When it comes to marketing, it seems like there’s more work involved than ever before. A big part of that is because of the many online components that are getting involved.
Creating new content and campaigns, implementing them, dealing with SEO, PPC, social media. It can all be a bit much. You deserve to have some great marketing behind the business, but you should also think about how to handle it a lot more efficiently.
Make meetings matter
Nailing a good marketing message and getting the value of the proposition across in the most effective way takes some thought. When you’re meeting and discussing with the marketing team, this is where a lot of the meandering can begin.
So, make sure you have not only a structure but a purpose to the meeting. Turn it into a group exercise rather than a sprawling journey with no set destination. Gamify it and create a step-by-step approach to those creative meetings.
Content in a pipeline
If you use content marketing, then make sure the wheels are always turning so that content is being produced more timely without getting rushed. This is all about understanding the three different stages of content marketing and having all three going at once.
Splitting duties between teams or members can help you create a content pipeline. While one member is or team is planning the content, thinking about the value, what it does for the team, and how to best convey it, another member is developing the content that’s already passed that phase.
Finally, a third arm of the team is working on distribution for the last bit of content. Every now and then, the three arms of the team need to get together to brainstorm new ideas and check the metrics on content already out there.
Advertise with precision
Easily one of the most effective means of online marketing is PPC advertising. But testing ads before getting them live, setting budgets and bids, and keeping up with reports can all be pretty exhausting.
But, as these 120 AdWords scripts to supercharge your PPC campaigns make clear, there are a lot of tools to take care of all the difference stages of a PPC campaign a lot easier to manage. These same methods also make it a lot easier to find what works and what doesn’t and how it will affect your budget before you get it out there.
Keep social simple, stupid
Social media can be one of the most time-consuming parts of online marketing. It’s one of the most important means of content distribution you have. It’s also essential to keep communication organic and engaging with anyone following you, commenting on your content, or talking through your channels.
But there are a lot of channels to take care of. Instead of spending time bouncing from one to the other and posting everything live, give yourself some dedicated social media time.
With the right social media management tools, you can organize all channels from a single screen and, more important, schedule your pre-planned content. Automate what you can and let the rest of your social media time be spent on fostering real connections through those channels.
Rely more on self-sustaining methods
They work slower, but the self-sustaining nature of inbound marketing means they need a lot less work than the other kinds. If you simply don’t have the time to keep up with your current marketing plans, then switch to methods like building up your website to do more through search engine optimization and conversion rate optimization.
The methods that help you cut down the amount of time fussing over online marketing are also ways to ensure that you’re making the best use of that time, too. The tips above should have your marketing a lot more effective and efficient than ever.
