Structure doesn’t mean you’re a bore!
September 24, 2017
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” Dr Seuss The brains in your head give your body the directions it needs to take you where you want to go. You just have to know where it is you want to go and how you need to get there. With so many things to manage simultaneously, you’re going to need a structured environment in order to make sure everything is getting done. Here’s a few tips on how to add a bit more structure – this is the how:
1. Give everything its time
It’s really important to structure your marketing efforts around time. For example, your marketing cycles need to have a beginning, middle, and end; your goals need to be time-oriented; and your efforts need to be balanced between creating cool stuff, measuring its progress, and analysing the results.
2. Structure doesn’t mean rigid
Marketing is just as much about flexibility as it is about structure. Yes, you absolutely need to have a marketing calendar, but make sure your calendar includes lots of time to size up your marketing efforts while still identifying your strengths and weaknesses.
3. Establish teams and roles
If you haven’t already done so, work on establishing structured teams for each marketing task on your calendar, and then also establish defined roles for each member of the team. If you are working with an outside marketing agency, the same rules apply.
4. Decide what tools you are going to use
You need tools to measure progress, communicate with your team, and record observations. It will be much easier to maintain structure if you keep all of your communication in one place and if you have a designated spot to store things like content and visual assets. Stick to consistent procedures so that everyone is on the same page and you avoid administrative errors. Communication is key.
Some software tools I would suggest:
- Slack – Internal Communication
- Asana – Project Planning and Team Management
- CoSchedule – Marketing Calendar
Need a plan? Let’s chat. Contact Roxanne