5 Ways to Make Content Marketing Easier This Summer Content creation doesn't have to derail your vacation plans. Try these tools to streamline your tasks.
By Kelsey Raymond Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Summer is here, and that means vacation season is upon us. We'll all be traveling more, taking a little time off and soaking up the sun. But, as an entrepreneur, you may find it strange to leave behind your passions and projects, even for a few weeks.
Related: 4 Ways to Beat the Summer Slump
One of the hardest projects to leave completely alone is your content -- it's coming from you, after all. And consistently creating more remains a challenge for teams everywhere. In fact, 60 percent of marketers in one survey said content creation was their biggest challenge last year.
And, honestly, the warm summer months that pull you away from your desk, to the lake (or mountains or ocean), don't make that challenge any easier.
But keeping up with creating content through the summer doesn't have to be hard work. With the right tools, you can accomplish a lot in a short time, leaving your schedule wide open for plenty of travel and adventure. That's why I compiled this list of tools to make content creation during the summer months as quick and easy as possible.
1. Pocket
So much existing content can be used to inspire your own efforts. When you're reading something online, whether it's on your phone or another device, use Pocket to store and tag articles, videos and podcasts for later.
Then, when you're traveling, you can open Pocket, pull up your favorite content and find inspiration for your own even when you're offline. Make the most of your down time between travels to find, store and reread your favorite content -- it'll actually make sitting down to create your own that much easier.
2. A knowledge bank
Between you and your team members, you likely have no shortage of unique insights, stories and expertise to fill your content. The problem comes when you're trying to harness it and weave it into your ongoing efforts. That problem only compounds when you're trying to do this while you're traveling.
But with a knowledge bank, you can save time and streamline your entire content creation process. By using a Google Doc or a knowledge management template, you can collect, store, organize and pull knowledge from your entire team to create better content faster.
Customize it with tabs that make sense for you, and keep it updated with your most recent information to make creating content easier than ever.
3. Canva
Visuals relevant to online content increase our excitement and interest in reading: In fact, your audience is 80 percent more likely to read your content if you use colored visuals.
Canva makes creating those visuals drag-and-drop easy. You don't need to be a designer to understand how to use it; it's pretty intuitive and makes experimenting with color, graphics and layouts a lot of fun. If you're feeling particularly creative during your time out of the office this summer, Canva can help you turn that creativity into beautiful visual content to complement your writing.
Related: The Popularity of Visual Content Will Only Increase, So You Must Be Prepared
4. An editorial calendar
All the tools and hacks in the world won't necessarily help your content marketing if you don't have a schedule to organize and execute your efforts. That's why an editorial calendar is so important. Editorial calendars help you streamline your process by keeping you on track and on time, to create, publish and share your content.
And let's face it: No one wants to work all summer long. With an editorial calendar that clearly lays out your dates and deadlines, you can easily prioritize your efforts and make the most of the time you decide to devote to your content this summer.
5. LinkedIn
Industry publications and your company blog are great places to publish your content, but if you aren't also using LinkedIn's platform to publish original or repurposed content, you're missing out on some serious opportunities.
Because LinkedIn notifies every member of your network when you publish content to its platform, your chances improve for getting your content out in front of the right people. You'll want to adhere to some best practices for publishing on LinkedIn, but all things considered, it's an easy-to-use platform that saves time and yields powerful results.
Related: 5 Ways to Generate Business on LinkedIn
Staying productive and on top of your content goals can be challenging when the lazy, hazy days of summer roll around and vacation time approaches. These tools will help you streamline your content process, leaving you plenty of time to enjoy the summer ahead.
