Year-end is less than two months away. Stop these three bad habits to accelerate your momentum moving into the new year.
1. Stop Googling the same question
It wasn’t that long ago that companies had bookshelves of binders that documented business practices, procedures and instructions. These written records catalogued everything from everyday tasks to annual reviews and year-end activities. And forms: lots and lots of forms. There was a definitive written process for everything.
Sounds painful, right? While government entities, large corporations and certain industries still have their share of regulations and cumbersome paperwork, for many businesses today, the notion of such process documentation is utterly incomprehensible.
But was there some kernel of wisdom in those old-fashioned practices?
Think about how many times you’ve Googled the same issue, scrolling through results, clicking links, scanning content and returning to the search results …. until you find the specific information you’re looking for. When it’s so easy to “just Google it,” we can get complacent about the need to retain information.
The next time the question arises, it’s another online search. This approach wastes time, invites distraction and derails momentum. And the absence of a set process makes consistency a lucky — rather than requisite — result.
In a prior blog post, we advocated creation of process documents to avoid the negative impacts above:
Just because a task seems simple doesn’t mean we’ll remember how to do it the next time. Invest time to detail the steps for activities that are performed repeatedly; then save the document on an accessible shared drive. These process documents streamline future efforts and save mental energy for new learning and strategic thinking. Even better, they serve as a quality control department, providing a systematic way to help recall steps, sequence and details — whether you do the work or defer to others.
2. Quit ignoring your marketing data
Discipline at year-end translates to increased effectiveness and productivity the following year. Use your marketing data to inform future direction. Review your website analytics, analyze the effectiveness of each marketing channel and consider changes in platforms, tools and systems.
Website referral sources
Which social channels are referring traffic to your website? Once visitors land on your site, how long are they staying, and what content are they exploring? Which of your social channels are the most productive (and is it time to walk away from some)?
Explore referral sources for other sites sending traffic to your website. Look for social channels which you are not actively using, email marketing sites, media links, organization websites and posts from publications or colleagues. Remember to acknowledge any meaningful referrals – both directly and publicly – and seek opportunities to repay the favor with a relevant backlink or social mention.
Email marketing effectiveness
Is your email marketing generating website visits? If not, review recent marketing emails to be sure you’re including links with compelling calls to action.
Especially at this time of the year, there’s a lot of competition in subscribers’ in-boxes. Are you offering subscribers to ability to select which email lists they subscribe to? Shorter recipient attention spans demand content that is relevant and targeted. By catering your content to subscribers’ interests, you’ll generate better results.
Recent changes for Apple Mail users impact open and click rates, and may require changes in your email marketing tactics. Watch our video on five ways Apple privacy protection is impacting your email stats (and what you can do about it).
Social media stats, including video
Are you using a disciplined process to welcome valued new followers, acknowledge social mentions and engagement?
Today’s version of breakfast has evolved from coffee and a muffin to coffee and a newsfeed scroll. If you took the time spent scrolling through your social newsfeeds for one week, and reinvested it reviewing that platform’s analytics, you would gain valuable insights that can be used improve your effectiveness. Monitoring and acting on engagements is central to informing your future activity.
Facebook’s Creator Studio includes an evolved scheduling and analytics platform with data including drill downs on video performance and engagement type by post. A simple integration with Instagram is available, providing the ability to post in both platforms simultaneously. However, be sure to dig in to your stats by social platform, as best practices vary by platform.
Have you jumped on the video train? Video “reels” are a hot trend, but as a business your goals should be more than just likes on social platforms. Are you including calls to action to drive followers to a specific offer or asset? YouTube cards and end screens enable viewers to explore additional relevant content and nudge them down the funnel to conversion.
3. Stop chasing squirrels (and side-stepping your to-do list)
First things first, every single day. Easier said than done. “Squirrels” are everywhere, and they clamor for our immediate attention. Our reliance on digital technology also makes us prey to a plethora of distractions.
Honoring a to-do list is not an easy task, as pop-up notifications, app alerts and other distractions relentlessly interrupt our concentration. The need to refocus your brain on the intended task after each interruption increases stress and anxiety, reducing the ability to focus and further impacting productivity.
As shared in our post about adhering to priorities, the strategy I find most effective is a ranked daily to-do list. When I create the list but exclude the priority rankings, I consistently find myself avoiding the day’s most important task, focusing on quick hit items, realizing late in the day that I haven’t accomplished the most important tasks on my list.
Productivity experts recommend focusing on one thing at a time. Breaking down large projects into manageable pieces that can be accomplished in a single sitting. Removing distractions (start with email preview pop-ups, social media notifications and news alerts).
To accomplish your priorities with the least amount of angst may require a difficult shift.
