If you run a business in Gisborne, there’s a good chance your marketing is the first thing to slip when work gets busy. You are looking after customers, quoting jobs, managing staff and keeping the lights on. Posting on Facebook or writing a newsletter lands at the bottom of the list, and then it’s been three months since you last did either.
It’s one of the most common things I hear from local business owners. The good news is you don’t need more hours. You need a rhythm.
Why a rhythm beats a burst
Most marketing falls over because it’s done in bursts. A flurry of posts when things are quiet, then silence when you are flat out. Customers notice the gaps, and so does Google.
A small, regular routine does more than a big effort now and then. It keeps your business visible, builds trust over time and means you are not starting from scratch every time you sit down to do it.
The monthly rhythm
Here is a simple pattern that works for a lot of small businesses, and it fits into a few hours a week.
One anchor piece a month. Write one blog post a month on something your customers actually ask you about. It gives your website fresh content, gives Google something to find, and becomes the raw material for everything else.
One email a month. About a week after the blog goes live, send a short email to your customers and contacts. Recap the blog, add one quick tip and point them back to your website. People who already know you are the easiest to win again.
Two social posts a week. Pull ideas from the blog and from what is happening in your business. A tip, a before and after, a bit of behind the scenes, a happy customer. Short and regular is the goal, not perfect.
One Google Business post a week. This is the one many businesses skip, and it’s one of the quickest ways to help local customers find you. A photo, a couple of lines, done.
Make it fit with a monthly batch
The trick to keeping this realistic is batching. Set aside two or three hours once a month to write the blog, draft the email and put together a handful of social captions based on both. Schedule what you can.
After that, the weekly upkeep is small: a quick Google Business post, snapping a photo or two while you work, and hitting publish. Ten or fifteen minutes here and there, rather than a big job hanging over you.
Start small, then build
If that still feels like a lot, start with just two things: a Google Business post each week and one email a month. Once that feels easy, add social posts. Once that feels easy, add the blog. A rhythm you can keep up is worth more than an ambitious plan you drop in week three.
Want a hand?
If you know you should be doing this but can’t find the time, that’s exactly what Waimata Creative is for. Whether you need a plan you can run yourself or someone to take the whole lot off your plate, you can add a marketing expert to your team as and when you need one.
Get in touch at waimatacreative.co.nz and tell me which marketing job keeps slipping. I’ll help you work out where to start.
