Struggling with balancing summer holidays / family / running a business and social media?
It’s the summer holidays for many – so as a business owner, how do the school holidays effect your business life – and how do you work your marketing around the holiday season?
Getting to the summer is an achievement, many looking forward to a well-earned summer break with the family, however this does and can have repercussions on your social media channels if you’re not careful in the planning stages.
We talk about this so much, and probably sound like a broken record, but having a content plan and calendar really does help get your marketing organised so you can see clearly, laid out in front of you, what you need to do and plan how you’re going to do it. A content calendar helps you plan ahead for as long as you need; planning campaigns, showing gaps, or just placing content strategically over a time period.
So, if you’ve got to the beginning of the holidays and you’re struggling to think how you’re going to manage your social media while you’re off on your hols – NOW is the time to get it all in place so you can enjoy a few weeks of calm and fun.
And do you know what? Customers understand that August is holiday season. Most people are accommodating when they’re communicated to effectively. It’s when communication drops, that people lose trust in a brand. If you’re out of the office for a week or two, stick it on your email out of office. There’s nothing worse than a customer trying to get in touch from something they’ve seen on social, and then don’t receive a response from their email. A gentle out of office lets them know that they’re valued and you will be in touch as soon as you return.
You’re allowed to have a holiday!
It’s ok to take a break!
Don’t feel guilty and like you need to be working on your business 24/7, 365 days a year. It’s not realistic and it’s not healthy.
What is realistic is that you create great systems which help you to be productive and efficient when you are working, to cover for the times that you are not.
Get started on content planning
>> Grab a blank piece of paper, split it into 7 columns wide and 5 rows deep and write down the dates for the next month in each box, like a calendar.
Now you’re ready to plan, plan, plan.
#1 – start with what you know
Start to write in the content you know you need to share over that month.
Don’t make it complicated, you don’t have a whole load of time to get beautifully designed graphics prepared or perfectly worded copy written up. If you’re doing this last minute, make it as simple and easy as possible.
#2 – inspire others
Next, find some meaningful quotes and inspirational verses that you could share – make sure they will resonate with your audience.
#3 – get the conversation started
Why not try some light-hearted content that will fill in some of the gaps? What would make your audience laugh or smile? Pick some of the awareness days which fall into the month and create content around those.
#4 – curate content
Lastly, look for articles which have been written by other people that will work well for your audience – curated content. This maybe be blogs which you’ve recently read, or publications that you know are good for your readers.
All these things together can fill up a whole month’s worth of content. Once it’s all written on the calendar, it’s time to put it into action and use your favourite scheduling tool to get them ready.
#5 – schedule
** We only recommend tools that we have personally used – we suggest any of the following:
If you can isolate a day, or break it up into bite size chunks you can manage, you’ll have your holiday season covered in no time across all your social channels.
Hey, don’t sweat it though. If you have left it to the last minute and really don’t have time to think about all things social – we can do it for you! Plus we’ll be around to manage all the community engagement too if you’d like us to 🙂
… Connect with KJP Creative – just drop us an email with some details about you and your business and we will be in touch.
Happy holidays – And enjoy the sunshine!
