In this week’s digital marketing newsletter: – The best social media/content strategy starts today, otherwise it’s too late – How to start your personal brand content machine – Giving yourself space to hear what your instincts are telling you
This week a new employee started on my team. In the frantic lead-up to their first day I was scrambling through all my on-boarding documents, processes while also making sure they’ll have work to do while I spend half my time in meetings. By last Friday I was so thankful we’ve had such a focus on documentation.
I know I’ve harped on this a lot in this newsletter (and anywhere else you might be following me), but documentation is so critical. Instead of reinventing the wheel when anything new comes in, we have a massive archive of documentation to pull from. This is both personal and professional for me. Having an idea, thinking “I think I wrote some notes about this before” and then finding the notes is such a great feeling.
So, if nothing else, I hope I’ve encouraged you to at least write one thing down today and file it away for your future self.
On to this week’s marketing highlights…
Things aren’t going backwards
A couple weeks ago I gave a talk about social media not being a magic lever. That you can’t just decide to jump in and expect results when you’re ready. Gotta start building it now.
Heard from a lot of people that either said, A)Their customers don’t use it or, B)Its not for them.
There’s thousands of mid-20’s to mid-30’s that know how to use social media. That know how to integrate technology and communication into their growth strategy, and they are grinding to catch you. When you decide to not use it you’re essentially saying you’re hoping it doesn’t catch up to you before you retire.
Luck Is NOT a Strategy | WeeklyVee 002
How I do it
If you want to start building your content machine, whether it’s personal or professional, the best way to get started is documenting everything.
One of the things we fall down on in marketing is letting events, tradeshows, and even user generated content fall through the cracks. Then months later we’re brainstorming what kind of content we can create for social, newsletters, etc.
For personal brand there’s a simple trick. Take pictures. A lot of pictures. You don’t have to share what’s happening on the same day. Document, take notes, take pictures and then later in the week build out a content calendar.
Personally, I keep a weekly notes doc. Then, for an hour or two on Sunday to schedule everything out. The real secret is to document everything. Take pictures of everything. Write notes (daily morning notes work for me).
It’s like you’re there
Events are such an easy way to increase social engagement, regardless of channel. Whether you’re going to the event or just watching from home, it’s easy to get started.
Instead of focusing on what content to create from an event, think about how you can engage others who are there. If you’re there, it opens opportunities to connect with more people and branch out. If you’re not attending you have an even bigger opportunity to connect, learn and share.
How to Leverage Social Media For Industry Events
One of my favorite places
Last Saturday I got up and went for a hike. Went by myself so I could have some time, some space, to let me think about some big projects I have coming up (both personal and professional). This is one of my favorite trails. It’s near my house and has an amazing view of the Superstition Mountains.
This is a spot I go to frequently. Some of my best ideas I’ve had have come from staring at these mountains.
I try to disconnect a few times a week so I can be alone with my thoughts, no tech distractions. When I hit this trail this last weekend I realized how many little steps I’ve taken to get to this point. I have some big decisions coming up, being in this spot helped put things into perspective.
Start small, keep going. You’ll never know how far you’ll travel unless you just start.
Give yourself space | Get Better Friday
In the last Get Better Friday I talked about trusting your instincts before making a big decision. Solely using data isn’t the always the best answer to decision making. Ultimately, you need to be happy with your decision and the way to do that is to listen to your instincts. In that post I discussed two ways you could gauge your instincts.
- Flip a coin, imagine the coin is a person you trust and the outcome is their answer.
- Interview your future self.
But, in order to have these discussions with your inner monologue, you need to give yourself space. Real quiet time. Time away from distractions, notifications and interruptions. In this Leadership in Marketing insight I issue you a challenge. Sometime this week, get away from your desk, your laptop and your phone, and have a moment to just be with your thoughts. No music, no podcast, nothing. Just you and your brain. Then, start asking yourself questions.
I’d love to hear how this went for you. Contact me or leave a note. What was it like? What did you talk to yourself about? How could you do this on a routine basis?
Let’s chat!