It’s here. A new year. Do you need a plan to promote your hobby business in January through social media?
I know you are obsessed with your hobby.
So obsessed that you wanted to start your own business. That’s cool.
But what can you do to make January a profitable month?
Have a plan, of course.
Your Social Media Plan for January
In January, do 3 things.
- Pick one social media tool
- Decide how often you will post (time)
- Select strategic types of content (topic)
First, make your selection.
Which social media is your favorite to use? Pinterest? Facebook? Twitter? Instagram?
Where do you get most of your customers?
Which social media attracts an engaged audience? Where do you get more likes, shares and comments?
Do more visitors come to your website from Pinterest or Twitter or another?
Which tool are you willing to experiment with?
Second, make your posting plan.
Once you have decided which SM tool to use, create a posting plan.
What time of day will you post? How many times a day/week/month will you post? (Time)
What will you post? (Topics)
People will get tired of your posts if each one is trying to sell them something.
You’ve got to give them more.
You’ve got to let them know you as a real person.
Your posting plan will include Time and Topics.
Let’s get started creating your plan.
Time: How Often Will You Post?
Start out posting 4-7 times a week to see how that works for you. Is it too much or not enough? Are you gaining more followers/customers by sharing more?
You can always increase or decrease the number to find a good fit for you and your audience.
I started doing this task manually. I would schedule a time every morning and send out a post on Facebook and Twitter.
What happened when I had an appointment and wasn’t able to post from my computer or cell? The post didn’t go out and my plan to be consistent just didn’t work.
The tool I use now is Buffer.
I can schedule posts for Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc. for the week or month all in one sitting.
Buffer allows me to be consistent no matter what my actual schedule looks like.
I use the Awesome Plan at $102 a year.
Trust me when I tell you it is worth the $8.50/month. π
You don’t have to use a tool like this, it doesn’t cost anything to post on social media anytime.
But if you want to put your posts on autopilot and your budget can afford it, I strongly suggest using Buffer.
Topics: What Will You Post?
Now that you know how often to post, what are you going to post???
Brainstorm a variety of topics, related or not, to your hobby.
Let’s start with the obvious – your product or service. What you have to keep in mind, though, as much as you want to sell your product, you don’t want to chase potential customers away by ONLY posting about selling your product/service.
Create a variety of topics, related or not, to your hobby business.
Here are some suggestions:
- Motivation or Inspiration (post a picture, quote, etc. that you find motivating or inspiring)
- Pictures of your workspace (let others into your creative world)
- Things you have learned having your own business (to help others)
- Something you think is funny (this will help others know you better)
- Testimonials (things your customers have said)
- Something personal (your New Year’s Resolutions, winter, etc.)
- Your blog posts (if you have a blog)
- A blog post that you like that was written by someone else (if you read other’s blogs)
- Pictures of your product and what inspired you to create it (share your creative process)
- Promoting your product/service (intentional selling)
- Promoting where you will be selling your product if you are going to be at a craft fair, festival, etc.
- Make a connection between your product or service and one of the national daily/monthly celebrations
I love using the National Day Calendar website because some days are fun, some are silly and some are entertaining. Who doesn’t like to celebrate National Ice Cream Day???
Let’s look at the national celebrations for January. As you review the list, see if you can find a day where you can highlight your product or service in celebration of that day.
For example, here on Hobsess there is a section where you can find a new hobby to try. So, I could send out a tweet on January 1st to let my Twitter followers know that January is National Hobby month with a link to my quiz, the Hobsessment, where they can find a new hobby or a link to the different hobby categories.
Make a note of the monthly and daily celebrations, where you could send out a message to your followers about your product or service.
January Monthly Observations
National Bath Safety Month
National Black Diamond Month*
National Blood Donor Month
National Braille Literacy Month
National Hobby Month
National Hot Tea Month
National Mentoring Month
National Oatmeal Month
National Slow Cooking Month
National Soup Month
National Sunday Supper Month*
January 1st
- National Hangover Day
- National Bloody Mary Day
- New Years Day
January 2nd
January 3rd
January 4th
January 5th
- National Screenwriters Day *
- National Bird Day
- National Whipped Cream Day
January 6th
January 7th
January 8th
- National Winter Skin Relief Day*
- National Argyle Day
- National Bubble Bath Day
- National English Toffee Day
- National JoyGerm Day
- National Sunday Supper Day β Second Sunday in January
January 9th
- National Apricot Day
- National Static Electricity Day
- National Clean Off Your Desk Day β Second Monday in January
January 10th
January 11th
January 12th
January 13th
- National Peach Melba Day
- National Rubber Ducky Day
- National Sticker Day
- Stephen Foster Memorial Day
- National Blame Someone Else Day β First Friday the 13th of the Year
January 14th
- National Dress Up Your Pet Day
- National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day
- Ratification Day
- National Vision Board Day β Second Saturday in January
January 15th
January 16th
January 17th
January 18th
January 19th
- National Popcorn Day
- Get to Know Your Customers Day β Third Thursday of Each Quarter
January 20th
January 21st
January 22nd
January 23rd
- National Handwriting Day
- National Pie Day β Click to find FREE and DISCOUNTED PIE Offers
January 24th
January 25th
January 26th
January 27th
- National Big Wig*
- National Chocolate Cake Day
January 28th
- Data Privacy Day
- National Blueberry Pancake Day
- National Have Fun At Work Day
- National Kazoo Day
- National Seed Swap Day β Last Saturday in January
January 29th
January 30th
- National Croissant Day
- National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day β Last Monday of January
January 31st
*Day * β Proclamation
Find a celebration specifically related to your hobby business and link back to your product.
So, if you are going to post something daily, pick out 7 of your favorite from the list.
I’ll Do it For You
If this seems like way too much to keep up with, I can help. For less than $1/day I will send out social media posts 5 times/week to promote you and your product/service.
Talk about autopilot!
You can check it out by clicking here.
Time to Make Your Social Media Plan
So your social media plan is easy. Just answer these 3 easy questions:
- Which social media will you focus on?
- How often will you post?
- What topics will you choose (see 12 suggestions above)
There you go.
Make January awesome!