As a busy small business owner, you KNOW how precious your time is. You’re likely juggling multiple tasks at any given moment and trying to focus on everything you need to do to grow your business. You know that one of those things that needs your attention is marketing, but let’s face it, it’s not really your thing, and it takes A LOT of time. The good news is that you can achieve meaningful marketing results without spending all your time on it, or needing to become a complete marketing expert.
Here are some super smart, time-efficient marketing strategies I’ve learned in my 16+ years as a marketing professional (and solopreneur myself!) that can help you get some quick wins for your business:
1. Harness the Power of Repurposing
The number 1 thing you should know about marketing is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time, because in marketing, repetition is actually necessary. In fact, it’s been said that most people need to see a message 7-10 times from a brand before they remember it and really begin to consider acting on it. So use this to your benefit and repurpose the content you create.
Start with what’s easiest for you. If it’s writing all your ideas out long-form, start with creating a blog post about a topic. Next, summarize and link it in an email campaign to your email list. Break it up into sub-topics and create a series of social media graphics about it, and record it with a trending audio for Reels and TikTok or YouTube Shorts. Hope on your Instagram Stories and talk about the topic more in your own words, and ask your audience what they think. Those are just a few ways you can take one idea and turn it into multiple forms of marketing materials for your business. And don’t forget, you can also re-share what you create in a few months, or at the same time next year – we promise, no one’s keeping track!
2. Leverage Social Media Scheduling Tools and Batching Content
Another thing that’s most likely causing you stress as a business owner is the pressure of social media. You know that maintaining an active presence on social media is important, but you don’t have time to be glued to your phone or computer all day. Social media scheduling tools like Later (my personal favorite), Planoly, or Hootsuite allow you to plan and schedule posts in advance. You can even schedule directly in your Meta Business Suite for Facebook and Instagram if you don’t want to complicate it with an additional tool. Block off some time each week to batch create some content and schedule it to be posted automatically throughout the week to save you the time and headache of managing your social media content day to day. Then instead, you can focus on just spending 10-15 minutes each day ENGAGING with your audience and building connections.
3. Partner with Real People and Aligned Businesses
Collaborating with influencers is a popular and powerful marketing strategy, but it can also be time-consuming, expensive, and a little overwhelming for small business owners. However, there’s still a realistic way you can put this concept to use in your business. Your ideal customers want to see real people enjoying your service or product, so encourage your actual customers to share their experiences on social media. Something simple for them to do is share a photo on stories or their feed and tag you, or you can even enlist your top customers to share a video testimonial or any other User Generated Content. You may be surprised to find how many people want to share their positive experiences and help support your business! If you need a little boost, incentivize your followers to share about your business by hosting a giveaway, or rewarding them with a special discount or early access to a new product or offer.
Another effective tactic you can employ is partnering with other local business owners whose audience aligns with yours. Host an event together, create collaborative content or go live together on social media, link to each other on your websites, or share about each other with your email lists. Working together with other aligned local business owners can be mutually beneficial and exponentially grow your reach with the right people.
4. Create Quick and Engaging Video Content
We all know that video is a highly effective marketing tool, but creating elaborate videos can be time-intensive and often not in the average business owner’s wheelhouse. The great news is short, snappy videos that provide value or entertain your audience often perform just as good as, if not better than, high-production videos. Record clips throughout your day, even in the ordinary moments, and you’ll begin building a library of what marketers and videographers call “B Roll” footage that you can use in many different ways. You can create quick, engaging videos with these clips without being a video pro – simply upload to TikTok or Reels and add some text or a voiceover and a catchy audio!
5. Optimize Your Google Business Profile
For local businesses with a physical location, optimizing your Google Business profile is essential. Your Google Business profile is what shows up most prominently (larger on the right side of your screen on desktop) when someone searches your business on Google. It includes important information like your location, phone number, website link, hours, and customer reviews. Most of all, it helps potential customers find you quickly, and makes your business appear legitimate and trustworthy. Take some time to make sure your profile is set up and complete with up-to-date information, including your address, business hours, and photos. You can even publish timely content to your business profile, like special offers or upcoming events, so be sure to put this to use.
Don’t forget to encourage your customers to leave reviews on your Google Business profile as often as possible. Positive reviews can significantly impact your online visibility, and your prospective customers often turn to other people’s shared experiences about your business when trying to make a purchase decision, so don’t underestimate them!
6. Don’t Be Afraid of AI
Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT are everywhere these days, but you might feel like it’s too “techy” for you to take advantage of. Tools like ChatGPT can actually be pretty intuitive to use and can save you a ton of time and brain power. It’s true that AI text can often read as robotic and can be spotted a mile away, but you don’t have to leave it at that! Harness the power of AI to help you generate and expand on ideas for social media posts, blog and email topics, video scripts and more. Then, you can (and should) put your own spin on it to make sure it authentically captures your brand voice.
Marketing doesn’t always have to be a time-consuming, daunting task. My hope is that by implementing just a few of these time-efficient marketing strategies, you can achieve some quick wins for your business while still having time to focus on what YOU do best. Remember, it’s not about doing everything, but doing the right things efficiently. Take advantage of the tools and tactics that fit your business and schedule, and watch your marketing efforts pay off!
I’m Cristina, and my mission is to make branding and digital marketing accessible and easy for modern business owners.
Smart modern brands evoke emotion, create connection, and drive action, both in person and online. Care Of Creative delivers sophisticated yet simplified branding and digital marketing strategies to businesses with big goals. We’re here to deliver real solutions that drive real results – all while being smart, accessible, and brand-building. Ready to take your marketing to the next level? Let’s connect!