Whether your job entails Marketing full time or you own or manage a small business and you have been tasked with upping your social media game, trying to fit social media marketing into your busy workday can feel overwhelming. The good news is that you don’t need to spend several hours per day on this effort. With a simple system, you can create useful content in small pockets of time while you’re already doing your job. Gathering content and creating a plan is the largest part of the battle, and we’re here to help!
A 5 Step Plan for Easy Social Media Marketing:
1. Set Aside 15 Minutes to Plan Each Week
- Decide on a few posts to focus on each week. You can get ideas from content you already have on your website, FAQs, industry news, employee milestones, customer reviews and more.
- Use a content calendar to keep yourself on track so you don’t forget your plan when work gets too hectic.
- Identify upcoming promotions, events, projects and seasonal topics so you can get ahead of the game.
Ideally, you’ll really be setting yourself up for success if you can create this weekly plan a few weeks ahead of time, but in the beginning, you may be planning and posting in the same week. And that’s okay. Getting into the habit of planning and posting is the most important step. Try to work ahead if you can when you begin this process and in no time, you’ll find that you aren’t doing everything last minute.
2. Capture Content While You’re Already Working
- Don’t wait for the “perfect” opportunity to gather your content. Another invaluable habit is being prepared to capture content on the fly, even if it isn’t in your content plan yet.
- Take photos and short videos throughout the day to form a library of files that you can pull from at a moment’s notice. “Future-You” will definitely be thanking “Current-You” for being prepared!
- Show employees, projects, products, customers and behind-the-scenes moments. Ignore the grumbling that often comes along with this task. Your co-workers will get used to it and will often participate. Of course, respect those who can’t or choose to not be on social media. And don’t forget to ask people who work in the field or in other offices to help support the cause with their images and ideas, too!
Social Media Pros are always poised with a phone or camera in hand, ready to get content they can use from every angle. You can train your brain to remember to do this and you’ll no longer leave the luncheon or the meeting or the product delivery thinking, “Darn, we should have taken a picture.” Frequently requesting content from other departments and employees will help to get them thinking about this marketing strategy, too, so don’t be shy!
3. Turn One Idea Into Multiple Posts
- One customer question → a Reel + graphic + Story. Honestly, you can say the same thing in each post, just put them out in different formats. This is a great way to test different formats as well.
- One project → before/after + behind-the-scenes Reel + finished project post. This one takes a little planning because you must capture content from the start. But, when you do, you have interesting and engaging content to share along the way.
- One blog → several social media posts. Make each point from your blog into a separate post and you’ll find that your content calendar fills up quite quickly.
This is probably one of the best tricks of the trade. Instead of having to dream up new posts and constantly having to be creative, using one idea multiple ways makes better use of your time. It also helps to get the point across to people who consume content in different ways. Some people on view Stories. Some people love before/after posts. Some people only want a video with sound. So yes you can use the same information multiple ways and no, most people in your audience will not feel like it’s too much.
4. Schedule Your Posts in Batches
- Spend 30–60 minutes scheduling content for the week or month. Using the planner tool in Meta is so helpful but there are many ways to preschedule using 3rd party apps as well. Be sure to review how the posts show up though, so you don’t get weird formatting that you’re not able to control.
- Avoid stopping what you’re doing every day to create a post. Plan your time, stick to it like an appointment and then stop when the time is up. Use that time wisely by creating similar type posts all at once, i.e., all graphics one time, videos another, etc.
- Leave room for timely or spontaneous content. This goes back to getting content while you are working. If an employee gets an amazing compliment or someone has a great question or your product is near selling out, etc, you’ll want to be abe to think on the fly. It’s more fun that way!
Focusing on your social media management as a segment of your job is the best way to be efficient and effective. You could plan for a half hour each Friday to review and respond to comments, Mondays could be for posting and Wednesdays could be for creating. Whatever works for you so that you actually do the task is the best schedule to use.
5. Spend a Few Minutes Engaging
- Respond to comments and messages. Engaging with your clients is a sure-fire way to keep them coming back. A so-so post with lots of questions and comments beats out a beautiful post with no one viewing it every time.
- Like and respond to customer interactions. If you can’t check your social accounts throughout the day, as we’ve said above, schedule a particular time to glance at comments and respond. Sometimes you audience is letting you know there is an issue with your website or check out process, so it’s good to stay in the loop.
- Ask questions and participate in conversations. If you do post something that is purposely asking for commentary from your customers, be prepared to respond as quickly as possible. You don’t want to ask a question and then ghost everyone.
- Social media shouldn’t just be a broadcast channel. Your posts are an extension of communications from your company. You don’t want to set it and forget it. If you just shouted into the abyss about a new product and then people had questions about sizing or usage or when it will be available and you don’t respond, they will move on to someone who will respond.
Engaging on social media goes both ways. You want to keep the conversation flowing. Don’t worry if you can’t get back to everyone immediately but always get back to them. Even if it is a simple Thank You or just liking their comment. In this age of AI everything, human interaction online will always win you a few customers.
The bottom line is that social media doesn’t have to become another full-time job when your current job already fills the hours. The key is creating a simple system that fits into the way you already work. And if even that feels like one more thing on your to-do list, that’s where a marketing company can help. We can help you with something as simple as a plan to follow, we can create your social media posts for you and we can help you use social media marketing as part of a full-funnel approach to growing your business. Reach out with any questions you have or to schedule a social media marketing consultation.
Don’t have time to plan, create and manage your social media? That’s exactly what we do. Green T Design can help you build a social media strategy that keeps your business visible without taking you away from running your business.
