It’s All About the Plan
You no doubt have a few favourite TV shows you like to watch regularly. And even though, thanks to your PVR, you don’t need to watch them at the time they originally air, you know exactly when they are on and when you’ll be able to look for them in the queue.
There’s a funny thing about a regular schedule. When you know when to expect the things you like, you actually start to look forward to them. And when they’re not there you take notice.
What does this have to do with marketing? If you’ve been haphazardly creating content without a regular schedule, you could be missing out on this very powerful phenomenon. When you choose a schedule, and remain consistent with it, you’ll see the benefits much quicker than if you were to continue down the path without one.
Why is a Regular Schedule Powerful?
Just like a TV show, you’re able to promote something specifically. For example, you can tease across social networks about what’s coming up in your latest blog post or email newsletter. This allows you to generate interest and warm people up for the bigger conversation you’re planning. When you think in this way your marketing becomes more focused and engaging by nature, which is exactly what works in the social media space.
What Tools Should you Include on a Regular Schedule?
Let’s take a look at the top four social media marketing platforms and the bare minimum you should post to them, and then adjust to achieve more from your marketing.
They key is to choose schedules you can stick with. If the following suggestions don’t work for you, adjust as necessary. But be sure to commit to whatever schedule you choose.
- Post to your blog at least once a week, same day, same time. You may want to experiment at first with the exact times to see how your audience responds.
- Send an email to your list at least once a month. Experiment with days and times, and then stick to something consistent.
- Update your Facebook Page status at least once a day. Experiment with the different times to find out when you get the most engagement. Be sure to review your Page Insights to see what content people are interacting with the most.
- Update your Twitter status at least three times a day. You don’t always need to create the content you share. Find interesting links from those within your industry, and include a comment with your point of view.
Isn’t This Going to Take a lot of Time?
At first you may need to allot yourself a bit more time, but once you have your schedule outlined, it’s faster and easier. Thanks to tools like HootSuite you can schedule updates in advance to both Twitter and Facebook. NutshellMail makes it easy for you to monitor and respond to questions and comments from an email that gets sent to you on a schedule you choose. And of course, you’re able to schedule your emails and blog posts to go live whenever you want them to.
Start thinking about a schedule for your marketing. Then you’ll be on your way to creating fresh content that helps you get and keep more subscribers, more readers, more fans, and more followers!
For additional tips to help drive your business success, visit Constant Contact’s Learning Center or attend a local seminar.