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Increasing Efficiency for your Small Business Marketing

“I want to step up my marketing, but I don’t have time”. Sound familiar? So many business owners, particularly small business owners, understand the need for marketing and they know the value it brings, but simply don’t have enough hours in the day to get stuck into it. Creating content, designing posts, writing content, posting, reporting, the whole lot – it’s no wonder many small businesses find it hard to get their teeth in!. Thankfully, though, there are ways to get your brand name out there without spending too much of your precious time. Let’s have a look at three ways to improve your marketing efficiency…

Social Post Scheduling

The development of programs and apps that help manage social media platforms means that posting content, once a fairly involved and ad-hoc task, has now become a more streamlined and efficient process. Apps like Loomly, Hootsuite and Sprout Social allow you to create and schedule posts well in advance of when you want to publish. They also offer integration of different platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn), giving you the functionality to post the same content across platforms as you see fit, or tailor your posts depending on the channel. Reporting through these apps also allows you to see the impact your social media posts are having on your audience, including how many people are seeing and interacting with your posts, their demographics, and much more. Explore which platform works for you (many offer a free trial), and see the time savings roll in.

Marketing Calendar

Looking closer at the point above, getting ahead of the game in terms of the content you put out is the key to stress-free and efficient marketing. Rather than taking on the task of trying to come up with something every couple of days and posting it to social media, take a little extra time at the start of the year, month, or week (whatever works for you) to outline for yourself what your upcoming content will look like. Think about the things coming up in your business; events you’ll be running in a few months; dates of interest; holidays; or anything else that’s relevant to your audience – and find the right place and time to release it. Your marketing calendar doesn’t have to be over-complicated, either. Simply developing a spreadsheet into a calendar with places for different platforms, with room for dates and times, is plenty to get you started. Over time, as you grow your marketing capabilities and reach, your marketing calendar grows with it, where you can make it as complex and detailed as you feel comfortable.

Curate Where Possible

Another way time-poor business owners can improve their marketing efficiency is to curate content rather than create it. Especially when it comes to social media, sharing, retweeting and reposting are powerful ways to engage with your audience (and sometimes other audiences), and has the added bonus of taking significantly less time than making content yourself. As a matter of honesty, it is always crucial to ensure you correctly reference the source of your curations, recognising the work done by someone else to put the content out there in the first place. Also consider the relevance and appropriateness of this content to your audience – does it say what you want to say? Does it align with your own brand image and values? Does it conflict with anything you’ve posted in the past? Give some thought to these points before co-opting external content for your channels – adding value and staying in touch with your audience is the goal no matter where your content originates.

As technology develops and your own marketing ability increases, not only will you be able to make your marketing better, you’ll also need less time to do it. Diligently posting, curating, evaluating and reporting will help you make better marketing decisions for your small business and turn time spent on marketing activities into real leads and customers for your business. If your business is in need of a brand health check, enquire now for your free initial consultation via our website, or call 08 9301 2200 today.

written by:

Ben Hart

Ben joined the McKinley Plowman team in 2017 as a Marketing & HR Assistant, after completing a Bachelors degree in Marketing & Management from the University of Western Australia. Ben has since stepped up to the role of Marketing Manager and oversees the marketing activities for MP+ and many of our clients.

Ben enjoys helping clients take their businesses to the next level with thoughtful marketing strategies, innovative solutions, and timely reviews to ensure great outcomes. When he's not in the office, you'll find Ben playing football (soccer), watching it, or reading about it.