Earlier this month, the groundhog did not see his shadow and told us Spring was only 6 weeks away, but Mother Nature has a different idea! To all my friends and clients who are looking forward to better, sunnier weather, I’m with you! That groundhog lied to us this year!
Let’s talk about 6 weeks from now – that will put us around the end of March. We’ve had Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day, Mardi Gras is in full swing and St. Patrick’s Day is coming soon. That’s a lot of opportunity to pass you by! But if you start now and plan out six weeks of marketing strategy to get your business going by the time Spring truly arrives you will be so far ahead of your competition all they’ll see is your dust. How do you do that? Let me show you how!
Sorry Meghan Trainor, But It’s All About the Schedule!
First, pull out your calendar for February and copy one for March too. Take a look at the things you have going on for the next six weeks in your business like events, tradeshows, special pricing deals or networking opportunities. Add these to your calendars on the dates they are scheduled.
Roll Up Your Sleeves And Get In The Trenches
Next, decide what days you want to reach out and touch your customers. Whether it is through a direct mail piece, social media marketing via Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, email marketing, blogging relevant information or advertising. I recommend doing some of each so that all your bases are covered. After you have decided what you are going to do, then add those promotions to your calendar on the days that are appropriate based on your events. For example, if you are planning on reaching out to your Facebook connections with a special deal, make sure that you are promoting this well in advance and are scheduling reminders along the way until the deal is over. You can event create an event and promote it on Facebook.
Send Out Invites And Stick To Your Calendar
If you are inviting your customers and connections to an in-house event, make sure you schedule when to send your invitations, when to post it to your social media and when you are going to send out reminder emails. By creating and sticking to your 6 week calendar you will be more likely to follow through with your plans than if you were to just pull dates out of the air and try to fly blind with your promotions.
Free Is The Price For Me
Utilize free online resources to pre-schedule your email blasts and social media interactions to save you time and effort. Post your PR story to self-publishing sites like on APP.com or Patch.com. Add your event to any website that allows for free calendar postings APP.com has one, so use it! Instead of watching TV at night, set your DVR and use that time to create your content for each week.
By giving yourself the gift of a little time pre-planning you can reap the rewards of your efforts by Spring. Commit to taking the next 6 weeks and working at marketing your business and you will see the results of your marketing. In addition, you might just have some great campaigns that are award worthy!
I’m looking forward to the Shore Builders Association FAME Awards next Thursday, February 25th and can’t wait to celebrate all of our Fabulous Awards in Marketing Excellence with clients and colleagues next week!
Find out how I can help your company create an Award Winning Marketing Strategy.