Getting bored at home? Think you’ve got nothing to do? There are lots of things you could be using this time to do that will benefit your business tremendously, and ensure you’re in great shape to hit the ground running when the global situation improves…
If you’re anything like us, then there are probably a number of things you would like to improve about your business and the way you operate – if only you had the time… Well, now you do! Investing time in these things now will not only put you in a stronger position once business picks up again, but will also ensure you are using your time productively. Achieving goals and completing projects you’ve had for a long time, will contribute to your happiness in such difficult times, through a sense of accomplishment and control over your time.
We’ve listed five areas of business that it might be worth casting your eye over…
1. Website and email signatures
Are the contact details on your website up to date? How fresh are your images? Your testimonials? Your client list/references? The description of your business and the keywords you use? Do you have a blog/news/updates page? If not, why not – you could use this time to add one! If you do have a blog, how often do you post, what types of content do you post? Could you be adding more? Do you have any video on your site? Are all of your social media channels linked and directly obvious on the site? Does it answer all of your FAQ’s and drive people to action? Now is a great time to sit and critically review your website, and maybe ask others to do the same for you, then look at making changes to take your site to the next level and get people’s attention now while they’re spending their days online.
2. Social media channels/profiles/contacts
Do you have an active social media presence? Do you have personal and company accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? Do you need to create any of these? Do your bios or profile pictures need updating? Do you post regularly? Do you have a strategy with set times, dates, themes? Have you been measuring your success and using it to develop that strategy? Do you know what your most engaging content types are, and the most active time for your audience to be online? Do you schedule content? If not, you should be researching and investigating best practice now so that your channels are all set up, optimised and supporting the community during these difficult times.
3. Social media content
This will require a bit more thought during lock down. Without having the ready supply of images and video provided by attending events, visiting venues, meeting new people and generally engaging with the world around us, we have to think a bit harder about this. Take the time to check out your competitors, peers and clients – who is doing it well? Who is not? What do people seem to respond to? Look further afield for inspiration and ideas – what types of content are people sharing? What kind of pictures and videos could you be creating right now from your own home? What content could you be sourcing from your community to share and support others? You have the time and space to research, investigate, plan and create, so take advantage of it!
4. Database and push content
Do you have a database? Where did your contacts come from? Have they opted in? Are all the email addresses, job descriptions and phone numbers up to date? If you don’t have a database, start compiling all those business cards together now, along with the contact details from people’s email signatures. Make sure you are connected to your business contacts on LinkedIn and following them on Twitter. If you already have a database, go through it and clean it up, make sure it’s all up to date, add all new contacts. Reach out to them all and see if there is interest in some kind of newsletter/emailer and if they would like to opt in. Make sure your first email shot to do this is engaging so that they can have a taster of what they’re going to get. Plan out future communications – what the theme of each will be, and what content will be included in each mailshot.
5. Creating a specific target lists (of clients, influencers, media)
It’s not just your mailing list you need to create/develop/clean. Do you have an up to date list of media contacts in all of your target publications? All of the information is available, it can be time-consuming to research but hey, you have the time now! Are there any influencers you could work with? Do you have a current list of their subject areas, contact details and more? Use your time wisely and start pulling these together, reach out to them and start cultivating a genuine relationship.
These are just a few of the areas that we will be looking at ourselves over the coming weeks. Are you sure you’re happy with each of these yourself? Do you have anything else to add? Is your business really running as efficiently as you would like? Would you be ready to jump if regular business were to resume tomorrow? Please do let us know what else is on your list, and if you’d like any support, advice or ideas on any of the topic ideas we’ve shared here…
