this, here’s how Healthy Pixels can help:
Branding
Your branding should communicate your identity and story. By investing time in shaping this strategy, you can establish a more direct connection with your target audience and build brand awareness. Healthy Pixels can help you through this full process, whether you just need a logo and colour palette, or a more comprehensive strategy.
Website
If you want a website that makes you look professional and builds trust, it should be built professionally. For more tailored or comprehensive solutions, a bespoke website is recommended: uniquely you yet easy to maintain. For startups in their first year, there is also RentaSite, which comes at a lower monthly price.
Healthy Pixels helps you through the full website process: from defining your goals, creating a tailored sitemap, supporting with content creation, design, development, and even ongoing maintenance.
Social media
Healthy Pixels can help you whether you’re struggling to come up with ideas for content/posts in the first place, create branded templates, design your actual posts, choosing social media platform(s), writing captions, and so on.
What about SEO and PPC?
Healthy Pixels does not currently offer SEO and PPC strategies. Any website built will be built with basic good SEO practices, and landing pages will be easy to set up. If you’re investing in thorough SEO and PPC strategies, Healthy Pixels can, however, put you in contact with providers we have worked with before, and trust.
Want guidance for the year ahead?
If you want to set 2025 up for success, and want some support in doing so, please don’t hesitate to reach out. The initial strategy call is free of charge and without any obligation: simply a chance for you to get some clarity on the year ahead.
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