They say time flies when you’re having fun – and if the first half of the year flew by, then business must be booming. 😄

But annual marketing goals don’t exactly care how we feel about time. After Q1, it still feels like there’s plenty of runway left. Once Q2 wraps up, though, the remaining time starts to feel… not so generous.

This is the moment to recall the fable of the ant and the grasshopper.

The grasshopper didn’t exactly have a strategy. He spent his summer relaxing. A few social media posts here and there, a bit of promotion – nothing major. After all, everyone’s on vacation anyway, right?

The ant, on the other hand – as ants do – didn’t waste a minute. He approached the entire year, including summer, strategically: consistent activities, continuous promotion, steady content production, helpful newsletters, lead generation, and even scheduled a brand photoshoot. He kept feeding the algorithms with data, dished out cookies like candy, and steadily built brand awareness.

When Q4 rolled around, the grasshopper hoped business would pick up on its own. Sure, there was some growth – but nowhere near what a business needs. Campaigns were slow to gain traction, audiences somewhat interested but hesitant to convert.

The ant, however, found himself in a very different position. Thanks to all the groundwork he’d laid, algorithms easily reached converting audiences. His market already knew what he offered, making purchasing decisions much smoother. In short: he had done the heavy lifting early and was fully prepared for the year’s final push.

If you’re seeing a bit of the grasshopper in yourself right now – don’t worry. Mid-year is the perfect time to pause, reassess, and take control. Let’s walk through what you can do.

Start With a Solid Review

Analyze your performance based on the KPIs you originally set. Check what’s been achieved, what’s lagging, and what needs adjustment. Even if you didn’t set specific goals, you still need this step. Create a clear table – month by month – and dive into your best and worst-performing months. What were you doing during the good times that you weren’t during the slow ones?

This will help you identify which activities brought results – and which didn’t. Most importantly, understand why something worked or didn’t.

You can track a wide range of metrics, but my recommendation is to start with sales and business-related goals. (And let me take a moment to reiterate: marketing exists to support business objectives.)

Then, dig into the measurable outcomes of your digital marketing:

  • Social Media – Review reach, follower growth, shifts in audience demographics, top-performing posts (and underperformers), and try to understand the reasons. Also take a peek at what your competitors are doing.

  • Website/SEO – Which keywords bring the most traffic? What are the top-performing pages and articles? If you’re running an eCommerce site, track every key metric related to sales. Where are converting visitors coming from? Are there drop-off points in your funnel?

  • Email Marketing – Has your subscriber base grown? How many newsletters did you send? What’s your average open and click-through rate? Which emails performed best, and why? What kind of content gets the most engagement?

  • Paid Ads – Which channels or campaigns had the best ROAS? What performed well and why? What audiences were targeted? What did the creatives look like?

  • Online PR – Number of media placements, reach, sentiment, engagement on articles, and share of voice compared to competitors.

What Can You Do With the Rest of the Year?

If your mid-year review reveals less-than-stellar results, there’s still time to fix it. Start by tackling the activities and metrics that are underperforming. Try to dig deeper into the root causes.

Now, logic would say: just keep doing what worked. But in digital marketing, logic isn’t always enough. What worked in one part of the year won’t necessarily work in another.

That’s why metrics need to be viewed holistically, as part of a bigger picture. That picture includes your entire business landscape, as well as external influences. This is where excuses can easily blur your vision.

Here’s an example:

A campaign fails to generate sales.

The marketing team may look at the offer itself – Was the product compelling? Was the pricing right? Was there a discount?

Meanwhile, the product team might blame the marketing: poor promotion, weak investment, bad content.

What’s actually helpful here? That both teams sit down, analyze the outcome, and ask themselves: What can I do differently next time?

Instead of “you didn’t…” the mindset should shift to “here’s what I can improve.”

Easier said than done, I know – but remember, the goals are shared.

Double Down on What Worked

The activities that brought results are especially valuable. I won’t say more valuable – but sometimes, they are. They still hold potential.

The most important thing is to understand why something worked well. If you know what your audience responds to, stick to that direction.

When I say “stick to it,” I don’t mean repeat the same thing endlessly. I mean keep developing content and campaigns around those themes, offers, and channels your audience clearly engages with.

Don’t hesitate to boost posts that performed well. Just because you’re sick of seeing them doesn’t mean your entire audience has.

Plan Ahead – Way Ahead

Don’t underestimate seasonality. Don’t wait until the event is right around the corner to start thinking about content and planning.

Honestly – why wouldn’t you start planning your holiday campaigns in the middle of summer? Major brands do. Many marketing activities can be mapped out well in advance. Later on, if something changes, you’ll only need to tweak – not build from scratch. Come Q4 chaos, your future self will thank you.

Make Adjustments – Even to Your Goals

Mid-year is the perfect time for adjustments. Even to your goals – especially if they turn out to be irrelevant or poorly set.

To me, strategy is everything. And that means constantly revisiting, refining, and adapting it based on real insights. That’s what a strategic approach is.

We don’t cling to strategy blindly – we treat it as a beacon, guiding us as we choose smarter routes toward our goals.

Be Flexible With the Plan

Activity plans are almost always the first to get shaken up – whether by choice or by force. External factors often push us to move, reshape, or downsize initiatives.

That’s slippery ground. When nothing goes to plan and the pressure’s on, we tend to panic and say: “Let’s just get it done, whatever it takes.”

But that’s not necessary. In that panic, we rarely make good decisions.

Here’s what we need to remember:

In our line of work (and many others), things rarely go exactly as planned.

So let’s drop the panic and think clearly.

Does this activity need to happen now?

Can we reschedule it strategically?

Can we redirect the budget elsewhere and still meet our goals?

Can we adapt it into a simpler version without sacrificing too much?

I truly believe the best marketing tactics are a mix of experience, market insight, and a cool head. You don’t need gimmicks.

What Needs To Be Cut?

You need to know when to stop.

If you’ve tested everything- formats, topics, targeting – and squeezed every last drop of potential… it’s time to stop investing time and money into a lost cause.

Blog posts no one reads. Social content no one engages with. Channels on life support. Newsletters left unopened.

Cut them. Reallocate budgets and energy to what’s growing.

And don’t forget to try new channels and pilot projects. Test, measure, and – most importantly – recognize the right time to pause or pivot.

And of course, if you feel stuck or unsure, if you need support, an extra set of eyes – or a few more marketing minds – you can always count on us.

We love turning chaos into clarity and finding ideas when they seem to have run dry.

Write to us – we’re here to help.