21 Marketing Activities You Can Do In 1 Hour or Less

If you’re like most business owners, you probably feel like marketing your business is a never-ending task.

Just when you think you’re all caught up, you think of two or three other things you have to do.

Am I right or am I right?

One way to get a handle on your marketing is to set aside just ONE hour a day for your marketing activities.

WHAT? Is that even possible?

It's amazing what you can get done in an hour if you are intentional with your time and have a plan!

Think an hour isn’t enough to do anything productive? Think again! In this post, I’ll share 21 marketing activities you can do in just one hour or less.

*Bonus: Many of these marketing activities are 100% FREE and can be done in far less than an hour!

1. Start a Blog

If you don’t already have a blog, this is the marketing activity you absolutely should start. Your blog will be how you attract visitors and get social shares and links to your business website. It will also be the key to establishing trust with your audience through sharing relevant, valuable tips and information.

Not sure where to start? Check out my step-by-step guide, How To Start a Blog in 30 Minutes or Less. Set it up and let it start working for you!

2. Create a Week’s Worth of Social Media Graphics

If you follow me on social media, you know how much I love posting eye-catching graphics. Fortunately, with so many amazing tools out there, anyone can create their own social media graphics quickly and easily. This includes:

• cover photos
• profile photos
• graphics with quotes
• …the possibilities are endless!

Some tools I personally use and love: Canva and Easil.

3. Do a Facebook Live

Doing a Facebook Live is a great marketing activity for connecting with your audience in a more casual, personalized way. Some ideas for your Facebook Lives:

• product tutorials
• interview
• Q&A’s
• contests and giveaways
• flash sales
• behind-the-scenes videos
• sharing breaking news

Need more ideas? Check out my post Top 22 Ways to Use Facebook Live to Market Your Business.

4. Check out Your Website Analytics

Add this to your regular marketing activities so that you can monitor your website activity that can help you figure out which topics and content-types your visitors ACTUALLY want more of. It can also show you exactly where your visitors are coming from…which can be key to knowing how and where to promote your stuff. Some key areas to pay attention to top:

• site content
• landing pages
• traffic sources/mediums

5. Write a Blog Post (see #1 if you don't have a blog!)

While not every blog post can be written in an hour or less, some can. Some tips for writing a super-quick, awesome blog post:

• Write a list post (e.g., “Top 10 _____”)
• Cut out all distractions while you write
• Create a brief outline before you start writing
• Always remember who you’re writing for

Keeping the problems or issues of your readers in the front of your mind can help you write lightning fast. For more on how to write an amazing blog post, check out my post, Secrets of a Killer Blog Post.

Bonus tip: Use the Facebook LIVE from #3 above and have it transcribed for a blog post! I call this double dipping and #smartmarketing! 😉

6. Create a Facebook Ad

Facebook ads can be a quick and inexpensive way to increase your page likes, build your email list, and get traffic to your blog.

Note: I’m not talking about the “Boost Post” button, which doesn’t give you nearly enough flexibility. Not sure where to start with your ads? This free guide will help: The Ultimate Facebook Ad Building Guide.

7. Schedule Your Social Media Posts for the Week.

Posting to social media can feel overwhelming at times. But doing it ahead of time – especially in batches – can make the whole process so much faster! I highly recommend using a social media management tool to schedule your posts.
Not sure WHAT to post? Try a tool like Post Planner to find content that has already proven popular in your niche.

8. Do Some Keyword Research

Many business owners think SEO and keyword research is a long, involved process. And while there are certainly aspects of it that can take a while, basic keyword research isn’t one of them. Take an hour to pinpoint a bunch of topics and keywords, and keep them in a document or spreadsheet for your future blog posts. If you need help with your keyword research, check out my post, A Step-by-Step Guide to SEO Keyword Research Using FREE Tools.

9. Send Out an Email to Your List

Some of my best emails have been written in 30 minutes or less. So, don’t assume you need to spend hours slaving away at your newsletter in order for it to be effective! Some ideas for your next email blast:

• a weekly roundup of what’s happening in your industry
• a flash sale
• exclusive coupons
• a note of support or encouragement
• repurposing an old blog post
• giving a list of industry-related tips or tricks

10. Create a Quick Freebie/Lead Magnet

Some lead magnets will take much longer than an hour to create. Creating a simple one or two-page guide, checklist or template shouldn’t take you more than an hour. Some ideas for your lead magnet:

• a cheat sheet
• worksheet
• list of tools
• script
• tutorial
• industry report
• survey responses
• quiz
• resource list

Not sure if your lead magnet has what it takes to attract leads? Check this out: Check Your Lead Magnet Greatness in 60 Seconds!

11. Find Out What People Are Saying About You Online

 Mention lets you track mentions of your name, brand or products in real time.

Regularly setting aside time for social media listening is super important for your online reputation management. Whether people are saying good things about you or bad, you NEED to know so you can respond! Be sure to search for keywords like your full name, business name, product name…and even your competitors’ names! Some tools I recommend for your social listening: Brand24, Mention, and Google Alerts.

12. Find Topics for Future Blog Posts

There’s nothing worse than sitting down to write a blog post and having ZERO ideas. To avoid this, take 30 minutes or so to brainstorm topics you want to write about in the future. Some ideas for triggering topics:

• note down popular keywords when doing keyword research
• look at top sites in your industry to get inspired
• do some searches on BuzzSumo (love, love, love this tool!) to see which topics have already proven popular
• read through your blog and social media comments to look for common questions

For more strategies, check out my post, How to Come up With 50 Content Ideas in 30 Minutes or Less.

13. Respond To your Blog and Social Media Comments

Agorapulse lets you easily monitor your social ad comments

You can respond to A LOT of comments in one hour! Check your Facebook and Instagram comments, Twitter mentions and blog comments to see which ones need responses. And, don’t forget to respond to your social ad comments as well! Agorapulse is a GREAT tool for making sure you never miss a Facebook or Instagram ad comment again.

14. Find an Affiliate Product to Promote

Wondering how you can make some quick cash on your blog? Join an affiliate network like PartnerStack or Amazon and find products you can promote on your website. Some quick and easy ideas for promoting your affiliate product:

• add some affiliate links within your existing content
• write a quick review post
• add your affiliate product to an existing resource list

Not sure where to start? Check out my post, How to Make Money on Your Blog with Affiliate Marketing.

15. Set Up a Chatbot on Facebook

My Facebook Messenger chatbot

Did you know you can set up your Facebook page to automatically respond to page messages? This means that when people message you through your page, they receive an automated response that you’ve customized for your audience. This allows you to provide the best customer service possible, while also freeing you up to focus on other aspects of your business. To set up your own chatbot, check out my post, How to Create Your First Facebook Messenger Chatbot for Free with No Coding.

16. Run a Facebook Contest

Looking to get some additional reach and engagement on Facebook? One of the marketing activities that can just do the trick is a contest or giveaway. Some ideas for your contest:

• “Caption this”
• “Fill in the blank”
• “Submit your favorite photo/video”
• a “fan of the week” contest
• a “comment to win” contest
• a “vote for your favorite photo” contest

17. Respond to Some Queries on HARO

How would you like to get mentions and links from huge outlets like Forbes, Huffington Post or the New York Times? Fortunately it’s not as hard as you may think! Join Help a Reporter (it’s 100% free), and get daily emails listing tons of media queries you can reply to. Some tips to increase your chances of getting used as a source: respond as quickly as possible, give your responses right away rather than just offering yourself as a source, use “quotable quotes” whenever possible…journalists love short, relevant, well-written quotes!

18. Repurpose an Old Piece of Content

Constantly creating new content can be time-consuming and inefficient. Instead, take an old blog post, email newsletter or social media post, and repackage it into a new piece of content.

Some ideas:

• combine several blog posts into an eBook
• take an old newsletter and turn it into a blog post
• grab some quotes from a blog post and post to social media
• turn an old webinar into a lead magnet
• break up a list post into several new posts (e.g., expand on one point and turn it into its own post)

For more ideas, read my post, 15+ Ways to Create New Content from Old Content.

19. Set Up Your Email Signature

Use your email signature to promote your business, blog or social media profiles. This can not only be a great way to promote your stuff, but it can also boost your credibility. Some other things you can promote in your signature:

• articles you’ve written (especially on big-name sites)
• a book you’ve written
• a conference you’re speaking at
• awards you’ve won

If you want to take it up a notch, you can even use a tool like Wisestamp to create a fully-customized signature complete with headshot, links and design elements.

20. Participate in Groups

Participating in discussion boards or Facebook/LinkedIn groups is one of the marketing activities you can network and find out what your target market is talking about. Join relevant groups and introduce yourself, respond to questions, and just generally become a valued member of these communities. If you have your own group, take 30-60 minutes to really engage with your members. Some ideas for what you can post:

• Real-time Q&As
• a personal story or anecdote
• a note of encouragement
• an image quote
• an excerpt from a blog post you’ve written
• a “hot topic” question that will really get your members talking

21. Create a Survey

Survey Monkey makes it easy to create attractive surveys in minutes

Surveys are great for gathering data about your audience or getting feedback about your business or products. Some ideas for your survey:

• a customer satisfaction survey
• a “favorite tools” survey
• product or service suggestions survey
• a demographics survey

Some free tools you can use to create a survey within minutes include: Survey Monkey, SurveyGizmo and Google Forms.

Final Thoughts

The next time you find yourself with an hour to kill, pull up this post and choose a couple of items you can knock off the list. While some marketing tasks will take much longer than an hour, I hope this post has shown you that there are many marketing activities that you can complete more quickly than you think!

Which items from this list are you going to tackle today? Share below! 

About Author

Kim Garst

Kim Garst is a renowned marketing strategist and speaker who is trailblazing the use of artificial intelligence in digital marketing. With over 30 years of experience as an online entrepreneur, Kim helps entrepreneurs grow their business and authority online by using AI technology. She is leading the way with proven AI frameworks that help entrepreneurs build authority in their space.

She is keynote speaker and an international best-selling author of Will The Real You Please Stand Up, Show Up, Be Authentic and Prosper in Social Media.

Named by Forbes as a Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer, Kim is well-known for her skill to simplify complex technology and make the use of AI understandable for business growth. Her relatable, actionable advice helps guide new entrepreneurs to harness the power of AI to succeed in digital marketing. Kim is leading the way in combining human and technological skills to create a new model for AI-powered marketing.

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