December can be stressful for most people however, when running a business on top of the “normal” Christmas overwhelm there is also business overwhelm. 

Not only do you have to fit in all the usual December additional chores, with an extra sprinkling of festive cheer, you also need to keep the momentum in your business going. Maybe you’re a service based business, so December could be a short month and you have to cram a lot in a short time.  Or if you’re a product based business then this could be your most important month of the year.

With nativity plays, constant lateral flow testing, deciding what to get Aunty Barb for Christmas, forgetting to pre-order a fresh Christmas turkey and self-assessment season approaching who really cares about 2022 business planning and social media strategies!!

I know there is SO MUCH going on at the moment but you do need to think about all of it.

If you’ve been super organised and you’re managing to put out a daily advent calendar with tips, information and inciteful content, then excellent and well done, because it’s not easy to come up with content daily.

For those of you that thought about it but the commitment of posting daily just seemed too much then why not focus on something a little more short term like 12 days of Christmas.  This starts on Boxing Day and ends on 6th January but you could also adapt this to 12 days of New Year, 12 days of December/January.  Get creative!

Remember: 

🎁 REPURPOSE – look at your previous written blogs, articles, podcasts, videos, posts.  You have far more ready made content then you probably think.

🎁 SCHEDULING – is your friend (it doesn’t affect your algorithms).  Having your posts all scheduled isn’t a cop out, it’s wise.  Just remember to check your platforms and posts daily to make sure they’ve posted and to respond to any comments, or remove the spammy ones.  

You can use Business Suite (via Facebook) for Instagram and Facebook and it’s free.  

However, if you are posting to LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest or Shopify then Buffer allows 3 platforms for free.

If one of your platforms also incudes Google My Business or YouTube then Publer offers 5 platforms for free (be aware that you are only allowed to post a certain number of mp4/video files per month on the free version).

You can even schedule from Canva although you have to create different sized images to accommodate the different platforms.

Utilise any technology that will make processes easier or automated.

Don’t forget:

🎁 To post across all your platforms.  If there is a platform you don’t particularly use, and therefore goes unchecked, then post to that platform the best way to contact you.

🎁 Make sure you respond/interact with all comments, emails, messages.  If there is a contact path you don’t check regularly then don’t link it to your business, or have an automated response pointing people in the right direction.  Make this clear on your Linktree / contact pages, then you can link people to this page.

🎁 Utilise Instagram stories…you can schedule these on business suite.

🎁 Check out what your competitors are doing, even your aspirational competitors.  Integrity is key but it might spark something creative in you.

🎁 Have a set of graphics on hand that you can use should you need to.  Check out my Template Shop for done-for-you Canva templates.

🎁 Regularly check any groups your customers hang out in.

🎁 Decorate your social media profiles for Christmas. You decorate your house and if you had a physical shop/office you’d decorate that!  Your social media platforms are the shop windows into your business.

🎁 Check your analytics. What’s the point of all of this if you don’t have a look at what’s worked well and what’s bombed.

I’m a huge advocate for outsourcing so if you can OUTSOURCE.

🎁 VA/EA – a lot of Virtual Assistants / Executive Assistants offer business and personal services so they can take care of a huge range of tasks from email management to online shopping.  They could even write your Christmas cards and if they are local, they could wrap your presents.

🎁 SMM – a social media manager can take care of your social media platforms.  A lot of SMM’s offer a variety of packages with various degrees of support.  Check out my simple social media solutions.

🎁 Domestic support – when you own a business ‘outsourcing’ doesn’t have to mean business related tasks.  Have you thought about how much time you’d save if you hired a cleaner or someone to do your ironing?

🎁 MOST importantly, make sure you schedule some time just for you.  Coz lets be honest, if you go down then the whole house of Christmas cards is coming down too.

If you’d like some additional support with content ideas, content, social media and Canva tips and support, live chats then the Genie Content Club is available for £15 a month.  This price is due to go up in the New Year.