If I told you I could help you be more productive and get better at getting customers through the door, you’d be interested, right?
Well, it might be time to clear a spot in your day to read. You know, close those extra tabs and cut out the distractions.
No time, you say? Yeah, I figured.
I know that, as a small business owner, you’re probably trying to multitask way more than you want to right now.
Just as a word of advice, I’d stop trying to multitask. Click To TweetDon’t believe me? Believe them.
But I get that you’re busy and you probably don’t have time to add more to your day.
You have to stop axing marketing from your to-do list., though.
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Obviously Not Marketing Your Business Isn’t An Option
I’m guessing you want your business to grow, otherwise, you’d have closed the doors already.
That means you can’t avoid marketing your business.
Listen, there are tons of marketing myths out there.
One of the killers is that you don’t need to market your business.
You can’t survive purely on word-of-mouth alone.
Yet, may think they can, which has a lot to do with the fact that 70% of businesses can’t survive a decade.
It’s really a death wish for your business.
Unless you want to wind up one of that 70 %, you’ve got to market your business.
Market Your Business In Less Time
So how do you fit marketing into your already busy schedule?
For starters, if you quit multitasking, you’re going to free up some time.
That’s going to give you a starting point to build a strong marketing strategy that will help your business expand.
In that free time, your best bet is to learn a few ways to maximize your time creating marketing content.
Thankfully, there are a bunch of great ways to do just that.
And that’s what we’re going to get into today.
Learn Quick Techniques To Market Your Business Faster
One of the most important things about marketing your business quickly is to understand that some exposure is better than none.
While all the lead gathering pieces are something you definitely want to have long-term, you have to start somewhere.
That somewhere should be what we call top-of-the-funnel content.
These are initial interactions that start to engage your target market.
Typically small pieces of content that begin to create early trust and value, much of this marketing component can be done very quickly every day.
Start with some really basic stuff that can take minutes a day.
From there, learn to master the art of conversing with your social media audience. Click To TweetGet good enough, you can do it live.
Certain things, like participating n Facebook groups or sharing reviews, take very little creativity on your part.
That makes them perfect to do in those minutes between tasks.
As you get really good at creating small pieces of content that get people talking, you can start to expand what you do.
Some things you can do quickly to increase your brand awareness and market your business quickly:
- Post a candid workplace photo on Facebook.
- Share a great review of your company.
- Offer check-in and referral discounts.
- Share a link to great 3rd party content related to your industry.
- Do a Facebook Live feed of something interesting or entertaining happening at your workplace.
- Share helpful, inspiring, or entertaining images and videos on Instagram
The list really goes on from there.
You’ll notice that most of this quick marketing revolves around social media.
That’s because you’ll need to reach out to where your customers are already at.
By itself, social media can be a great way to raise awareness.
However, over the long term, you’ll find yourself spending more and more time to get the same results if it’s all you’re doing.
You’ll eventually need to start expanding your marketing.
Market Your Business More From The Same Content
Once it’s time to expand your content, you’ll want more out of it from the time you spend.
That’s a big deal for someone as busy as you.
Look, obviously the first step is to learn to create content the best way you can.
Yes, that does involve investing in some real-time. Neil Patel has tips to help you keep the time down.
But that’s still a good 2 hours that you’ve got to dedicate to your content.
Clearly, you want to get as much from that as you can.
Thankfully, microcontent is a great, quick way to do that.
You can learn to take this long-form content you’re now producing and break it down into smaller chunks for social media.
In most cases, each piece of microcontent will take minutes to make.
Using the correct software, you can preschedule all of your social content for the day, week, or month, too.
That means you can spend fewer overall days with your content occupying space in your mind. Click To TweetHere’s the gist of what you need to do:
- Examine your long-form content for standalone knowledge.
- Compile a list of quotes, facts, and small sections of content.
- Select your content format (pick what’s most appropriate for your content channel).
- Create a stunning image or interesting video to match the content.
- Schedule it to post on social media with a link back to the main content.
This process of breaking down marketing content is absolutely great for maximizing the work you put in.
Content god Gary Vaynerchuk put together a SlideDeck sharing exactly how he does this very thing to massive success.
The main thing is figuring out how to stretch that main content effectively, so you can get great results from it.
If you can, your single opportunity content expands to hundreds of opportunities.
Do The Hardest Things First
Let me break the marketing- and content-specific advice for a minute to offer some general productivity advice.
If you’re strapped for time so bad that you can’t market your business, you need to do some things differently.
It’s going to apply when you start doing the things we’ve been discussing, too.
Ever heard the phrase, “Eat a live frog every morning”?
It’s something Mark Twain is credited with saying.
Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.
– Mark Twain
Obviously, Twain didn’t mean one should literally eat a frog.
He was referencing the idea that you should handle your toughest tasks first thing in the morning.
It would make the rest of the day easier.
Back then, it was based on his own behavior and experience.
Now, science backs the idea.
Turns out that in the first 3 hours of waking you have better focus, more energy, more mental clarity, and greater willpower.
That means you’re most productive when you first wake up, even if you still need a cup of coffee to get moving.
So, from now on, I want you to think about the one thing you’d like to get done every day.
What exactly do you have to do that, if it’s all you did, you’d be satisfied with your day.
No, winning the lotto doesn’t count.
Figure out your one thing for the day and do it first.
Go After Guest Bloggers
If you’re into maximizing your time, another great option is to enlist guest writers for your blog.
Guest writers can take some time to court.
There’s even an effective process for it.
It’s one of the smartest blogging strategies we’ve ever talked about.
One of the great things about the courting process is that it helps you get the word out about your business, so it isn’t wasted time.
Once you’ve got a list of influencers you’ve built a relationship with, you can find out who is willing to produce content for your site.
It’s a great way to get exposed to a new audience. Click To TweetBut the big thing for you is that it’s a great way to get content for your blog without spending the time yourself.
We’ve employed the ideas a few times.
Aside from easy content and more exposure, guest bloggers have a whole other set of experiences and input they can offer your audience.
Ultimately, they’ll add a ton of value to your content that you may not be able to add on your own.
Just make sure they benefit from producing content for your blog.
If they don’t, you’ll lose them.
Having others take on some of the workloads is a great way to leverage time in your favor.
Hire An Agency To Market Your Business
The most effective way to leverage time is with dollars.
If there is just no way that you can spare the time to market your business, a marketing agency is your only answer.
Handoff the task of promoting your brand to an experienced, reliable digital marketing expert.
The right agency will handle everything for you.
They should be able to handle:
- Blog content
- YouTube video
- Graphic design
- Lead capture
- Email marketing
- Retargeting
Yes, this avenue will certainly cost you more money than the do-it-yourself route.
But the reality is that you can’t afford to not market your company. Click To TweetIf you’re that strapped for time, you’ve got to make room in your budget for it.
If you don’t find either the time or money, your business is finished.
Did I say that already?
Look, working with an agency doesn’t have to be scary.
There are some really good reasons to let the pros market your business.
But the biggest benefit is the ability to get back to the other bazillion things you have to do.
Marketing Your Business Is Life Or Death
At this point, you’re well aware that you need to make marketing happen.
It’s time to make that decision.
How do you make it happen? How do you find the time?
By taking advantage of the strategies and ideas above, you can get the word out about your company.
But that time is the key factor.
You’ve got to really take a look at what you’re spending your time on.
Sometimes what we’re doing isn’t productive for our companies over the long term.
Sometimes we’re outright wasting time.
I know I’m guilty of that every now and then.
Take an assessment of how you spend your time.
- Are you engaging in activities that are an outright waste of time?
- Is there anything keeping you busy that isn’t really productive?
- What tasks can you delegate to the rest of your team?
- How much can you afford to put off until the marketing is done?
- Where can you condense the time it takes to complete tasks?
- Are you in a spot where marketing needs to be outsourced?
These are all questions you must ask yourself if you’re not currently marketing your business.
I can’t stress enough that you need to make marketing happen.
It’s going to decide your business’s future.
