January.
Month of resolutions. Month of doing without. Month of eating unbearably healthy stuff.
The month of disappointment and feeling bad when you give up on all the first things.
And that’s all by January 5th.
What are your customers up to?
It’s like resolutions are not enough any more. January is Dry January, Veganuary, Love Your Liver Month. Then there’s National Obesity Awareness Week.
On the plus side, it is Ginuary as well. Every cloud and all that.
But it’s a month when your customers could do with some good stories. But what kind of content will help them not just survive January but possibly thrive? Here’s some ideas:
How to guides
Did you try one of these months last year? How did you do it? Perhaps you have 31 days of great vegan recipes to share. Or perhaps 31 things not to try during Veganuary. I’d recommend not trying to cook tofu without really pressing all the liquid out. Otherwise, you might not make it past day 4.
Of course, if your business is in any kind of non-alcoholic drink, then it is the perfect time for you to show off the versatility of your product. You’ve got 31 days to support your customers with ideas, and ways to avoid the temptation to give up on their good intentions.
Maybe you could just show off your local knowledge. Where are the best places to not drink alcohol in your area? Or to not eat meat? Just show that you understand the challenge and that you have both expertise and empathy. And pass on my tip about the tofu.
Encouragement and motivation
Let’s face it, January is likely to be a little short on good news from the primary sources. And if you’ve given up things, then it might not be feeling like the best month.
Give them a leg up, a nod of encouragement, a cheer for what they’re doing.
Do it in your own way, your own style. It can be words, pictures, videos, GIFs, sketches…whatever really works for your business, your way of telling stories. You should know what format of content your customer engages with best, and on what channel. You don’t have to do everything everywhere, just show up regularly and cheer up their day.
Laughter
Look, if you’ve gone from drinking red wine and eating steak and now you’re on kale and coconut water, then you might need a laugh or two.
If you’re the kind of brand or business who does humour, sarcasm, satire or just plain old slapstick, then give them a good laugh all month long.
Inspiration and distraction
The previous three could all add up to this as well, but this is about the distraction of inspiring tales of others, of achievement, or just of something different. It might be TED Talks, like Ingrid Fetell Lee’s talk on joy, or maybe one on building the incredible Seed Cathedral. There again, you could share some of the good stuff from the Do Lectures blog.
Perhaps it’s an incredible Instagram feed that you follow with awe-inspiring images. Something that can take you away from the here and now, even if just for a moment. The minute I leave the coast, it’ll be a webcam showing me the beach and the waves. That inspires me to keep going. What works for you and your customers? You can give this a personal angle. Tell people what inspires you and why. The human angle to business has never been more important.
Just a note on copyright for all of these things. Play nice, put in the right links, acknowledge the source, seek approval for use if necessary. My images tend to come from Pexels, or are my own amateur snaps. Use what’s right for you, and rightfully yours to use.
So, it’s only the 3rd; you’ve got plenty of time to do all or any of these things for your consumers and make January memorable for all the right reasons. And try and make it seem a little less long.
What do you think? What will you do for your customers?
