Though our role is to teach our clients how best to use digital marketing tools to support their businesses and implement strategies to do so, we inevitably learning a thing or two from each and every client with which we work. Stephanie Shalofsky, NYC Professional Organizer of The Organizing Zone, taught us one of these lessons. “Work Smarter, Not Harder!” – it’s an idea that she applies to time management, paper filing, and organizing clutter in the home and office. But it also works wonderfully in the world of digital marketing. Certain tools and techniques can save you time and avoid the inevitable headaches that stem from disorganized digital marketing efforts.

Strategies for Working Smarter

• Establish an Editorial Calendar:

  Taking some time to plan out monthly themes gives you direction to follow, making it easier to write your eblast and blogs each month, as well as to find relevant content to share on social media. It’s never too late to get your calendar together and you can plan for just three months at a time or the whole year at once, whichever works best for you. Either way, establishing a plan in advance is a huge time saver!

• Stick to a Routine:

  Once you’ve created an editorial calendar, set a routine for writing, curating, and disseminating content on a weekly or monthly basis. Maybe you prefer to write all of your blogs at the beginning of the month and then drip one out each week. Or you might choose to write and post a blog each week. Establish a routine that works best for you and then be sure to stick to it. Soon enough, it will become second nature.

• Use News Aggregation Tools:

  Finding content to share on social media can be tedious and time consuming. News aggregation tools like News360 or Feedly can take away much of the legwork. Be sure to research aggregation tools specific to your industry as well to narrow your incoming content even more. Similarly, consider setting up lists of specific users you follow on Twitter, Google+, or Facebook from whom you’ve shared content in the past within your social posting platform. This will help you see at a glance if anyone has posted you want to share, retweet, or comment on.

• Take Advantage of Cloud Based Applications:

  Though technology can cause information overload, it can also be put to work for us, allowing us to save time, collaborate, and capture our ideas as they come to us. Tools like Dropbox provide effortless file sharing and let us access our documents from any machine. Apps such as Evernote mean we can type up ideas that pop into our heads on the train, that the grocery store, or just sitting on the couch in front of the TV and then access them effortlessly when we get back to the office. No more digging through your purse or pockets for notes jotted on napkins!

Do you have any tips or tricks that help you work smarter with your digital marketing? We’d love to hear them!

Still overwhelmed with all your digital marketing? Reach out for a free consultation to see how we can take some of the weight off of your shoulders.