Christmas decorations have been in shopping centres for about a month; the silly season is ramping up. Magazines are calling out for products for gift guides and journos are looking for content to tide over their publications through the holidays.
The media doesn't stop for Christmas and neither should your business. People still want content to inspire them and learn from. The holidays are a great time for many in small business to plan their next quarter, reassess what has worked and to get smarter for a better year in business.
Unfortunately, so many just stop putting out marketing and PR. STOP. Cold - leaving their business in a content void. WE all want a break over the summer, but should it be at the expense of your brand's profile? It takes a long time to build a profile and reputation, but very little for it to become irrelevant.
By putting in the work now, you can have a holiday AND your name in lights. It just requires planning. So, to ensure you're cruising while others are snoozing, package your business for those looking for you over their break by:
While you're lazying around the pool over Christmas (pretending you're not doing any work), make your life easier by having a library of media call out responses ready to go.
Spend time brainstorming possible story ideas around your industry/niche that relate to: Christmas, end-of-the year, New Year resolutions, returning to school/work, family relationships, finances, health and wellness, sport, relaxation, organisation, rejuvenation, and similar-type topics. Perhaps keep them in a Dropbox or cloud folder ready to cut and paste into the SourceBottle response so you're not spending too much time crafting a response from scratch. With less competition you're more likely to be successful.
Like everything in life, after a while our content gets tired and needs to freshen up. And we're all so busy being busy, we often forget to stop and acknowledge the wins and successes along the way. Won an award, written a book, spoken at events, had some huge client wins etc? These victories need to be showcased on your website, LinkedIn profile, SourceBottle Expert Profile and anywhere else people look to find out more about you. And don't forget your profile pic! There's nothing more "inauthentic" than meeting someone still clinging to their photo from 1997. People change. (Pictures need to too!)
When is the best time to do your blogging and social media content? NOW! Set aside a day to write eight blogs ready for December and January. While you're at it, repurpose those eight blogs into social media content (Canva is a great tool to repurpose – think infographics, memes, inspirational quotes) and schedule, so you can set and forget. That way, there's always something promoting your business out there...even if you're really just sucking back tequilas on the beach.
If you have any Christmas promo or timely product/story, now is the time to be pitching it to the media, as they're preparing their summer holidays stories now!
Aussies love the summer holidays. It is a time to relax and catch up with family. It seems that by the time we get to December, we start s l o w i n g down and shutting things off 'til the new year. Unfortunately, you can't afford to do this with your marketing and PR efforts, as you lose traction and consequently cut through and impact. Leave it for a while and rest assured that someone else will fill the gap (pushing you aside).
These techniques, while requiring a bit of sweat in the short term, will lead to lazy Sundays over the silly season so you can be recharging for an exciting and fruitful year ahead.