At the start of January we were all full of the best intentions. Let me guess some of your business resolutions for 2019:
Create and stick to a blogging editorial calendar.
Update the “meet the team” page.
Revamp your website from content to design.
Really get to grips with Instagram for business.
Make sure social media is updated every day.
Start sending weekly eshots to clients and customers.
You’re not alone. These were some of the most popular business resolutions set at the beginning of January 2019, and it’s not surprising. Blogging and web content have become vital in the war against Google snubs and ghosting customers. Social media is more central than ever to our targets and KPIs, but it doesn’t get any easier or any less time-consuming. Eshots? Who has time to write, send and then update the data?
I understand where you’re coming from. You know how essential they are – you’ve been to enough workshops and training sessions to understand that – but after all the big stuff, there’s so little time left in the day. It can be difficult to incorporate copywriting and social media into your daily routine.
There are certain little things you can do to help. Here are some of my best cheats and tips I’ve learned along the way that really do help you battle with the never-ending marketing tasks that come your way. Trust me, the work never stops, but the time and resources you spend can be dramatically reduced. What you’re looking for is efficiency, not total ignorance. Are you ready? Let’s begin.
Put an editorial calendar together
It sounds like a lot of work, and when you’re sat in front of a blank spreadsheet, it feels like a lot of work too. It really doesn’t have to be.
Take a look at what your customers will be interested in at different times of the year, and fit your content around what they’ll be searching for. Try to incorporate things like:
- National holidays
- National “days” – if you sell pies and you miss out on National Pie Day, shame on you
- Your busiest months – offer faster shipping deals
- Your quietest months – offer package deals and boost your profile
Schedule your socks off
Once you’ve got an idea of what you’d like to post and when, start scheduling.
A lot of the time this advice is met with “but when have I got time to schedule?” The answer for me is, you set aside an hour or two a week and you blitz it. If that’s not how you work, try to use your down-time to get some scheduling inputted.
Using tools like Buffer or Tailwind can really help you gain traction on your posts too, as they show you analytics which you can then use to better place your posts at times your clients and customers will see them. Smeurt.
Don’t give up
If you missed a couple of days on your social media accounts, or your blog post wasn’t finished in time for your scheduled slot, you feel like giving up. Trust me, I’ve been there.
The important thing is – that’s right – getting back on the wagon. So you forgot to schedule some Tweets before you left the office on Friday. It’s not great, but it’s not the end of the world. It seems like a disaster right now but full disclosure – your followers probably didn’t notice. Make up for lost time by putting some extra hot content on your platforms as soon as you can, and get that ball rolling again!
Never apologise
My golden rule for blogging, social posts or even in eshots is never to send out a blanket apology for radio silence.
If you’ve not updated your blog in a while, write an engaging, gripping post that gets people sharing again. If you’ve let your Facebook page gather cobwebs, dust it off and start as you mean to go on. Do not, for the sake of all that is online, start typing the words “sorry you’ve not heard from us in a while!”
Your followers probably hadn’t been too upset that you hadn’t posted recently. Or they figured you were working on something exciting and were too busy to post. Or they hadn’t noticed until now, right now, and you’ve gone and brought your lackadaisical attitude to their attention.
In my humble opinion, the best thing to do is accept you’ve got a gap in your posts and move on with purpose. Strong bicep arm emoji.
Ask for help
Of course I wouldn’t be doing my job correctly if I didn’t explain that help is out there if you really need it. If you don’t have the time to think about your content, outsourcing is a great option – providing you can find somebody who can really understand exactly what it is you’re looking for.
Again, this is only my opinion, but there are thousands of copywriters out there. Don’t be afraid to search for one who understands your industry, or who really seems to “get” your business, or whose writing you actually like. It’ll be worth the time.
Speaking of which, if you’d like to find out how I can help you tackle your copywriting, social media or web content mountain, get in touch.