Words from a Business Coaching Client: Save Time Marketing ...

In the past 5 years technology has given us so many new ways to market a small business. Many of them, like Social Media, have become so crucial that they can no longer be ignored. With so many strategies and tools at our disposal, finding something that works can actually be pretty easy.

However, the tricky thing about marketing is that when it works and we are in ?feast? mode, small business owners tend to back off of their marketing and sales strategies in order to do the work of actually?fulfilling?orders or managing incoming projects. When that happens we find ourselves back to ?famine? mode ? having to spend time again implementing a marketing strategy. At Alt Creative, we?ve found that a consistent marketing strategy can help?alleviate?this feast or famine cycle and produce steady revenue.

So how do we keep our marketing strategy ?on? all the time? We?ve compiled some simple ways to save time on marketing so you can continue to put energy towards all the other things that need a business owner?s focus.

Start with goals and a strategy

All good plans start with measurable goals. Do you want to have more Facebook followers? Or do you want to get more leads from your email marketing? Maybe the goal is something as simple as getting more website traffic. Decide what your goals are and then think of creative strategies to get there. Once you have a strategy, you?ll have a good understanding of the time it will take to implement.

Get a Schedule

Once you have a plan, you should have a list of strategies to implement. Take a look and think about when each item needs to be handled. For instance, you may want to schedule your newsletters to go out each month. Or you may want to make sure you are tweeting once a week. Either way, you should map these out so you can see the schedule and manage your time accordingly.

Brainstorm in Advance and?Bring the Content to You

A major part of marketing online is curating and creating content. You can save a lot of time by always having a stock pile of content to pull from. As you go through your week, bookmark articles that sound interesting to you ? even if you haven?t had time to read them. If something over the course of a month gives you a good idea for a blog post or news article, write it down. By having these ideas ready to go, you cut down the time it takes to brainstorm on the spot. You can also add to your stock pile of content by subscribing to RSS feeds and signing up for Google alerts about industry topics.

Automate What you Can

Automation is a big time saver. There are many tools you can use to schedule general tweets and statuses. Most email marketing platforms will allow you to schedule your newsletter in advance. Also, there are several plugins to auto-publish your blog posts to your various social media accounts. Careful though, you don?t want to automate everything or else you run the risk of not being engaging to your audience. However, an automated strategy can help present a consistent message in between engaging with your audience.

Think and Act in Small Increments of Time?

Sometimes we procrastinate on marketing because we believe it will take huge chunks of time to accomplish. By creating tasks for ourselves that can be done in smaller increments, things can get accomplished with out the huge time suck. Try spending 10 minutes at the start of your day brainstorming tweets or looking for items to share on Pinterest. This not only helps save time, but it can provide some much needed inspiration for the rest of your day. Try spending 5 minutes at the end of your day on blog post ideas. This can sometimes come easily by reflecting on the day. Spending these small increments of time can really add up!

Engage and Recruit Your Fans?

As one voice, your marketing can only go so far. By engaging with your audience and your fans, you can really experience the power of being a brand. It allows for multiple voices to be communicating your message. Spend time getting to know your audience ? ask them questions and get them involved so they can share their experiences with others. This will start to exponentially raise your marketing game.

The most important thing is to use these tips to keep a consistent marketing presence. Planning is a huge step in making sure that your message is always out there working for you. Hopefully these time saving tips will help you come up with some creative ways to communicate to your customer base as well as keep you focused on your strategy.

Written by Lindsey Tyner, President & Lead Designer of Alt Creative.

Source: http://www.peoplebizinc.com/words-from-a-business-coaching-client-save-time-marketing-your-business/

chris cooley condoleezza rice bill cosby Perry Hall High School us open Hurricane Isaac 2012 bill nye