5 Time Saving Marketing Tips That Work! – Stacey Cann

We children’s activity providers are busy people!

We have classes to run, venues to see and equipment to clean… So sometimes marketing can take a bit of a back seat.

Don’t forget however, that the most important thing in your business is to be consistent with your marketing and visibility so that new customers can see you.

I’m Stacey, I’m a mum of 3 and I run Daisy First Aid Redhill & Croydon as well as a marketing business, Stacey Cann Franchise Marketing. I know it feels like you don’t have time to do all the things… but if nobody can see your business, then nobody can buy from your business.

It’s essential to make time and be consistent.

Consistency is really important for your existing customers too believe it or not. They still need constant reassurance that you are the provider for them!

Here are my top 5 tips to time-saving marketing that really work!

Time Saving Marketing Tip 1: Work smarter not harder

Be brutal with your time and make the most of what you’ve got!

If you only have 10 minutes a day, be organised and plan what you are going to do in that 10 minutes ahead of time.

To make your marketing work, I’d really recommend making the time to take action. It might surprise you to hear but, about 80% of your work time should be spent on doing things to get you more visible and actively engaging with more potential customers!

Two great techniques that can help with this are Time Blocking and Batching.

Divide your day into 30 minute blocks so you know what you are doing to do when. This is a game changer because you will realise how much time you actually do have – compared to how much time you think you don’t have!

Batching and scheduling your content will help too.

Set aside half a day or two hours one evening a week and do nothing by content creation – then schedule it for your social media. Working in this way helps you to really get ‘in the zone’ of the content you want to create and it is much more efficient than working post by post.

Time Saving Marketing Tip 2: Create content with intent

Posting daily about random things won’t help your business gain new customers.

When you create content, ask yourself the following questions:

• What do I want to do with this post – educate/inspire/sell?
• Who is this post for – existing, new or potential customers?
• Is it clear what I offer for sale somewhere within my last 3 posts?
• How can I get my message across in different ways?

If you find it hard to create content, you may need to do some work around your messaging so you really understand what content you should be getting out. Your messaging should include what your business does, info about you as a person and what you are passionate about.

If you are stuck, use AI to generate some ideas or headings that you can then talk around. Just remember that you need to use your authentic voice rather than letting AI do everything!

Time Saving Marketing Tip 3: Keep all the plates spinning

When we think about marketing, most people naturally think about social media. But there is so much more to visibility than posting on social media channels.

An easy way to stay visible is to integrate your branding into your everyday life.

For example:

• Wear your branded T-shirt or hoodie on the school run or to the shops
• Get a branded magnet or decals for your car
• Have leaflets with you at all times so you can stick them up as you see relevant places – like notice boards when you nip in for a coffee!
• Chat to the owners of places you take your kids for some in-person networking

Marketing is never a one and done thing – you have to rinse and repeat all of the time. So finding ways to be marketing as part of your everyday life makes things much easier to keep all the plates spinning!

Time Saving Marketing Tip 4: Collaborations are the best short cuts

We are so lucky in this industry that children’s activity providers are just lovely people!

By getting to know your local activity providers, you can create a really powerful network of support and collaboration.

Collaborations are the best short cuts because you benefit from transference of trust. Customers trust the brand and the class leaders they already buy from – so if that brand/class leader then recommends a different provider, that trust is transferred across to the recommended provider too.

It’s the reason that when someone gets booted out of a game show or talent contest, the host asks who they want to win – that contestant’s preference is enough to encourage their fans to transfer allegiance to the person named.

Ways you can collaborate:

• Share social media content
• Put on a joint class or event
• Do a meet and greet at each other’s sessions
• Run a joint venture class where you split the income
• Offer a commission for any customers referred by another provider
• Swap leaflets

Time Saving Marketing Tip 5: Make sure you’re getting seen enough

The number one reason you will struggle to fill your classes is that not enough people know your classes exist. As a seasoned professional, having run my business for 9 years, I can tell you this… If you aren’t consistently marketing to catch new audiences and reassure existing customers then you will struggle.

Think of marketing like a light – we know it’s there if we need it, but it only works when it’s turned on. It’s the same with marketing. If we aren’t actively promoting our businesses, our customers don’t see us… and they forget we’re there.

Make sure you have a multi-layered visibility strategy so that your audience can always see you somewhere.

That might be at in person events, leaflets from other provider, on notice boards, in school newsletters or free magazines, on directory sites like ClubHub, a magnet on your car, your t-shirt as you walk around the supermarket, hearing you on a podcast, seeing you in the local Facebook community group, watching your Instagram stories…

On average, people need to see a brand 37 times before they book.
It takes this time to build up know, like and trust. Don’t forget that our audience are busy parents so it takes them longer and they need more reminders because their mental load is huge.

The more places they can see you, the faster they will know, like and trust you. The more they see you, the more likely you are to hit that point in time where they remember to book their class.

Need a hand with your marketing?

Come and join my free Facebook group, Franchise Strategy Club for weekly training on all things marketing, plus a great community of business owners to chat to!

Or grab my free download: 10 Time Saving Marketing Tips