My 5 Methods to Avoid Procrastination, Stick to the Script, and Build Your Presence.
I’ve been meaning to write a detailed article on this for months. There are so many entrepreneurs and business owners who realize that digital marketing is important. However, they usually don’t find the time to do it. With thousands of features and platforms available in 2022, you might be overwhelmed by the possibilities out there. It’s also hard to decide what would work for your business. This is both because results are often hard to measure, and the fact that they usually take years to become evident.
The benefits of building your brand online have been proven time and again, so letting it sit is a waste. The biggest problem with this approach, however, is that unless you have an efficient system in place for keeping your channels active, it is a massive time-eater. You probably don’t have that much time. Over the years, I’ve developed multiple systems that increase efficiency and allow me to spend less time marketing, while achieving similar (or better) results.
1. Build Up the Photo Mindset
There’s a common enemy we face: content creation. One of the most significant factors holding us back from consistenly distributing our work online is the lack of content. It is both hard to come up with ideas, and to actually produce what we commit ourselves to produce. I have realized that those who have constructed a certain switch in their brain don’t struggle with content as much. I’ve mentioned this idea to others many times; it’s called the ‘photo mindset’. I know that not all content is in the form of photography, but a lot can be explained through photo posts. I’ll develop methods for other types of content later in this article.
The Photo Mindset: the urge to take out your phone and capture anything that may be of use when building your online presence.
The topic of habits is something that has gone viral in 2021, mainly due to James Clear’s bestseller “Atomic Habits” (a great read). The Photo Mindset is basically a habit; it’s a recurring action that you have to develop. Learn to take photos of everything you come across. Just because you take a photo doesn’t mean you HAVE TO use it. Give yourself an unfair advantage by making the most of digital cameras and the possibilities they offer. If you end up not using the content, you can just delete what you have and move on. However, a large portion of my content comes from daily interactions and captures of those moments.
How it saves time: you’ll always have a base of content/inspiration
How you can apply it: you’ll come across interesting matters in your business on a daily basis. Whether they are photos of your products, production process, or interactions with clients; it’s usually content that can be helpful. If you work at a physical location such as a restaurant, there are even more opportunities.
2. Keep a Notepad on your Phone
I don’t know if it happens to you, but I come up with ideas at the most inconvenient moments. Either when I’m really busy with something else or when I simply can’t put the idea into action at that time. For that, I have a dedicated notes section on my phone where I write down what I come up with immediately. This is important
If you don’t note your ideas down immediately, it’s likely you’ll forget. If you do write them down, when it’s time to create content you’ll already have a list of ideas!
Usually you can even link multiple ideas together to create a great post or even a blog article. What also happens from time to time is that I can divide one idea into an entire week’s worth of content. Users’ attention span is very short, so it’s usually a good idea to separate complex concepts into multiple pieces of content. That’s what I wanted to do with this article, but I realized that it’s just easier for you to have it all in one place.
Make your notes as detailed as possible, but concise. Keep it short but also provide reasoning for those ideas. I’ve often written things down that made no sense a week later, simply because I lost the thought process behind it.
How it saves time: you’ll be able to develop a plan without having to store it in your mind. When it’s time to post, it’s less likely that you’ll face a mental block.
How you can apply it: download a simple note app (or use a built-in one) and write down anything that comes to mind during the day.
3. Make a Schedule
I know. It’s hard to sit yourself down and write this plan. If any of you need some help devising a plan that improves accountability, feel free to respond to this article. I’m happy to do a Zoom call and give some first-hand advice.
There are some important factors to consider when making your plan:
- How many times a week do you want to post?
- How many pieces of content can you produce per week?
- What days will yield the best results?
Usually I advise people to post, at the very minimum, once a week. Between 2 and 4 times is adequate. If you can post once a day or more, even better. Very few of us manage to do this though.
It’s important that before comitting to a plan, you confirm that it is achievable. If you overestimate the amount of content you can produce on a weekly basis, you’ll fall behind rapidly, and then you’ll eventually give up on the plan altogether. This is what we’re trying to avoid.
How it saves time: You won’t have to decide what and when to post throughout the week. A plan gives you accountability and makes is easier to stick to building your digital presence.
How you can apply it: the next time you have 30 minutes available, sit down, grab a piece of paper, and sketch out what your plan will look like for the next 4 weeks. See what works, and adapt if necessary, not because you feel like procrastinating. Stick to the script, people!
4. Batching your Content
I’ll keep this short, because it relates very directly to the aforementioned methods. For those who struggle with the idea of preparing a post, writing the caption, and uploading it on your social channels; this may work.
Batching: producing a week’s/month’s worth of content in advance, with the intention of saving time in the long term.
While it takes some time to do this at first, you’ll save a lot of small amounts of time down the line, enabling you to spend more time on the other aspects of your business.
5. Outsource your Social Media Marketing
Sometimes, you just don’t have the time. It happens to a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners. There are many digital marketers out there who you can outsource to. Both on platforms such as Fiverr and with digital marketing agencies. However, please take into account that if you also need others to create your content, you would usually be looking at a very high monthly fee.
So, regardless of the path you wish to take: stop procrastinating, start walking.