Atkinson Strategic has a serious case of “Cobbler’s Children Syndrome.” Like the proverbial children of the shoemaker who go without shoes, we’ve stopped doing things for ourselves that we do every day for our clients.
If you’re an entrepreneur, marketer, or communications strategist, you probably feel our pain. In order to remain competitive, there’s content to be written, website auditing and editing, social strategy, industry research, company mission, and vision…the list goes on.
When so much time is spent helping clients, it’s easy to move your needs to the bottom of the priority list.
When it comes to in-house content, we often say, “I’ll get to it Friday when it slows down,” or, “I’ll get ahead this weekend.”
By the end of a busy work week and meeting deadlines for clients, that blog or social post just gets pushed to the bottom of next week’s list.
This year, we have made a pact to break this cycle. Here’s how we’re doing it and why we think it is so important.
Breaking the cycle of “Cobbler’s Children Syndrome.”
Set manageable goals. We know change won’t happen overnight but working towards better habits each month is doable. For us, that’s holding ourselves accountable to post one blog per month. Twelve blogs are a lot better than none.
Write about stories or subjects that interest you. Content fatigue is real for both writers and readers. We don’t always have to be surrounded by new! content! at! all! times! Writing about topics that interest you keep you in practice and sharing it might even make you sound more authentic.
Block off time during the workday. Once it’s on the calendar, honor it. Too often, we bump internal calls or push business or self-development tasks to later. This year, we’re learning to reprioritize our business and self-development, which includes setting time aside for Toastmaster’s meetings, website edits, and looking for new ways to market ourselves.
Why is prioritizing content in 2023 is so important?
Leveraging expertise. We’re tired of giving advice we don’t follow. As communications strategists, we should be glowing examples of how to build integrated platforms and create content that works. Prioritizing ourselves might even help us convince people we know a thing or two.
Become our own newsroom. We give all our client’s this advice. While we can help you tell the best story and pitch the right reporters, we can’t guarantee media coverage – newsrooms are stretched far-too-thin, but content and storytelling are still more important than ever. Creating and publishing your own content helps build audiences and positions you as a thought leader in your industry.
Get ahead on AI. Chat GPT is a great tool for those who know how to use it. Please don’t just copy and paste! AI is still learning and there are still many mistakes being made. Avoid earning the “lazy marketer” nickname for publishing inauthentic, inaccurate content. Slow down and take your time with content, feed the AI correct information, and continue building a better digital footprint to grow with innovation.
Putting shoes on our feet.
Every day, we see small businesses doing great work that goes unnoticed because they don’t have the bandwidth to promote themselves. They’re too busy running a successful business.
As a small, family-owned and operated public relations firm, we can relate. We’re often too busy promoting clients to work on ourselves. But that ends this year. We’re done walking around barefoot. It’s time to make ourselves some nice shoes.