Love it or hate it, technological advances have made big changes in how businesses are run. Everything from online reviews to social media and new tools have changed the landscape from how things were done even 5 to 10 years ago.
In light of this, how can you use the powers of technology to make things easier for yourself? In today’s post, we’ll be covering 4 simple ways to automate your business operations and take work off your plate.
#1. Schedule your content publication.
If you operate a blog or a website where you publish content like articles, automating your content calendar is key. It can help you post consistently without having to be at your computer at the precise publication time.
Plus, having a consistent publication schedule is a great way for your audience to know what to expect from you and can help you stay on track with regular content.
To schedule your blog posts or articles, use the scheduling feature available in WordPress and other website builders. You should be able to choose a date and time for your post to go live.
#2. Schedule your social media posts.
Depending on your business type and model, you may rely on social media to connect with prospects, drive awareness of your offerings, and stay top-of-mind with existing customers. But constantly having to come up with things to post is time-consuming and not terribly efficient. Plus, remembering to post when your audience is most active on social media is added work!
Instead, plan and schedule your social media posts in advance, so that you can automate its delivery.
Nowadays, there are plenty of free social media scheduling tools to choose from. My personal favourite is Later. It lets you set a posting calendar with your ideal posting days and times which makes it much easier to see your schedule at a glance. I use it for Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. For Instagram, there’s a phone app that alerts me every time I have a scheduled post. I can then easily open Instagram and post it when it’s time.
The Individuals – Free plan includes up to 30 Instagram posts per month, up to 30 Pinterest pins per month, and up to 30 Tweets per month, which is more than enough for my needs. And if you sign up through my link, you get 10 more posts per month free.
Note that I schedule my Facebook posts within Facebook itself as I’ve heard Facebook favours posts published through that method.
#3. Automate your emails and email sequences.
Similar to blog content and social media, you may want to stick to a consistent email schedule if you have an email list or e-Newsletter. Write and schedule your emails in advance, and use the automation tools from your email provider to have them sent at a specific time.
If you’re looking to send email sequences like a welcome sequence or sales funnel, you can use automation too. Just set up a drip campaign with your email provider around your key parameters, and automate the delivery.
#4. Automate file delivery.
Do you have a lead magnet or offer other freebies or digital products through your website? If so, you can automate file delivery!
Lead Magnets
If you’re collecting email addresses in exchange for a free download or content upgrade, you can use your email service provider’s automation tools to trigger this. Just set it up so that when a new person joins a specific email list of yours, they are automatically sent an email with the link to the free download.
Freebies
If you have free products available, you can use a similar strategy to the above, or simply attach a link to the freebie name so that people can access it instantly.
Digital Products
Using your eCommerce provider (like WooCommerce, SendOwl, or Etsy), set things up so that your customer can automatically download the product once purchased. This speeds up delivery and makes this form of income much more passive.
So there you have it – 4 simple ways to set up scheduling and automation for your business! Have you tried any of these approaches? How else do you save time, using technology? I’d love to know – sound off in the Comments below.
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