With the start of each month, your small business marketing plans should gear up with a plan of attack, with a goal of getting noticed and in front of your customers-to-be.
The following to-do’s tackle a checklist every business owner should be managing:
Newsletter
If you send a weekly or monthly newsletter, organize your content now for the following cycle so you don’t get stuck with content or writer’s block. Your newsletter could include topics such as what’s trending on social media in your industry, where you’ve gone out in the field (presentations, business card exchanges, conferences), personal stories related to your industry or testimonials, expert advice, etc. Don’t forget visuals –high quality photos which keep your newsletter interesting and help illustrate the associated text. And keep the newsletter clean, with minimal copy, short and sweet. It should be 90% educational and 10% promotional (about your business).
Blog
The best advice I have about blogging is to write blogs when a topic comes to mind. I have an eternal Word document just for blogs. When a blog idea is in my head, I’ll type in the idea and a couple of key points, and then revisit it to fill in the blanks when I have the time. The more blog ideas you have written down, the less cumbersome blogging becomes. Whatever you do, keep your blog updated at least 2x/month with current posts. When a potential customer visits your site in February and sees a blog from Thanksgiving, what does that say about your business? Are you going to deliver your services on time and pay attention to detail? Think about the message you send to customers with your online social media all of the time!
Analytics
Take a look at your Google Analytics, Twitter analytics and other social media insights and numbers. For example, if your Facebook page has 1500 people reached this month, shoot for 1750 next month. Or are you going to focus on increasing followers and likes this month? Is this the month to increase your newsletter subscribers? The analytics goals you set will dictate many of your posts in the month ahead. Check your numbers frequently and always look for growth trends. If you notice a downward plunge which cannot be justified (i.e. a holiday break or down time in your industry), pay attention and rectify the situation with some though provoking posts.
Posts
If business is weighing you down with a checklist of its own, then spend only an hour or two at the beginning of the month scheduling your posts. I don’t recommend scheduling them past the next two weeks as you want content to stay current. Otherwise, check google alerts for industry-related content and trends to post on-the-fly.
For example, several of my real estate clients need content. I signed them up for Google Alerts within their field. “Residential Real Estate in Southeastern PA” or “Home Décor Trends” are different ways to get articles sent to their inboxes. These are perfect for Real Estate Agents to share on social media posts!
As your small business grows and you continue to spread the word both digitally and face-to-face , keeping up with your marketing activities are the key to making a high key impact and bringing in new clients!
Cheryl Friedenberg
President, High Key Impact LLC
www.highkeyimpact.com
Feel free to email us at cheryl@highkeyimpact.com with your questions or insights!
