The opposite day, I got here throughout this tongue-in-cheek submit whereas idly scrolling: “Spotify ought to ship a halftime report. Inform me in July what my Wrapped is wanting like and the way a lot work I’ve left to do to show this factor round.” Contemplating I’d simply jokingly voiced how embarrassing my Wrapped was going to look this yr after the tons of of minutes I’ve spent clicking the replay button on Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso,” that submit was a complete learn.
Spotify’s Wrapped characteristic, which delivers a personalised breakdown of customers’ listening tendencies from the yr, nonetheless holds the highest spot on the subject of most participating year-in-review content material — a lot in order that many people, jokingly or not, are already anticipating what our 2024 Wrapped goes to seem like in the midst of the summer season. And the format is so profitable that even its many imitators have gained traction. Different music streaming platforms like YouTube Music and Tidal ultimately launched their very own variations, and even non-music manufacturers, just like the health app Peloton, adopted swimsuit.
It’s no marvel these year-end user-generated content material campaigns have garnered such optimistic suggestions; they’re endlessly shareable, and customers love customized experiences. However, in fact, creating your personal extremely individualized wrap-up might be an enormous endeavor, relying on each your business and the way a lot buyer information you will have entry to. Right here’s learn how to implement the spirit of those extremely customized year-in-review reviews in your personal EOY campaigns.
Plan your year-in-review content material now
The sooner you begin planning your year-in-review marketing campaign, the extra intentional it would really feel on your viewers. That doesn’t imply it’s worthwhile to get it able to publish now — in any case, there’s nonetheless loads of the yr left to go, and also you don’t need your assessment to really feel incomplete. However beginning now offers you ample time to analysis what you wish to embrace in your assessment and create a workable define to flesh out come late November or early December totally.
Beginning as quickly as doable is very necessary when culling information from completely different sources. You’ll wish to set parameters for all stakeholders to stick to, comparable to sticking to information from a set time period (maybe January 1 to October 31 of this yr). Your proprietary information is a good place to start out. As an illustration, advertising and marketing and engineering can provide you buyer and person insights, and finance can provide you detailed spending reviews.
Shopify is a good instance of a B2B model breaking down high-level information right into a digestible yr in assessment that’s related to the targets of its base. And with a mix of written content material, video, and information visualizations, Shopify’s Commerce Tendencies report offers customers a choose-your-own-adventure expertise — whereas nonetheless remaining aesthetically constant and with out being overwhelming.
Personalize your recap on your viewers
A year-in-review report is a good alternative to encourage extended engagement and model loyalty. It’s a spot to share the worth you’ve supplied on your viewers — not brag about your income numbers. (Although an internally shared wrap report with company-wide wins isn’t a foul concept, both!)
And even in the event you’re not placing collectively an individualized expertise, you’ll be able to nonetheless tailor your wrap-up to your target market. A brand-wide yr in assessment can nonetheless really feel private for customers by specializing in their favourite, most-purchased, or top-reviewed merchandise, or business tendencies and insights that can have an effect on their buying selections within the yr forward.
You could possibly even create a year-end recap that hones in on geographical location, age group, faculty college students, or another demographic. Google’s Native 12 months In Search permits customers to entry the yr’s search tendencies of their hometown, or anyplace they really feel like looking out. This can be a strategic method to supply a personalised buyer expertise with out creating an individual-specific breakdown.
One among my private favourite examples of year-in-review content material (which I look out for each December) is the New York Occasions’ “Finest Books of the 12 months” hub. Not solely does it present a roundup of its prime e-book opinions from the previous yr, nevertheless it additionally offers breakdowns by style. Customers can choose which sections to learn based mostly on their very own pursuits.
Spotlight your greatest work — whereas boosting visitors
Lastly, a year-in-review could be a strategic technique to share your model’s greatest work from the previous yr, whether or not that’s blogs, analysis, graphics, and so forth. — and increase visitors to that content material when you’re at it. A retrospective might help generate a way of “taking part in catchup” amongst your viewers. Under is a good instance from New York’s The Reduce: by highlighting their “most-read” tales, they’ll play off of their readers’ sense of FOMO (and ship them glorious content material on the similar time).
You too can select to repurpose current content material in a distinct format. As an illustration, in case your information safety agency has printed a number of analysis this yr, you can spotlight the highest findings in a quick-hit video or infographic for social. Or, you probably have been retaining a weblog stuffed with client finance content material, you can create a touchdown web page hub linking to those weblog posts, positioning them sources for anybody trying to enhance their funds in 2025 and past.
When to keep away from a year-in-review marketing campaign
After all, year-in-review content material won’t at all times make sense. Each enterprise proprietor is aware of that there are good years and unhealthy years — and if there aren’t sufficient positives to share, it won’t be value dwelling on the negatives.
Additionally, if you’re contemplating offering individualized year-end recaps to your viewers, watch out about what information to give attention to. Fb bumped into sizzling water when its “On This Day” characteristic began reminding individuals of unhealthy reminiscences, like sharing an announcement concerning the dying of a member of the family. You need your wrap-up to be one thing clients sit up for, not dread.
Lastly, keep away from bait-and-switch techniques right here. One purpose Shopify is such a trusted identify within the ecommerce house is due to its credibility as an business professional. Its Commerce Tendencies report isn’t peppered with CTAs to get began with the platform — it merely sticks to the information and what’s really necessary to its target market.
Ask the Content material Strategist: FAQs on year-in-review campaigns
How can smaller companies with restricted information sources create year-in-review content material?
Smaller companies can give attention to key metrics and buyer suggestions they do have, even when it’s much less complete. Highlighting just a few important achievements or tendencies can nonetheless have interaction their viewers.
What instruments can be utilized to collect and analyze information for a year-in-review advertising and marketing marketing campaign?
There are numerous instruments accessible, comparable to Google Analytics for internet visitors, CRM software program for buyer insights, and monetary software program for income monitoring. These instruments assist streamline information assortment and evaluation.
How can a year-in-review report be promoted to maximise engagement?
Selling the report via e mail newsletters, social media, and on the corporate’s web site can enhance visibility. Collaborations with influencers or business companions may assist attain a wider viewers.
Really feel such as you’ve missed a yr’s value of content material advertising and marketing methods? Catch up by studying The Content material Strategist.
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