Do you have plans for the weekend?
What are your plans for this weekend?
Are you spending the weekend at home or visiting your mum? ( it’s Mother’s Day this weekend)
Or do you have an event like a dinner party to attend or are you taking a class at the gym?
Most of us know what we are going to be doing during the week and on the weekend a bit ahead of time. You may not have every minute of every day accounted for but you almost certainly have an intention to be somewhere to do something to talk to someone.
Even if they are only in your head, these plans, help give you a framework for your week. Few people, even those retired folk, wake up each day without at least one thing planned for the day. Intentions give your day, your week a purpose. Without any intentions, your days and weeks drift along with no purpose and nothing gets done.
With the above in mind, I have another question for you. What do you have planned for your business this week.? I am sure you have an intention each week for what you want to do in your business; what days are you open, what hours are you going to work, how many sales you would like to make?
It’s the same deal for your online content. Have you got a plan for your online content this week? What are you going to say, where are you going to say it and what format are you going to use? You don't have to know every single detail but having an intention each week can really give your online content a purpose.
Planning for the Week
You could plan out your entire content for the whole year if you really wanted to. But most of us are not that way inclined. The thought of having to plan the whole entire year can be very overwhelming.
When you are in overwhelm you are perilously close to giving up. So what do you do? You go into procrastination mode, you may end up scrolling ( I often called this research ) You end up doing nothing at all and life goes on. The thing is our business is not going to go into meltdown if we don’t have a plan for our online content. But it will also struggle to grow.
If the thought of organising a year of content brings on the cold sweats then know you DO NOT have to do it this way. One of the best ways to overcome that feeling of overwhelm is to break down your task into manageable pieces.
In a previous blog post, I talked about the POWER OF ONE. Having a focus for each piece of content really helps you create your content. You can read more about it here.
Taking that a step further you can create a single focus for your week. Having a focus for the week in your business is a little like planning your weekend. Think about something you want to do, and make a plan to achieve it.
This takes away the “what do I post about today” question. As you have already decided what it is you want to share online with your audience this week.
It could be ONE of a number of things that you want to do to grow your business.
It could be: growing your list with a cool free resource. One that solves a pressing problem for your potential clients.
It could be promoting your next group fitness program. One that encourages people to sign up to reach their fitness goals.
It could be your blog which is about something that really resonates with your audience. One that delivers some really helpful information that you know they need to know more about.
Whatever it is you get to choose. Often choosing is the hardest thing to do. But once you have then you have a focus for your week and creating content becomes that little bit easier.
Focus on ONE thing at a time
If you are thinking, but I want to do all of those things!! That’s Ok. All I ask is that you focus on ONE at a time. Keeping things simple avoids confusion and reduces overwhelm for not just you but also your audience.
Once you have decided what you will be focusing on this week then you can start to map out the plan for implementing it. A plan that ties each piece of your content together. A plan that drives your audience to do ONE action to grow your business.
Each day of the week you can promote your ONE thing in a different way. Each post directs your audience to take action on the intention you have set for the week.
For example, if your choose to promote your group fitness program, you could do the following weekly plan:
Monday: Post a photo of people working out with you in a previous group fitness program
Tuesday: Post text describing the benefits of your group fitness program. You can include who it’s for, what results they will achieve and how they can find out more
Wednesday: Send an email to your list. telling them about your group fitness program and inviting them to join you.
Thursday: Post a video showing people working out with you.
Friday: Do a Facebook Live video with you describing the benefits of the group fitness program. A the end of the video invite people to join you. Give them a date to sign up and a way to buy from you.
Your week is done. You can add more if you want to but this can be enough. You have shown up every day online.
A simple way to make this happen every week is to set aside some time at the end of each week. Make an appointment with yourself, as you would with any client, think about what you would like to do next week.
Keep these things in mind
#1 Set aside some time at the end of each week to think about what you want to achieve
#2 Choose your focus for the week.
#3 Create a schedule for your online content around the days and times that work best for you and your business
Again you don't have to do the whole year, you want to feel confident not overwhelmed. Keep it simple and think about what you are trying to achieve, just for the coming week.
Having an intention for each and every piece of content that you create is the key to getting the results you want. Having someone help you see the big picture, then breaking it down can be what you need to show you where to start.
If creating an online content strategy is something you would love to do for your business but you’re not sure exactly where to start then I would love to help. Simply set up a time to chat here.
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
