Do you find it a struggle to market your business? Not because you don't want to but your day to day life just takes over.
As a small business owner you certainly aren't alone if you do feel that way. As a marketing consultant my advice for you would be to create a marketing plan and allow that to guide you through the busy times. But if you don't feel ready for a formal plan there are still things you can do to keep marketing when you are busy.
Is lack of time for your marketing a problem?
Whatever is keeping you busy, the feeling of being short on time is the same. It leaves you feeling stressed, needing to fire fight, and generally stretched too thin.
One of the first things to go when people are busy are the things that will get them more work in the future.
Marketing is a critical activity for all businesses but especially when it is just you doing everything it can feel very tough indeed.
What can you do to keep Marketing?
1) Get really focused
Social media marketing particularly can be a time drain. But it really does help to get new business by maintaining a profile.
My advice to you is to decide in advance what you want to do on social media before you get on it.
Have your post topic decided, get your creative ready, post, add it to stories, and then spend 5-10 minutes commenting on other peoples material. Then leave. Social media marketing will grow to fill the time you allow it, so yes, be social but remember it is only one part of your marketing mix.
2) Prioritise
Where do you get most of your new business enquiries from?
If you don't know the answer to this, you really need to work on your marketing processes because it is critical information.
Once you know, focus on maintaining this element of your Marketing.
For example, if you get most enquiries though Google then make sure your website is kept up to date with new content added on a regular basis.
Google rewards websites that are regularly updated with better SEO.
3) Create a schedule
If you know that your local Facebook group allows one promotional post per week on a Thursday, make sure you get it in your diary.
It takes less than 1 minute to respond to a thread with your latest blog, or other marketing messages. Just be organised.
Know where you can advertise for free and when. Of course with more time you should definitely be engaging on a more regular basis on the group, but you don't have time right now.
The good thing about marketing is you can scale it up or down, but when you come to a grinding halt it is incredibly hard to get back to it again.
In terms of work, it can take people 2-3 months or longer to get in touch with you even after they have seen the service you offer and know they need it. So coming to a stop now will affect your workflow in the next quarter.
I really hope this helps you to feel like there are still Marketing actions you can take in less than 20 minutes per day.
Thanks for reading
Shona
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If you would like a book of 100 Marketing Tips written just for small business owners then do have a look here. I wrote this book to be easy to read cover to cover or to be kept as a reference to dip in and out of!
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About Me
Shona Chambers Marketing is a Marketing Agency based in SE London. Specialising in helping Small Business Owners and Freelancers with their Marketing.