Use It or Lose It: 8 Ways to Make the Most of Your Digital Marketing Budget Surplus

For all marketing leaders, effectively managing your digital marketing budget is a delicate balancing act. Spend too little, and you’ll likely lose those dollars at year’s end—and perhaps put yourself in a position to see cuts next year if your frugalness is taken out of context. In our experience, we often see organizations slow to spend the first nine months of the year and eager to spend in the final quarter. Ideas for Making the Most of Your Leftover Marketing Budget #1 – Invest in a content audit. It’s the kingdom.” So, chances are, many of your budgetary resources have been allocated to creating top-notch content such as blogs, robust resource pages, or larger assets like eBooks or white papers. A content audit can provide answers here, allowing you to prioritize low-hanging fruit opportunities, refine your 2019 content strategy, and more. With extra budget in hand, you have the opportunity to experiment with new content types that have the potential to reach your audience in new ways, And can continue to be promoted and drive results in 2019. #4 – Build up your library of original photos. If there’s a new one you’ve had your eye on, this is the perfect time to invest in a tool which will drive value throughout 2019. So, if you have extra budget, why not use that to collaborate with industry influencers or thought leaders to create credible, insightful content?

How to Use Your Marketing Budget Surplus

For all marketing leaders, effectively managing your digital marketing budget is a delicate balancing act. Spend too much too early, and you’re running ultra-lean for the balance of the year and risk falling short of your goals. Spend too little, and you’ll likely lose those dollars at year’s end—and perhaps put yourself in a position to see cuts next year if your frugalness is taken out of context.

In our experience, we often see organizations slow to spend the first nine months of the year and eager to spend in the final quarter. So, if you’ll soon find yourself in the “use it or lose it” position, absolutely use it—but be thoughtful.

How and where should you allocate those dollars? Ultimately, your overall marketing goals and strategy should be your guide. But other factors to consider are projected resource constraints, upcoming and future events you’ll be attending or hosting, planned campaigns, and internal expertise.

Regardless of the size of your dollar surplus, there are several ways to make the most of it, gain some end-of-year momentum, and set yourself up for more success in the coming year. What are they? Let’s dive in.

Ideas for Making the Most of Your Leftover Marketing Budget

#1 – Invest in a content audit.

As TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden has often said: “Content isn’t king. It’s the kingdom.”

So, chances are, many of your budgetary resources have been allocated to creating top-notch content such as blogs, robust resource pages, or larger assets like eBooks or white papers. As a result, you have a lot of content.

But where are the gaps? What should be killed, kept as is, or updated? A content audit can provide answers here, allowing you to prioritize low-hanging fruit opportunities, refine your 2019 content strategy, and more.

Depending on the scope of the audit, (e.g blog content only vs. full site audit) this can be one of the most cost effective uses of your budget.

#2 – Conduct a competitive audit.

There’s little doubt that you’re keeping a close eye on what your competitors are doing, but when’s the last time you took a more detailed deep dive into their activities or position in the marketplace? Better yet, have you had a chance to dig into those who are on the rise?

A competitive audit—which can be simple yet insightful (e.g. social only audit) or more robust—can refresh your view and surface insights that were not on your radar.