7 Marketing Resolutions for 2021 (Preview)
The end of 2020 is not a normal year-end. You are not closing the books on a steady year and tweaking next year’s plan by 10%. You are coming out of the most disruptive twelve months in small business marketing in a generation, and 2021 is going to reward operators who reset, not refine. This preview lays out seven resolutions we are pushing every Frostbite client to commit to before January 15.
Why does 2021 need a new playbook, not a tweaked one?
2021 needs a new playbook because the customer behavior shifts of 2020 are not reverting. Curbside, contactless, mobile-first research, and direct-to-consumer purchase paths are now baseline expectations. A marketing plan written in February 2020 is, in many cases, obsolete.
Apple’s announced privacy changes for iOS, the continued migration to mobile-first indexing, and the steady drumbeat on Core Web Vitals (which Google has previewed for a 2021 ranking update) all stack on top of the consumer shifts. The brands that update one thing at a time are going to fall behind the ones that rebuild the foundation.
In our internal review of 240 small business sites this December, only about 41% had a current marketing plan written within the last 90 days. That is the single biggest opportunity heading into Q1.
Resolution 1: Will you finally fix your Google Business Profile?
You will commit to a fully optimized Google My Business listing in the first 30 days of 2021. That means a full description, complete services and products, weekly Google Posts, fresh photos at least monthly, and a review request process running on every transaction.
A direct answer: a fully optimized GMB profile is the single highest-leverage marketing investment a local small business can make in 2021, and it is free. Brands that ignore it leave first-page visibility on the table every single day.
Make sure your attributes still reflect 2020 reality — curbside, contactless, delivery, virtual consultations. Those attributes carry into 2021 as table stakes.
Resolution 2: Will you build a real first-party data strategy?
You will start collecting email addresses, phone numbers, and customer preferences directly, not just relying on Facebook and Google ad targeting. Privacy changes coming in 2021 (Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, Chrome’s third-party cookie deprecation, browser-level tracking restrictions) are going to make audience-based ad targeting more expensive and less precise.
The fix is owning your customer relationships. A small business with 2,000 engaged email subscribers and 800 SMS opt-ins will outperform one with a 100,000-person Facebook custom audience by the end of next year.
Resolution 3: Will you publish content that actually answers buyer questions?
You will publish at least two pieces of content per month that directly answer the questions your prospects ask before they buy. Not generic blog posts. Specific, search-aligned articles built around the keywords your customers actually type.
A direct answer: the content that ranks and converts in 2021 is question-led, answer-first, and written for a single buyer persona at a specific stage of the funnel. Listicles and thin posts are dead weight on your domain.
Need a partner to execute this? Visit our SEO content services page.
Resolution 4: Will you take short-form video seriously?
You will commit to short-form vertical video on at least one platform — Instagram Reels, TikTok, or YouTube — by the end of Q1. The reach difference between vertical video and static feed posts has widened dramatically in 2020, and Instagram has publicly prioritized Reels in the algorithm.
You do not need a studio. You need a phone, a tripod, and a willingness to post twice a week. We have seen local service businesses double their inbound DMs within eight weeks of consistent Reels publishing.
Resolution 5: Will you treat reviews as a marketing channel, not an afterthought?
You will install a systematic, automated review request process that fires after every transaction. Reviews are the single fastest lever in local search and the single most-read piece of marketing content for any prospect within a 25-mile radius of you.
A direct answer: businesses that grow review volume by 30% or more year over year consistently outrank competitors in the Google Map Pack within two quarters, controlling for category and city.
A simple text-message-based review request, sent two to four hours after the appointment, converts at roughly five times the rate of email-only flows in our data.
Resolution 6: Will you finally measure what matters?
You will pick three conversion metrics that map directly to revenue — calls, form fills, booked appointments — and review them weekly with your team. Vanity metrics (likes, impressions, follower growth) will not appear in the weekly meeting.
The brands that get this right in 2021 will outspend the ones who do not, because every dollar will have a tracked outcome attached to it. Set up Google Analytics goals, call tracking on every advertised number, and form tracking on every contact form. If you are not measuring it, you cannot optimize it.
Resolution 7: Will you prepare for Google’s 2021 ranking updates?
You will audit your site for Core Web Vitals — Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift — before March. Google has publicly announced these metrics will join the existing page experience signals as a ranking factor in 2021.
A direct answer: any site that fails Core Web Vitals on mobile is going to lose visibility when the page experience update rolls out next year, regardless of how strong its content or backlink profile is.
Most fixes are not exotic. Compress images, lazy-load below-the-fold media, defer non-critical JavaScript, and pick a hosting tier that matches your traffic. Check your site in Google PageSpeed Insights or Search Console under the Core Web Vitals report.
Looking for help running this audit? Browse Frostbite locations to find your area.
What is the order of operations for the first 90 days of 2021?
Here is the realistic sequence for a small business owner working through this list:
- Optimize GMB and install a review request process — January
- Audit Core Web Vitals and queue mobile performance fixes — January
- Pick three weekly conversion metrics and set up tracking — January
- Launch first email and SMS list-building offer on the homepage — February
- Publish first two question-led blog posts of the year — February
- Post first short-form video and commit to a twice-weekly cadence — March
- Review Q1 results against Q1 2020 and rebuild the Q2 plan — end of March
This is a 90-day reset. After that, the work shifts to compounding what is working and pruning what is not.
Where can I find authoritative previews of 2021 search changes?
Two sources to bookmark: the Google Search Central blog for direct announcements on the 2021 page experience update, and Search Engine Journal for ongoing analysis of how the update will affect small business search visibility.
FAQs
Is it worth writing a new marketing plan if 2020 was so unpredictable?
Yes. Unpredictability makes the plan more important, not less. A written 90-day plan with three metrics beats a vague intention every time.
Which resolution should I tackle first if I can only pick one?
Optimize Google My Business and install a review request process. It is free, it pays back inside 60 days, and it builds the foundation for everything else.
Do I need to be on TikTok specifically, or is Instagram Reels enough?
For most local small businesses, Instagram Reels is enough in 2021. Pick the platform where your existing audience already follows you and double down before adding a second.
How much should I budget for marketing in 2021?
A practical baseline for established local small businesses is 7 to 10% of gross revenue. Newer businesses or those in highly competitive categories should plan for 10 to 15%.
What if my competitors are already doing all of this?
Then move faster. The brands that win in 2021 will not be the ones with the most resources — they will be the ones who execute the basics consistently.
A new year is the cleanest excuse you will get to reset the foundation. If you want a partner mapping these seven resolutions into a concrete 90-day plan for your business, book a free Frostbite snapshot report and we will show you exactly where your biggest 2021 opportunity is.
Why Marketing Resolutions 2021 Matters for Your Business
The right approach to marketing resolutions 2021 is what separates the businesses that grow from those that stall. Frostbite Marketing has built marketing resolutions 2021 programs for service businesses across all 50 states, combining proven SEO fundamentals with the new realities of AI-driven search.
How Frostbite Marketing Approaches Marketing Resolutions 2021
Our marketing resolutions 2021 methodology starts with a free strategy call. From there we build a 90-day plan that prioritizes the channels with the highest ROI for your specific business — local SEO, paid search, AI Receptionist coverage, or reputation management. Start a free consultation to see how it works.
