Improving Productivity In Online Marketing
The reality of online marketing is it’s an ongoing process. While there may be a date when a big campaign is launched, even once it’s live, the nature of the Internet means that improvements will continue being made to it. Since successful online marketing requires professionals to stay on the ball and avoid the temptation to rest on their laurels, even a small gain in productivity can be significant.
What Makes Marketers Unproductive?
Most online marketers want to be as productive as possible. But for many, there are obstacles that get in the way of them accomplishing that goal. Some of the most common productivity pitfalls are:
Not Starting the Day on a High Note
Many online marketers work on a remote basis. And even for those who work in a traditional office setting, the global nature of the Internet means they may stay up late watching the performance of a new initiative or even making changes to it. The problem with this type of loose schedule is that it can result in sacrificing your sleep. When you don’t get quality sleep on a consistent basis, your overall performance at work will ultimately suffer.
Getting Disorganized
Online marketers have to deal with an ongoing stream of email, tweets and other forms of digital communication. Because they try to juggle so much during the course of formulating and executing marketing strategies, it only takes a short period of being unorganized for things to start falling through the cracks. Taking the extra time to create well labeled and organized files, will save you time in the end as well as the headache of not having the files you need most.
Being Distracted
Because the majority of online marketing work involves sitting in front of a computer screen, with everything just a click away, makes it hard for plenty of marketers to stay focused on what they actually need to get done. Additionally, because sites like Facebook and Twitter have legitimate uses for online marketing, it can be hard to draw the line between work and play. Make yourself a checklist, to better keep yourself on point. Also, keep track on the time you are spending on certain tasks, that way you can pinpoint when and where you lost focus. If you know what’s distracting you, it makes it easier to avoid it.
Underestimating Time to Completion
Although most of us don’t believe it, humans are consistently bad at predicting how long it’s going to take to get things done. This leads to many marketers ending up with too much on their plate. Once that happens, it can be hard to prioritize and make it through to-do lists. Make sure not to sign on for too many deliverables at one time.
How Can Marketers Improve Their Productivity?
Making sleep a priority is the first thing online marketers can do to be consistently more productive. The second is to utilize marketing efficiency tools for organizational purposes, as well as to more clearly define the difference between productive and time-wasting social media tasks. Paying close attention to scheduling and not being afraid to delegate can also significantly boost a marketer’s ability to stay productive without getting bogged down by too many tasks.
If you’re involved in any form of online marketing, what other tips have you found are effective for helping you stay as productive as possible? Be sure to leave a comment so we can all benefit from what you’ve learned!