The power of templates: Speeding up your marketing

Many of our small business community members tell us how they'd love to do more with their marketing, but just don't have the time or budget.

Good marketing relies on good planning, and one way to streamline and enhance this entire process is by using templates. Here are two of our favourites, from our business.connected programme:

• Digital marketing plan template: Helps you gain a clearer understanding of your target audience, the key messages you want to get across in your branding, and the types of content you'll create for your customers.

• Content calendar template: Stay organised and never miss a deadline with this customisable template. Perfect for planning your content strategy and boosting productivity.

Benefits of marketing templates

Here's why these tools are game-changers:

1. They save time

As a small business owner, you're often juggling a number of responsibilities, leaving little time for planning and executing detailed marketing strategies.

Digital marketing templates provide ready-made structures for various tasks, from social media posts to email marketing campaigns. This saves time, as you don't need to start from scratch every time you create a new piece of content.

2. They keep branding consistent

Consistency is key to building a brand people recognise. Templates make sure that your marketing materials keep to your brand's visual and messaging guidelines, making your business appear more professional and trustworthy.

With a consistent look and voice, customers are more likely to remember your brand.

3. They support your strategic planning

With something like a content calendar template, you can plan your marketing activities in advance. By mapping out your content schedule, you can make sure you have a steady stream of posts, blogs and promotions that align with your business goals.

This strategic planning helps avoid the last-minute scramble for content and ensures that your marketing efforts are cohesive and timely.

4. They allow for better collaboration and accountability

If you have a team of staff, templates make it easier for everyone to stay on the same page. With clearly defined tasks and deadlines in a content calendar, everyone knows what they need to do and when.

This improves teamwork and helps keep everyone accountable, which leads to more efficient and effective marketing.

Other templates to use

• Business plan template: Create a document you can use to outline your small business's goals, strategies and ways of operating.

• Marketing plan template: When you have an exciting and achievable vision for your business, it's much easier for customers, the press or investors to get behind you.

Free video training, exclusive offers and workshops

The business.connected hub is a free online training programme of workshops, webinars and e-learning modules designed to help businesses go digital and adopt new technology. Take me to the hub now