The World Gave You an Extra Hour. 10 Ways Marketers Can Capitalise on Their Bonus Time

There are never enough hours in the day. That’s especially true for marketers. We have content to write, results to measure, social media messages to schedule, and a dozen other demands on our time.

If only we could have a free hour granted to us by arbitrarily mucking about with time twice a year…

That’s right! This weekend is the end of British Summer Time. You get an extra hour between 1 am and 2 am. Granted, most of us will sleep right through it and go on about our day. But imagine for a moment that you are awake, alert, and ready to seize the gift of an extra 60 minutes. How could you use that time to become a better marketer?

Whether you actually set your alarm for 1 a.m. or simply find yourself with an uninterrupted hour at work, here are 10 marketing activities that will handsomely reward your time investment.

1. Take a Call with a Lost Prospect and One with a New Customer

Marketing is more effective the more you know about your audience. That includes those who might buy from your organisation, those who bought, and especially those who chose not to buy. The insight you can gain from two half-hour calls may just cause you to course correct your content strategy.

2. Take a Meeting with Sales

If marketing and sales are misaligned, both departments are missing opportunities to bring in more leads and close more sales. Reach across the divide to ask your salespeople what questions prospects are asking and what content they need to succeed.

3. Find Posts with Good Engagement but Low Traffic

Spend some time under the hood of Google Analytics. You’re looking for posts that have high time on page and shares, but low organic traffic. These posts are valuable but hard for readers to find. Optimize the text and meta tags with the potential reader’s search intent in mind.

4. Listen to a Marketing Podcast

Further your marketing education with a great marketing podcast. There are a ton of excellent marketing podcasts available for free. In one hour, you could listen to two episodes of the Sophisticated Marketer’s Podcast, for example.

5. Find Something New to A/B Test

Take a look at your LinkedIn Advertising campaigns and run a new A/B test. Use these tips from top-performing Sponsored Content in EMEA to inspire your next challenger idea. One oft-overlooked test variable is audience—can you reach a new segment by tweaking your targeting?

6. Refresh a Top-Performing Post

If you have an old blog post that generated a great deal of traffic but has gone stale, take time to revamp it. Add new stats, a fresh visual, and promote it again. Odds are you can connect with a new audience.

7. Spruce up Your LinkedIn Company Page

Keep your audience engaged by giving your page new visual appeal. We recommend changing your header and profile images at least twice a year. While you’re at it, add some rich media; SlideShare Presentations and embedded video can make your page pop.

8. Send a Handwritten Note to a Valued Customer

A satisfied customer is one of your most valuable marketing assets. Take a moment to appreciate a customer that means a lot to your company—that little bit of extra attention can make a big impression.

9. Take Some Candid Photos with your Team

You can use them instead of stock photos on your content for more compelling, more human, less stock photo-y look. If you can’t schedule a professional photoshoot, most smartphone cameras have more than enough pixels to get the job done.

10. Do Absolutely Nothing

Marketing is a creative profession and a stressful one. Stress and creativity don’t often co-exist peacefully. Take time to meditate and un-focus your thoughts. You may emerge with fresh energy and new perspectives.

While it may be a nuisance to change the clocks twice a year, think of this extra hour as a gift. If you can use it well, you can make your marketing more efficient and effective.

Which will come in handy this spring, when the powers that be steal that extra hour back.

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