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Creating quality content when you don’t have the time

By Danielle Mellema, Chief Ghostwriter, Digital Content Manager

At the end of January, the relatively calm, quiet days of the week between Christmas and New Year’s seem like a distant memory. With a rested mind and body, refreshed vision, and clarity on your personal and professional goals, you hit the ground running, but now you’re figuring out how to make progress on those goals in the midst of all the things calling for your time and attention.

Here’s how you can keep chipping away at cultivating an online presence that reflects who you are and where you’re headed, even when other things feel more urgent and you’re chronically short on time:

Keep it simple.

Could it be that you’re over-thinking this a bit? We get it. You don’t want to waste people’s time with cheesy or mediocre content on your website or social platforms, and the idea of constantly promoting yourself makes you want to close all your accounts and swear off social media forever.

When it comes to building your brand, something is better than nothing.  Here are a few ideas of content that is meaningful, customizable, and takes next to no time to share:

  • Share a quotation that guides or inspires you.

  • Post a photo of a fascinating book that you’ve been reading and ask for people to share their thoughts.

  • Support a colleague by sharing an interesting piece they wrote or sharing one of their posts with your connections.

  • If you’re more of an off-the-cuff comment than a writerly sort, record a one-minute video sharing thoughts on a news story that is getting a lot of buzz in your industry.

  • Ask a question.

  • Share a funny, beautiful, or inspiring photo.

  • Spotlight a news story that features the good work of an organization that you support.

Schedule it out.

Your digital footprint doesn’t have to take up brain space every single day. Try out a social media scheduling app (there are loads of free or low-cost options), set aside an hour on your calendar, and hammer out your content for the week or the month. Batching this task allows you to focus and get into the right mindset instead of trying to find five free minutes to post something or update your website when it randomly crosses your mind.

Ask for help.

Maybe you’ve got a brilliant strategic mind and loads of vision for your online engagement, but struggle with implementation. Or perhaps it’s not engaging online that is the problem (you’re energized by the connections you’re making!), but finding direction and focus on the kinds of things you share.

Either way, finding a personal branding professional and putting your heads together can help! From strategy to finding the right kind of online content to help you reach your goals to implementation, we’re your gals. Reach out to learn more.