Here I go again. 23 goals for ‘23. As always, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this list. And again, as always, I share my goals openly with you to share inspiration, build community, and help motivate one another to achieve great things this year!

So without further ado, here’s my list of 23 goals for 2023:

1. Create more short-form video content (as in 3-10 seconds, TikTok-style).

I’m going to be real and tell you I don’t like TikTok. Maybe because I’m boring and too buttoned up for the type of content the platform requires. (Which, if you know me I.R.L., you know this isn’t true, but hey…people are multifaceted.) That being said…it’s a leading force in social media across platforms. The Instagram algorithm is reportedly prioritizing short-form video content too. So I am going to get over myself and find ways to create and share it in 2023. 

2. Have a stronger focus on E.S.G.

A common theme in this list is the unity between business and authenticity. Increasingly, buyers of goods and services are prioritizing brands that intentionally connect their enterprise with socially beneficial efforts, focusing on environmental, social, and governance strategies or E.S.G. According to Nielsen, 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for goods and services from brands that demonstrate social commitment. 

Personally, I struggle with touting our E.S.G. efforts as a business practice. If we’re doing something for the right reasons, why do we need to tell everyone about it? What’s the real motivation then? It’s like that episode of Friends when Joey tells Phoebe there’s no such thing as a selfless good deed. 

I don’t have the answer to that inner conflict today, but I can tell you we will again redouble our efforts to align our moral compass with our business. F.W.I.W. I think we do a pretty good job of this, but there’s always room to improve!

Not sure what E.S.G. is? Google defines it as a “corporate strategy (that) focuses on the three pillars of the environment, social, and governance. This means taking measures to lower pollution, CO2 output, and reduce waste. It also means having a diverse and inclusive workforce, at the entry level and all the way up to the board of directors. E.S.G. may be costly and time-consuming to undertake, but can also be rewarding into the future for those that carry it through.”

3. Create hyper-targeted outbound marketing campaigns.

Utilizing the client lifecycle map we created in 2022, we can now dig into all the stages a client will experience when communicating and working with us. Understanding how a client engages with our agency before, during, and after hiring us allows us to communicate with them in ways that best serve their needs at different points of the life cycle. 

Now that we’ve got that down, it’s time to marry segmentation with automation and create dynamic content that speaks to hyper-targeted audiences who are seeking certain information, resources, or data. Delivering more of that content, especially to contacts who have opted-in to receive it, is incredibly powerful and important when it comes to marketing. 

4. Write a book.

This has actually been on my personal bucket list for years. (As has performing at an open-mic stand-up night…I’m a glutton for punishment, I think). But if I’m really going to make this happen, it can’t just live on a mental list and no one knows. I couldn’t begin to tell you the motivation here, but it is something I would like to accomplish. 

And the tie-in with marketing? 

Well, in all likelihood my book will be a business-focused eBook we will use to build better brand awareness and loyalty. It will share value with my audience and ideally create a stronger brand following. 

Now about finding the time to get writing………

5. Launch an on-demand education portal.

During the hardest parts of the pandemic, my impulse purchase desire was redirected from checkout line tchotchkes to online learning. I dove headfirst into social media master classes and writing workshops and design walkthroughs. It was fun and a way to feel connected with something outside my home life. 

Since then, I’ve been on a mission to create an online learning portal for our clients and friends. We put together so much educational content and have so much knowledge and information to share, I think it’s time we focus on repackaging that content for our audience. 

6. Continue to feed the content machine.

LISI spent 2020 and 2021 creating, testing, and standardizing our process around content creation. In 2022, we created more than 100 individual, new pieces of content across blogs, videos, and infographics. 44% more content than the previous year, to be specific! And we’re syndicating it through partners like JD Supra and other outlets to help spread the word of law firm digital marketing. 

Data tells us we’re doing the right work, but nothing felt better than when I asked a new client where he found us, and his response was, “I read your article about outsourced legal marketing and I knew I’d finally found the agency that understood what I was looking for.”

In our 2023 strategic planning sessions, we looked at what worked, what needed to be retooled, and what we could add for next year to keep striking while the iron was hot. 

7. Continue to prioritize digital accessibility.

It’s not enough to focus simply on an accessible website. All of our digital content needs to be accessible to people who are differently abled. This means burned-in captions on all videos, and alt text that is more than simply “Jane Smith, Partner.” It means creating ways for screen readers and other accessibility devices to take in the information you are trying to convey and assist their users with consuming it. 

There are lots of reasons to do this. Not the least of which is: it’s the right thing to do. 

8. Gain genuinfluencer support.

Influencer marketing for consumer brands has been the go-to for years. We continue to focus on how to best use this for professional services, but with a new twist going into 2023. 

Genuinfluencers, a term coined by W.G.S.N. in 2021, is different from your average influencer. Influencer marketing has become somewhat synonymous with the exploitative side of marketing. A genuinfluencer isn’t aligned with a brand or making a buck for their post. Rather, genuinfluencers find their influence through relatability, authenticity, and genuine action within their industry.

Genuinfluencers’ opinions can’t be bought. But the value of their content is unmatched. It is shared out of genuine interest, respect for the product or service, and alignment with their core values. This is where I want to be. 

9. Lean into user-generated content opportunities.

User-generated content (U.G.C.) is any content—text, videos, images, reviews, etc.—created by people, rather than brands. Because people are 2.4 times more likely to trust user-generated content, it’s where it’s at. For professional services, this can come from many places: employees, happy clients, and fans! This tactic is a quick and easy way to elevate a brand. 

10. Add a Director of Client Relations to the team.

Every year I focus on our talent acquisition strategy and the time has come to add a critical new member to the team: a Director of Client Relations. I’ve long said that the secret to our success as an agency is the fact that we communicate pretty darn well. But with such rapid growth over the past two years, there comes a critical point at which the best communication across the organization doesn’t solve the problem of a singular client experience. Plus, it’s time to focus on how we can better serve our existing clients, especially as we head into the unknown financial situation in the months to come. 

I’m excited to bring someone on who can be my partner in leveling up our client relationships!!

11. Seek ways to achieve “position zero” on search engine results pages.

I learned a new term in 2021: position zero. This means being found in featured snippets and “people also ask” sections on search engine results pages, an enviable position to be in since users get the information they’re looking for right there. Can you imagine what this means for brand authority if your content answers a question so well that Google features it front and center?

12. Be better about building case studies from our client successes and evangelizing them to clients and prospects.

Case studies are an invaluable tool for professional services firms. They show prospective customers what we can do in a tangible way, and they provide real-world examples of how our services have helped clients achieve their goals. Case studies should be part of every client engagement as it helps to establish credibility and trust with the prospect.

The best case studies are detailed, share concrete results, and are digestible. I want to focus on creating more case studies that help potential clients better understand our work and the value we bring to the table.

13. Investigate opportunities for weaving A.I. into our digital presence.

Integrating artificial intelligence into our digital presence is a key trend I am watching in the upcoming year. Instead of relying pretty heavily on lead capture forms and waiting for a response, we are looking into conversational marketing tactics which use targeted messaging and A.I. automation to engage with people when they’re on your website.

This tactic employs intelligent chatbots with machine learning and natural language processing in order to have a two-way conversation with a brand. By leveraging A.I., we can get valuable insights into our target audiences while at the same time gaining knowledge about their preferences, needs, and questions. This will allow us to optimize our client acquisition process, as well as better tailor content for each customer segment. 

14. Gather zero-party data through optimized form and lead generation tactics.

And on the topic of lead generation and conversational marketing tactics, it is important to consider the role of zero-party data. This data is collected directly from customers and prospects, rather than inferred from their behavior or purchased from third parties. It includes preferences, intentions, and context that users share voluntarily in exchange for an experience tailored specifically to them.

Optimizing our lead generation tactics through the collection of zero-party data allows us to better understand our audience and target them more accurately with relevant content which leads to improved customer engagement and satisfaction. Such tactics can be done via forms on websites, surveys, polls, quizzes, and other interactive channels. Ultimately, this leads to a richer understanding of our client’s needs and expectations thus increasing the chances that we will meet them or even exceed them!

15. Create interactive content opportunities.

Interactive content is an increasingly popular way to engage with and inspire your target audience. It encourages them to be active participants in the conversation, rather than passive observers. Examples of interactive content include polls, quizzes, surveys, and games. By using this tactic, marketers can create a vibrant and engaging user experience that will help people better connect with their brand.

It’s also a relatively low-cost, high-opportunity content strategy that grabs attention quickly and increases “stickiness” with a brand. As we look to the future of digital content marketing, I expect interactive content opportunities to take center stage in our overall marketing strategy. This will be a key area of focus for us as we look to establish more meaningful relationships with our target audience.

16. Focus more than ever before on digital privacy.

Privacy is more important than ever before in the digital age, and marketers must be aware of this when crafting their strategies and tactics. People are becoming increasingly wary of how their data is being collected and used by brands, so it’s vital to emphasize privacy at every step. This means making sure that websites have secure encryption, personal data is collected responsibly and ethically, user data is anonymized where possible, and opt-in forms are clear and concise.

Luckily, we’ve got a major stickler for privacy on our team, and as our Director of Marketing Technology and Operations, Dan Martin has helped us focus on privacy first in all of our marketing tools and tactics. 

17. Humanize the LISI brand with a continued emphasis on storytelling.

Storytelling is a powerful tool for connecting with customers, and it can be used to humanize the LISI brand. At its core, storytelling is about creating an emotional connection with your audience that goes beyond mere facts and data points. It’s about telling stories of how you achieved success together and highlighting the values that make us unique. As we move forward in 2023, I am committed to continuing our focus on storytelling as a way to build relationships with our clients and show off our unique value proposition.

18. Learn how to best leverage Google Analytics 4.

G.A.4. replaces Universal Analytics in July, 2023. I’ve crawled my way through Universal Analytics in the past, but with the coming of G.A.4., I want to really understand how to leverage the platform and the data. G.A.4. provides advanced analytics capabilities and features, such as insights into customer behavior, predictive analysis, audience segmentation, and machine learning-driven metrics. G.A.4. also offers automated reporting and alerting capabilities that allow us to quickly identify opportunities or areas of improvement without having to manually create reports.

Overall, G.A.4. is a powerful tool for digital marketing agencies looking to gain insights into their customers’ behaviors in order to better target them with relevant content. Understanding this platform will be essential moving forward if we want to maintain our competitive edge in the market.

19. Automate. Automate. Automate.

I love anything analog. Pen and paper in particular…nothing better than the sensory overload I experience when I crack open a fresh notebook.

But in today’s digital world, and with the break-neck speed of business and client service delivery we are experiencing at LISI, I finally admitted this year that it was time to abandon the analog in favor of the digital.

We’ve implemented several tools and productivity companions to make life easier, including Trello for project management, Sunsama for daily calendar and task management/focus, and Zapier to help connect various platforms.

Now it’s time to kick it up a notch and figure out what I can truly automate. Sure I’ve got some zaps and some workflows created in our HubSpot C.R.M., but I’m sure I’ve just scratched the surface.

As Dan says, “Let the machines do it.”

20. Less calls. More action.

As we move into the 2023 year, it’s time to stop wasting time on conference calls and aimless meetings. Don’t get me wrong…sometimes a call is the best thing. Sometimes bringing the group together to work through an issue is important.

But sometimes…sometimes it’s just meeting for the sake of meeting.

Ultimately, my goal is simple: less calls, more action. If I can cut out the needless calls, I can save time and energy that I can put towards getting stuff done.

Productivity is key to feeling fulfilled in one’s role. I feel it, and I see it in our LISI team. When I’m producing quality work on a regular basis, it gives me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that no conference call or meeting could ever offer.

21. Apply lessons from baseball to analytics and measurement.

In baseball, you count everything. How many pitches. Errors. Runs. At bats.

You. Count. Everything.

Now, personally, I love baseball. (GO PHILLIES!) And it’s probably not a stretch to say that part of that love is because I also have an affinity for numbers.

I spent a day in early December analyzing per-project profitability, utilization, and our overall business situation. It was…one of the most fun days I’d had with work in a long time. (I know, I know…I’m a nerd.)

So now, I’ve got a paradigm in place to quickly and efficiently count, measure, and analyze all sorts of numbers across our agency. And I couldn’t be more excited.

22. Take my personal brand to the next level.

I’ve spent a couple of years working hard to solidify and refine my personal brand. I think at this point it’s well established: a data-driven digital transformation architect with a passion for leadership and elevating professional women.

Now it’s time to expand my personal brand’s reach.

It’s time to step beyond writing for publications and speaking at conferences.

I’m looking into more podcasting, video, webinars, and a bunch of other mediums to share my perspective with the world. My goal is simple: create impactful content that will leave a lasting impression on my community.

23. Focus on my mental health.

As the wife of a first responder, with three kids, two dogs, and a one-eyed cat all living in a tiny house just west of Philadelphia…my life is a bit nuts. (I’m not complaining. I love the crazy…but it’s…crazy.) Luckily, I’m a part of an incredible community that steps up and comes to my side whenever I need it.

But 2022 was stressful and by the fall, I was bottoming out in terms of my resilience and fortitude. And my mental health took a major hit. Everything was suffering. Big time.

So what did I do?

I cut out the unnecessary tasks that weren’t truly productive and focused more on self-care activities like therapy, massage, and exercise. It was then that I regained my clarity of purpose and could clearly see how to balance my ambitious professional goals with taking the time for myself to invest in personal growth.

And I thought my whole team might benefit from the time and space to prioritize their health and well-being too, so I implemented a flexible holiday and unlimited paid time off policies for 2023.

I won’t pretend to be an expert but I can tell you this from personal experience: Focusing on our mental health is so important. It can help us to be better employees, parents, friends, and partners. So in 2023, I’m making mental health a priority. Because when I’m mentally healthy, I can do my best work. And that’s what matters most.