Marketing in Minutes

Published On - 07/07/2011

Leslie Silverman SEO, Social Media, Social Networking for Business
online marketing consultant ct

Got a Minute? Make it Work to Grow your Business

Let’s face it: most of us procrastinate on the big and difficult tasks that are important but not really “urgent.” How can we get past this hurdle? By practicing Marketing in Minutes.

It can be hard to set aside time for things that really do build business, like developing a marketing plan and actively networking. So many other pressing things distract us, right? And the task can seem monolithic – until you break it down into a few minutes a day. Here are three ideas to really leverage your time.

10 Minutes a Day: Socialize

Carve out ten minutes every morning to check on Social Media, and make this time sacred. See who is doing what that is interesting, or who moved where that could become a new referral source. Send a quick response to people’s status updates, and you’re helping to stay top of mind when referral opportunities arise. If you’re a business owner, use this time to also check out your online reputation. Respond to any problems, and make note of opportunities.

5 Minutes a Week: Strategize

Break big tasks, like developing a marketing plan, into smaller, more manageable components. Excel spreadsheets are great for this. Think of the sense of accomplishment you’ll get from checking those individual parts off your To Do list! Do a Start, Stop, Continue analysis to get yourself started. Dedicate just five minutes a week to brainstorming about which marketing items you should start, which are not bearing fruit that you can stop or alter, and what’s working that can continue or be built upon. List as much as you can under each category in just five minutes a week. By month’s end you’ll have created the beginnings of your marketing plan. Now that you’ve gotten started, creating the plan won’t feel like a roadblock. You’ll probably find yourself feeling excited about getting the rest done, and putting it into action!

3 Minutes a Week: Publicize

Every week, add one idea to your Editorial Calendar, and use it to drive both outbound and inbound marketing. Keep a log of ideas for blog posts, and also use that idea to generate a page of fresh website content. Then update your status on LinkedIn to send people to it.  Tweet about it. Even send out a press release if it’s appropriate. By the end of the month, you could have four new blog posts, four pages of fresh website content (SEO optimized, please!), an active stream of posts and comments, maybe even the contents for next month’s email newsletter. And it all started with setting aside just 3 minutes a week to brainstorm.

Spare 2 Minutes

The three ideas above will take up just 58 minutes of your time spread over the course of a week. Got 2 more minutes to spare? Make it an even hour:

  1. Connect with a new contact on LinkedIn.
  2. Email an existing customer you haven’t heard from in a while, and reconnect.
  3. Google your competition.
  4. Pick up the phone and ask a colleague for two potential referrals.
  5. Comment on a complementary blog to enhance your presence online.
  6. Enter a networking event on your calendar.
  7. Add a photo to your Google Places listing.
  8. Send a real, old-fashioned hand-written note to thank a colleague for a recent favor.
  9. Invite a prospect to lunch.
  10. Think of your top three clients, and brainstorm on cross-selling opportunities.