Building your annual marketing plan for 2026: A comprehensive guide

If you’re at this stage, congratulations! 🎉

If you're confused about why I’m saying congratulations, you probably haven’t read part one. Please read that first to carry out your planning properly.

What you have accomplished already has elevated your marketing efforts for next year. Now, it’s time to take that insight, the goals, and the audience(s) you’ve identified and build a strategy to achieve your objectives over the next 12 months.

In this guide, I will take you through five vital steps. These steps will provide the clarity you need to integrate your marketing activities into your everyday planner.

Your 5 Steps to Building Your Annual Marketing Plan

1. Carving out your strategy

2. Tactics & channels

3. Make sure this plan is realistic for your work schedule

4. How you will measure success

5. Let it go, launch your marketing plan!

   
   
   
   

Step 1: Carving out your strategy

This first step is critical to everything that follows. Your strategy considers how objectives and goals are met, along with the channels that will help you reach your audience.

In this stage, you will develop the core message, channels, and creative concepts. Focus on how to influence attitudes and behaviours based on audience insights.

What is your strategy to connect with customers?

Reference your biggest challenges, target customer, goals, and audience journey. This should give you a clear direction.

To help shape your strategy, think about your customer navigating the funnel of your business. The well-known traditional model called 'AIDA' can assist you in this.

Awareness:

Creating awareness of your product or service among your target customers.

Interest / consideration:

Generating interest in the benefits of your product or service, encouraging potential buyers to research further. This could involve clicking into a lead funnel, downloading guides, or tuning into webinars.

Desire:

Creating a desire for your product or service through an emotional connection that showcases your brand personality. This must be bold enough to differentiate you from competitors. Move the consumer from interest to wanting your version. Consider branded methods in your free guides, free trials, or content with influencers connected to your audience.

Action:

Encourage buyers to move from consideration to taking the next step to close the deal. This could include downloading a price list, making a phone call, joining a newsletter, adding items to checkout, or engaging in live chat. The customer experience is critical here. They either feel content with their decision or worry about buyer's remorse.

PLUS Loyalty/Advocacy:

After your customer has bought from you, their experiences become your most valuable marketing tactic. There is a clear link between your current customers and future customers in the research stage of their buyer decision. Perhaps part of your strategy next year is to simplify your review and testimonial process. You can even include these within your marketing strategy to sway target buyers in the future. Remember the power of referral and word-of-mouth!

AIDA marketing funnel model, source: Smart Insights

What should you centre your approach on?

There are several ways to centre your strategy:

• A full-funnel process that guides a target customer through each step and drives action.

• A specific part of the funnel that may be struggling, such as an awareness strategy or an action-led strategy like 'call to subscribe' or 'register interest.'

• A combination based on your goals.

  
  

There's no right answer; it’s tailored to each unique marketing challenge, so consider this carefully.

The messaging hierarchy

Once you have a clear idea of your strategy, it’s crucial to clarify your message. Your messaging will carry through thematically in every tactic you deliver across each channel. Remember, this message comes from your voice and brand. It’s your opportunity to showcase your personality while making it clear to the audience what you’re all about.

Identify your clear call to action

Within your messaging, consider what your call-to-action will be. This will link to your key performance indicators (KPIs) as you measure how many people take this action in your broader marketing plans. Examples include: subscribe now, register interest, book your spot, buy now, contact us, or call us.

Step 2: Tactics & channels

This is your opportunity to experiment and test different formulas and approaches. You have your big idea and message; think of known examples like Nike's 'Just Do It.' Or perhaps something less 'sexy' like Apple's 2025 strategy of simply reconfiguring market dynamics by leaning into what it already does well. Now it’s about creatively reaching your target audiences with the right message at the right place and time.

Creative tactics to deliver messaging

Revisit your insights, objectives, and audience planning to do this effectively. This is your chance to stand out in areas where your competitors are also reaching your audiences. Your insights should guide you through the 'AIDA' audience funnel, considering what resonates with your customer at key stages of their journey.

Your tactics can range from:

• Interactive content: Live polls, quizzes (like skincare or skills matches), or demos.

• Storytelling: Engaging narratives that position your product or service as the go-to choice.

• Guerrilla marketing: Unconventional methods like a banner flying from a helicopter or more realistic options like fun signs, stunts, or pop-up events.

  
  

These are just examples; tactics can span various categories depending on your insights.

Channels

You may have already identified some channels where your audiences are 'hanging out.' Consider where they are most likely to value your message. If you deliver a software product to industry professionals, think about corporate spaces where their pain points are front of mind. If you provide life coaching, consider spaces where they seek answers and inspiration—perhaps they’re drafting their 2026 vision board on Pinterest. Rather than scattering your message everywhere, think critically about where you meet your customer. This is crucial.

Testing your tactical approach

You may be tempted to throw your money into every tactic. I would discourage this. Set aside a budget to test tactics and channels to see how they perform with your audience. This will save you pain in the long run and instil confidence in senior leadership or board members.

Both aspects may be planned together, depending on the appropriate channels for your target customers. For example, if you’re doing paid social advertising like YouTube, find creative ways to stand out in this space.

Step 3: Make sure this plan is realistic for your work schedule

Now, let’s take the 'Big Rocks, Pebbles, Sand' approach to prioritise your marketing actions for the upcoming year.

Imagine you have a large empty jar. You have a pile of big rocks, pebbles, and a pile of sand. Your approach is about fitting all of these into the jar. To make room, start with the big rocks (essential tasks), then add the pebbles (interim tasks), and finally pour the sand (admin, nice-to-have tasks) into the spaces in between.

I want you to think about what each of these means for you and then map them out in your diary or plan using the pointers below:

1. Your planning, strategy, and evaluation

2. Your operational tasks that enable this to happen

3. Admin tasks, like checking emails

   
   

Regardless of your big rocks, pebbles, and sand, use a GANTT chart to stay organised. You will thank me later.

A GANTT chart will coordinate all of your steps for each task you’re delivering. If you have a team responsible for different stages of the work, you can assign tasks to ensure you stay on track. You can find free templates online, such as Google Sheets. My preferred provider is Monday.com. You can get a free account (with paid upgrade options) to set up a GANTT chart. If you are running it solo or with a small group, this may be the best option. FYI - this isn't sponsored; I just really like it.

Step 4: How you will measure success

It's crucial to have a plan to evaluate your efforts throughout the year. Some tactics will work well, while others may not hit the mark. An evaluation plan allows you to identify these outcomes rather than 'throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks.'

An evaluation plan helps you decide where to invest your money as you monitor performance. You may want to dial up certain activities that score well and lower or stop others.

While you will want to make tweaks as you go, think about a realistic evaluation window and review point. You need to allow enough time for the activity to run so you have enough data to interpret. However, make it a regular habit. If you’re launching a campaign, consider reviewing every six weeks to allow enough time for results to come in. Alternatively, have a weekly check-in if budgets are tighter or if you’re focused on a seasonal window.

Set your key performance indicators (KPIs)

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are a fancy way of focusing on specific parts of your performance that can give you a picture of how you’re matching up to your goals. This can come in various forms depending on your objectives and what you’re delivering, such as clicks on a paid social ad.

Outputs vs. Outcomes

While KPIs are crucial, they do not tell the whole picture. Think of KPIs as your outputs—a direct, tangible measurement of your work (e.g., a new app, 100 leads inbound, 50% increase in web traffic). Your outcomes are the broader impacts, changes, or benefits resulting from these outputs. These can include increased customer satisfaction, revenue growth, enhanced understanding, customer loyalty, and positive brand perception. It's essential to find ways to understand the impact of your work on these larger goals, perhaps through post-campaign surveys or by reviewing your financial performance.

Timing

Consider a realistic evaluation window and review point. You need to ensure the activity runs long enough to gather sufficient data. However, make it a regular habit. Below is an example of how a campaign timeline may be coordinated to include reviews and evaluations throughout:

• Preparing your campaign - 4 weeks

• Burst 1 of campaign - 6 weeks

• Review of first burst - 4 weeks

• Burst 2 of campaign - 6 weeks

• Review of second burst - 4 weeks

• Burst 3 of campaign - 6 weeks

• Final evaluation - 12 weeks

  
  
  
  

Step 5: Let it go, launch your marketing plan!

Finally, you have completed your planning. You now have a clear strategy, a plan with identified tactics and channels to reach your audience, and a clear plan to evaluate your performance. Now it’s time to put that plan into action and get the project live!

Remember, we're not chasing perfection; we're looking for progress. By going through this process, you’re building a strong foundation for a successful 2026.

laura@lauratoy.com