Submitted by Sabina Hitchen on | 0 Comments
Hello from snowy Brooklyn! In fact, much of the northeast coast of America is dealing with major winter weather activity, and even here in Tin Shingle Town (where we're both based in the New York area) we're in various stages of shut down. This means thousands of business owners are working from home (if they don't regularly already), and some of those people have kids joining them for the day thanks to school closings. But that doesn't mean we don't want to keep moving our businesses and our buzz full steam ahead!
What's a buzz builder to do when unexpected weather - or other unavoidable events - throw schedules off course and force you to shift your energy away from the projects you intended to work on? Try fitting in some of these small but mighty buzz building activities that you can fit into the pockets of time when you're not shoveling snow, managing kids stuck at home or dealing with business issues that were thrown off due to the inclement weather.
Not in a cold-weather climate? No matter - these mini buzz building projects can be used on any day your schedule shifts or your once full work day is broken up by unforeseen events!
Bio Check: This is the perfect time for a cross-platform "Bio Check". Visit the biography portion of all your marketing materials and platforms. This means check it out on your website, on social media, in your media kit, in your pitch or press release templates - everywhere! Is it up-to-date in terms of recent press, social media handles, company news and updates and the overall "vibe" you want it to give off? Could it use a refresh in terms of copy, links or images used? Let today be the day it gets the TLC it deserves!
Play with Your Instagram Link: If you're active on Instagram there's no doubt that from time to time you've seen posts showing off an awesome product, service, article, blog post or opportunity that will lead you to more information if you "click on the link in bio". This type of post means that the person who created wants to lead you to a specific page online so they went into their Instagram bio and edited the link to include not just their website (the usual link that most people use) but instead directs people to a more specific place online.
This helps people who see the link and like what you're promoting or sharing to get access to it immediately, no need to hunt it down. Today could be a great day to try this out. Show off an awesome product, a class you're offering or a page on your website you want to drive traffic to. Make the image you're sharing on Instagram that pertains to it clear and enticing, make the copy that accompanies the post magnetic and let them know that they can learn more by clicking the link in your bio! This is a great exercise in playing around in your Instagram feed, it invites you to try something simple and new, and it's worth the try! Let us know how you "change it up" in the comments below!
Review Your Pitch Templates: If you've ever listened to a Tin Shingle podcast or joined us for a live #TuneUp, you know that we've taught you that every strategic DIY PR pro (and professional publicists alike) have a few pitch templates that are pre-made, ready-to-go and need only to be customized with opportunity-specific information before you send them out. These include email templates for when you answer PR leads, templates for piggybacking on hot topics in the news and even templates for offering yourself as an expert on various stories. Days like these are a great day to open the word documents that you're saving these templates in, and sprucing them up, giving them a once over with a fresh eye, and even seeing if they can be improved! Haven't got these templates yet? Now is a great time to start working on them. Check out this podcast if you need some pitch-creation coaching!
