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Transcript

257: Productivity Tools for Marketers: Apps and Techniques to Boost Efficiency with Host Kendra Corman · Imperfect Marketing

• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Hey there, welcome back to the Imperfect Marketing Podcast.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, kendra Corman, and today we're diving into a topic that's near and dear to my heart.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: I feel like all of these are, and probably yours too.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: If you've ever felt like you were juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle, that's right.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: We're talking about productivity tools and techniques for marketers.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Now let's face it as marketers especially if you're filing solo or working with a small team we wear more hats than a millinery shop.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: We're content creators, social media gurus, data analysts and sometimes even therapists.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: With so many balls in the air, it's no wonder that we sometimes feel like we're dropping the ball.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: But fear not, my friends.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: I am going to share some game-changing tools and techniques that'll have you feeling like a productivity superhero faster than you can say ROI.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: That's return on investment for those of you new to my world.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: So let's start with the crown jewel of my productivity toolkit Asana.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Asana how do I love thee.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Let me count the ways.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: This project management tool is my ride or die for organizing marketing campaigns, tracking tasks and get this even managing my ideas.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: It's like having a personal assistant who never sleeps, never complains and always remembers everything.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: If you're not using Asana, you're missing out on some serious, serious productivity mojo.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Now, when it comes to content creation and collaboration, microsoft 365 is my go-to.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: I know I know a lot of you might be team Google, but hear me out.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: The privacy, security and controls in Microsoft 365 are top-notch.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: As someone who deals with sensitive client information, it's a non-negotiable for me, plus with tools like Word.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Security and controls in Microsoft 365 are top-notch.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: As someone who deals with sensitive client information, it's a non-negotiable for me, plus with tools like Word, excel, powerpoint all in one place.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: Sharepoint for sharing files.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: It's like the Swiss Army knife of productivity suites.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Now let's talk a little bit about social media management, shall we?
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: In the fast-paced world of tweets, posts and stories, you need a tool that can keep up.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Enter Metricool.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: This is my personal favorite.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: This bad boy lets me schedule posts, analyze performance and even peek at what some of my competitors are up to.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: At times, it's like having x-ray vision for your social media strategy.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Most importantly, it lets me post when my followers are online, which is a huge time saver.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: Now, I know some people swear by Evernote or Notion for note taking and idea management.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Check them out right.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: I've found, though, that Asana does the job.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: For me, it's like my idea vault.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: I actually have an idea vault in there.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: It's my task manager and project planner all rolled into one.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Why use multiple tools when you can just rule them all right?
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: So here's a curveball for you, though, amidst all this digital wizardry, I still use a paper planner.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: Yep, you heard that right.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: I need to do like a hashtag not sponsored.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: Full Focus Planner is my old school productivity secret weapon.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: There's something about putting a pen to paper that just makes my brain tick.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: I use it alongside my digital tools and let me tell you, it's a match made in productivity heaven.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: Everything is in my systems, but my prioritization and my calendar are a quick look to the side Now.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: You've probably heard of the Pomodoro Technique, and if you listened to me a couple weeks ago, you definitely heard of the Pomodoro Technique.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: I've got a couple of episodes on it.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: You work for 25 minutes, take a five-minute break, rinse and repeat.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: It is great for those days when you just need to buckle down and crank out some serious work or serious content.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: Time blocking is another favorite of mine.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: I block out specific times for different marketing activities.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: Maybe mornings are for content creation, afternoons for client calls evenings for strategy planning.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: It just helps me stay focused and avoid that dreaded context switching that can really eat up your day.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Here's a quick tip that saved my bacon more times than I can count the two minute rule.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: If a task takes less than two minutes, just do it when you go through your email, and I recommend time blocking to go through your email.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: I go through my email four to five times a day.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: If I go through it more often than that, I'm definitely not getting much done that day.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: This is going to prevent small tasks from piling up and becoming overwhelming.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: Also one of my favorites batching.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Grouping similar tasks together, like scheduling all your social media posts for the week in one go, can be a real time saver.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: I can't tell you how many clients fight me on this.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: They're like oh, I'm like, hey, I gave you access to Metricool and I don't see any posts for the week.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: Oh, I'm working on them one at a time.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: I'll do one tomorrow and one the next day, and I can outperform them 10 to one easy just because I batch.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: That context switching is a real pain in the tuchus.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: Now the real magic happens when you start combining these tools.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: Again, I use Asana to lay out my projects and tasks.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Time block my day and my full focus planner my calendar.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: It's productivity at a game changing level.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: Now you can't talk about productivity without addressing some common obstacles Notification overload anyone.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: Turn those bad boys off when you need to focus.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: Close your email my email windowlook opens on my calendar, not on my inbox.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Set clear boundaries and communication expectations, and remember work-life balance, which I don't think exists.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: More like work-life integration isn't just a buzzword.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: It is essential for long-term productivity Insanity.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: So there you have it.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: These are the tools and techniques that keep my marketing machine running smoothly.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Productivity isn't about working harder, it's about working smarter.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: So I want you to find the tools and techniques that work for you.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: Don't be afraid to mix things up.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: And before you go, I'd love to hear about your favorite productivity hacks.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Drop them in the comments, shoot me a message.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Next week we'll be talking about.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Well, you'll just have to tune in to find out.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Until then, keep your marketing imperfect and your productivity perfect.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: This is Kendra Corman signing off.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Have a great rest of your day.