Most small business owners know the importance of a marketing plan and budget. However simple or comprehensive the plan is; however shoestring or well oiled the budget is, time is a precious resource often overlooked. It makes a difference in the ability to implement a strategy, execute tactics, and evaluate results. Time, it leaves many a chief cook, bottle washer, and marketer up a creek without a paddle or up late at night burning the midnight oil. This post includes a collection of tips, tools, and life hacks to help you spend your marketing time wisely.
Seth’s Blog
Before you spend a minute or a dollar on marketing, perhaps you could answer some questions: Who, precisely, are you trying to reach? What change are you trying to make? How will you know if it’s working? How long before you will lose patience? How long before someone on your team gets to change the mission?
Small Businesses Spend 20 Hours Per Week on Marketing
How much time do you spend on marketing each week? If you spend 20 hours per week on marketing your business, on average, then you’re not alone. So do other small businesses, according to a recent survey by Constant Contact. For many, the extra effort has paid dividends across several metrics.
Small Business Marketing-How Much Time?
Small business marketing is not for the faint of heart! Not only does it cover a wide range of topics, but it can leave you wondering how much time do you really have to spend to be effective?
Marketing Process: You Need to Do Every Step At The Right Time
A while ago we had a client who was at a fairly early stage with their marketing efforts. They had basically no traffic, no social media followers or fans to speak of and just a handful of email subscribers. Their blog was a mess and barely readable.
How Much Time Do You Spend Marketing in a Startup?
Often I go out and speak with small business owners and entrepreneurs who are bootstrapping a new business. Whenever we get to the subject of marketing, someone will invariably ask: “How much of my budget should I spend on marketing?” In a bootstrapped startup, I think the better question is: “How much time should I spend on marketing?”
Infographic: Email Is Eating More of Your Life Than You Think
Sending emails can make you feel like a lovestruck middle schooler-when should you send the note? Have they read it yet? Should you send marketing-related messages before lunch? (Okay, maybe not that last part.) Thankfully, Boomerang, a browser extension that allows people to schedule emails, released an infographic that reveals some secrets gleaned from analyzing 5 million emails.
6 Small Business Social Media Ideas To Market Your Business
Resources and time are small business owners’ personal demons. Supporting this fact is a Bank of America survey where small business owners voted to say that running their businesses was twice as stressful as handling relationships with a spouse and three times as stressful as raising children!
How to Allocate Your Time Managing Social Media
Just because social media never sleeps doesn’t mean that social media managers don’t have to. In fact, there are probably some overworked community managers out there now that could use some rest. In order to free up the time to catch some shuteye, you’ll need to know how to effectively spend your time on social media marketing.
15 New Social Media Templates to Save You Even More Time
Imagine having a quick and fast way to get up to speed with social media or to get your work done in less time (and with more confidence). When I’m in a pinch or into something new, one of the first places I turn is toward a template.
18 Life Hacks C-Level Leaders REALLY Use to Save Time – Heinz Marketing
According to Fearless Selling’s article 10 Things Sales People Need to Know About C-Level Decision Makers, Kelley Robertson says chief exces have “…at least 40 hours of work on their desk at any given time and upwards of 150 emails every day.” For some execs these might be understatements.
In Search Of Lost Time
No time to read the article? Then just consider this: At a recent meeting with a senior marketer, I mentioned I was writing an article on managing time in the workplace. She thought it was a great topic, as she felt that she was not making best use of her time to focus on the important things.
Just how important is it to spend your marketing time wisely? Consider the following facts.
- 62% of small businesses are investing 4% or more of their revenue on marketing.
- 56% of small businesses use digital marketing combined with 44% using traditional marketing channels.
- 54% of small businesses outsource graphic design and website development.
- 12% of small businesses outsource marketing, public relations and advertising.
Reported by engage2connect.com. Read the entire article here.
- The top 10 marketing tools used by small businesses include email (54%), website (51%), social media (48%).
- 45% of small businesses use social media to sell to potential customers.
- Most small businesses (37%) use designated business social media accounts to reach their publics.
Reported by Wasp BarCode Technologies. Read the results of a 2016 survey of small businesses here.
How do you spend your marketing time? Feel free to share your experience in the comments section of this post.
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