How to Keep Your Content Marketing Flowing Through the Holidays

December is the busiest month of the year for many businesses, with holiday shopping creating a surge of sales and end of the year reports piling up. Plus, wouldn’t it be great to spend some time with your loved ones? Making sure you’re staying consistent with your content marketing is the last thing on your list. But, it might just be one of the most important.  Keeping your content marketing consistent is essential to retain and grow your relationship with your customers. Especially during the holiday season, when new and returning customers are more open than usual to making a purchase. And with these simple tips, it’ll never fall to the wayside again.

It’s nearly Christmas, and all you really want is a nice glass of eggnog (or maybe something a little harder).  Your blog hasn’t been updated since October, you were supposed to post on Instagram this week but you forgot, and you know your email list has nearly forgotten you.  You know that content marketing is important, but there’s never enough time. Especially this month.

I’ve been there. I know content marketing can be a pain. But I’ve found that consistency is key, and the holidays are not the time to slack. And I want to share some simple tips to help you manage your content marketing better this holiday season. Let’s dive in:

Plan ahead

It seems like most advice starts with this, doesn’t it?  Well, there’s a good reason.  Before you’re already in over your head, take some time to plan ahead for your busy season. Taking some time a few months before the holiday season to consider your content marketing goals can take a lot off your shoulders in the long run.  Sure, it might seem like it’s too far in advance, but the holidays approach faster each year. Plus, with holiday content marketing kicking into high gear right after Thanksgiving (and sometimes even before), it pays to get your content marketing ducks in a row sooner rather than later.

Create a content marketing calendar

You don’t have to pay for a fancy subscription to keep your content marketing in order.  Simply use an online calendar such as Google Calendar (if you have a gmail account, you’ve got one of these!).  Take some time at the beginning of each month to plan your content marketing for the next few weeks.  Use this to create a schedule for when certain types of content will come out.  Scheduling your content marketing will help you share a flow of content that’s reliable and steady.  Plus, every time you update something on your website (like a new blog post), Google re-crawls your site and gives it a new (usually higher) ranking! To plan your content marketing as effectively as possible, post content and send emails when your target market is typically on their phone or computer.  Want to keep things extra organized?  Try out color coding different types of content on your calendar.  This way, you can know from a quick glance what your content marketing goals for each week are.

Take advantage of post scheduling software

Now that you’ve got your content marketing plan neatly organized on a calendar, it’s time to get it out to the world.  When it comes time to post content on social media or your website, use scheduling software and apps such as Planoly to schedule your posts.  Choose images, write captions, and have your hashtags ready to go in advance. This can save you time by allowing you to take care of all your content marketing for a week or two in one session. Plus, you’ll be able to see what your social feeds will look like before you post, allowing you to plan long term content marketing and stay on brand with all of your posts.

Simplify with automated email campaigns

Email marketing is one of the most effective content marketing tools you can use. It has an average ROI (return on investment) of 3,800%. With odds like that, you know it’s important to keep your emails running smoothly. Using automated email campaigns is a great way to ensure that you’re not missing out on the email marketing magic when you get busy. Setting up automated email campaigns such as a welcome email sequence or abandoned cart sequence will ensure you connect with your customers right when you need to. Scheduling monthly newsletters or content marketing campaigns through automated emails is another surefire way to stay connected and consistent with your existing customers.

Streamline with content that’s usable on multiple channels 

Instead of coming up with ten different content marketing campaigns, use content that’s diverse enough to share on many different marketing channels.  A great way to do this is through your blog.  Sharing an appropriate and interesting piece on your blog is a fantastic way to update your website, boosting your SEO and bringing in new eyes to your page from Google.  Once it’s posted, share your blog with existing customers with an email.  Then, capture some of the main points from your piece of content and share on social media (eye-catching statistics and quotes make great Twitter posts!).  When you take the time to produce quality content marketing, you’ll want to share it. And your audience will want to see it!

Hire a professional copywriter

Sometimes, handing content marketing all on your own is simply too much.  Especially when it’s not really in your field of expertise. If content marketing is taking too much of your time and effort, it might be best to call in some professional help.  By hiring  a professional copywriter, you can ensure that your content marketing is taken care of- consistently.  Plus, with the help of a professional, you’ll get high-quality content that’s SEO optimized and error free, ensuring that your brands voice is clear and reaches as much of your target market as possible.

Curious what a professional copywriter can do for your business? Schedule a free consultation.