How to Help Your Marketing Team Work Smarter Not Harder

Consumers’ needs and preferences are ever evolving. They expect brands to be there for them 24/7, answering their needs and fulfilling their wants. These expectations go beyond providing solutions, seeping into how the brands represent themselves online and on social media. Consumers’ favorite brands are anticipating what is fresh and are always on the cusp of the next best thing.

For marketers, these demands can seem relentless. And yet, in order to stay relevant and noteworthy, marketers today need to not only meet but exceed consumers’ wishes. On top of this, marketing budgets are being cut left and right because of the economy. As a result, many marketers today are feeling the pressure to be continuously on their A-game. 

In order to save your marketing team from burning out, the key is to help them work smarter, not harder. This means looking for ways to streamline their workload without compromising on their output. As a leader or manager, it’s up to you to find these solutions and assist your team in reaching new heights without driving them into the ground. Here are some tactics to consider. 

1. Automate What You Can

First and foremost, automation is the name of the game. Thanks to new technologies and platforms, automating your marketing needs has never been easier. Of course, a new platform isn’t meant to replace your team or do all of their work for them. Rather, think of these tools as levers to put in place and make use of them when your team is feeling particularly strapped. A tool can be utilized to enhance your team, taking some of the burden off their shoulders. 

As an example, think of all the messages your team receives on a regular basis from your consumers. There is likely some repetitiveness to the queries. A supplement company may get asked whether their product is gluten free. A tech company may be asked what other applications or software tools can integrate with theirs. Answering the same question over and over again isn’t a smart use of a marketer’s time. If you were able to automate your responses, your team would have more time working on more strategic tasks. 

This is where marketing automation tools can be advantageous. These types of tools can handle communications with your consumers and clients without requiring too much legwork from your team. These all-in-one platforms will save your team time as they sift through and monitor consumer interactions through one cohesive portal. Within this same interface, you can pre-schedule messages in advance, deploying them ahead of new product launches or system updates. And by leveraging templates, drafting up promotional SMS texts or personalized email blasts doesn’t have to be a big to-do.

2. Delegate Responsibilities 

As your team begins to work toward automating, it’s also a time to really consider who on the team is responsible for what task. Everybody adds a distinct value to the team. Someone may excel with creating snazzy social media posts while another teammate works well with coordinating efforts with sales. No matter if your marketing team is a size of two or twenty, it’s advantageous to delegate responsibilities appropriately. 

Your marketing team’s main responsibilities will vary based on your industry, your company’s goals, and your current structure. That said, take a look at all of your team’s current duties and divide them up into categories. Ask your team what types of projects excite them most, acknowledging where they’ve proven success in the past. Getting your team’s buyin on what they are going to work on shows that you want them to be happy and thrive in their role. 

Delegating responsibilities ensures every member of the team knows what is on their plate and lessens the chance for double work. Be on the lookout, however, for someone that rises to the top time and time again. Giving one team member a bulk of the work isn’t going to be good for morale. Redistribute tasks as needed knowing that there will be times when the entire team’s efforts may be needed to reach a deadline.   

3. Make Content Go Further

The pressure to come up with fresh, engaging content day after day can be exhausting. Even the most dynamic marketing teams will eventually hit a creative wall. And in today’s world, your audiences are likely not seeing every type of content that you’re putting out there on a regular basis. Attention spans are shrinking thanks to social media and smartphone addictions, meaning a majority of content being published is going unnoticed. 

This isn’t to dishearten you, but rather prove that repurposing your content is a way to make it go further. Content repurposing is the idea of taking one piece of content and adapting it for other channels. A good use case is a custom created video featuring one of your brand’s influencers. For this, you’ll likely be creating a two to three minute video for your site. Instead of ending there, you can edit this longer version down to a few 10 to 15 second clips for social media too. 

From a single day of production, you’re left with a handful of usable posts that you can push out and distribute across various platforms. Content repurposing is a winning strategy that is highly efficient, reducing the need to always be in a creating mindset. Additionally, it can really drive your brand’s message home to consumers, enhancing overall brand awareness and loyalty. 

Takeaways

Working smarter, not harder is all about efficiency. While multitasking may seem like the obvious answer, it’s not always the best solution. Instead, think of how your team is currently completing tasks and find ways to simplify their processes. This may look like finding a tool to automate some of the manual work for them or assigning tasks to particular team members.