There are two kinds of New Year's resolutions; the first kind is the kind you know you'll break, but won't have to face any serious consequences for your lack of discipline. Like using the elliptical machine three times a week, laying off the mojitos at company happy hour and dialing back the road rage. The other kinds of resolutions — namely, the ones that apply to your professional career — may have a greater and lasting impact. 
Take your 2014 marketing strategy. The new year will bring a new set of challenges, and keeping up with them is a lot harder. So today we'd like to make your life slightly easier by highlighting five key 2014 marketing trends that should double as your marketing new year's resolutions:
1. Double-down on original content creation and marketing. The old adage that "content is king" is antiquated. In truth, compelling content is king. After all, Google's recent search algorithms have taken direct aim at sites that "re-purpose" or flat-out steal content. At the same time, they've rolled out Google Authorship to ensure there's real-live human publishing content. In other words, the cornerstone of your online marketing strategy will be original, compelling content and the marketing of that content. Don't just take our word for it: in the "Smart Insights" survey of over 600 digital marketing executives, the number one priority for 2014 was "content marketing" at 29 percent (up from 23 percent in 2013.)
2. "Go mobile, young man/woman" (and design responsively.) Facebook's recent launch of mobile ads with calls to action is further proof that the seismic shift away from PCs towards mobile devices is complete. Look to see small businesses diverting marketing dollars away from traditional search and site retargeting ads and more towards mobile ads, and for good reason: that's where the customers are. Furthermore, make sure your site and content is aesthetically pleasing on various devices. This is called "responsive design" and should be your Web design team's number one priority for 2014.
3. Remember what constitutes a great ad. Businesses need to make sure they are not rolling out mobile ads just for the sake of it. Mobile ads, unlike their PC counter-parts, need to be succinct, with a powerful CTA, and designed with a smart phone in mind. It requires nothing less than a conceptual redesign of traditional digital marketing.
4. Give Google+ a second look. Say what you will about Google, they're not innovators. They generally buy smaller firms and repackage their offerings accordingly (e.g. Adwords.) That said, their long-suffering social media platform, Google+, may no longer be the inferior alternative to Facebook, solely due to the sheer depth and breadth of Google's reach.
For example, more and more Webmasters, when checking their Website analytics, now see a "No provided" category listed as a referral source. This means that since the roll-out of Google "secure search," Google Analytics can't pinpoint the exact source of referring traffic unless the user is logged in to a Google account, like, say, Google+. So many companies are expanding their Google+ presence with the hope customers will follow, thereby allowing businesses to access this critical customer data. It's an example of how Google is using carrots (and in this case, sticks) to lure people to Google+.
5. Spend wisely on social media. Businesses everywhere are faced with a dilemma: they lack the time, money, and resources to have a robust presence on all the major social media platforms. Understand your brand and your target audience. Find out what social media platforms they spend the majority of their time interacting on and go from there.
Are there other 2014 marketing trends on the horizon? Of course. The rise of micro-video, the continued growth of Big Data, and improved marketing automation all come to mind. But if you execute these "big things" right and make a concerted effort to measure your performance (the topic of our next post), your business will be in great shape to adapt to ever-changing conditions in 2014.
Happy New Year, and we'll see you at the gym!
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