Ep 30. End of December Marketing: Stay visible without being online

End of December marketing. Let’s talk about it.

If you’re listening to this in real time, then I think there’s a weird pressure around this time of year, where you’re either team “hustle hard right through Christmas” or you’re team “completely disappear and feel guilty about it”.

I’m being honest, I’m team “do whatever you feel like doing” (but make it strategic of course!)

I talk about energy led marketing, so I’m a massive advocate for taking some proper time off, not only to recharge, but to be present in whatever you’re doing, rather than being glued to your phone and checking if someone’s liked your post.

But I know a lot of you have this niggling feeling like, if I take time off, then I’m gonna disappear completely.

But you can still be intentional about staying visible without being online, and that’s what I hope this episode will help you with today.

So whether you’re planning to take a full break, schedule some content in and step away, or you’re someone who quite enjoys working through the holidays in your own rhythm because it’s quiet out there, there’ll be something in this episode for all of you.

If you’re new here, hello and a very warm welcome to Quiet Confidence. I’m Anita Popat and I’m all about creating a marketing rhythm that feels like you.

So the first thing I wanna say is scheduled visibility is still visibility. Let’s bust that myth that if you’re not online in real time, engaging with every comment, you’re not really showing up.

That’s nonsense because your scheduled post that goes out while you’re watching Home Alone for the 100th time still counts. That’s still you being visible and showing up in front of someone in your audience who’s scrolling.

Yes, you might not be there to engage if you’ve chosen to take time off, but your post is still showing up in someone’s feed, and at this time of year, that can be enough. And your audience doesn’t know whether you scheduled that post three weeks ago or wrote it in the moment (unless you tell them of course).

So if you want to enjoy December with your family (and I really think you should), then before you go away, batch some content, schedule those emails, sort out your socials and then log off guilt free because the work’s done.

 The reality is that most businesses do disappear over the holidays, and that obviously means less noise in the feeds.

Think about it from your sweet spot client’s perspective. They’re scrolling through Instagram while the kids are watching a film and instead of seeing 50 posts competing for their attention, they see your post.

When there’s less competition for attention, your content actually has more breathing room to land. So if you are scheduling content, even if it’s just for a week, that content’s working harder for you in December than it would in say, September when everyone feels like they’re shouting.

Don’t forget, just because someone’s not actively engaging, it doesn’t mean that they’re not watching. I’ve said this before,  over 90% of my clients never engaged with my content before working with me. They were their secret admirers, as I like to call them.

That doesn’t stop over the holidays. If anything, people have more time to browse to reflect and to think, “yeah, when I get back in January, I’m gonna sort this out”.

They’re probably scrolling through your content, reading through emails, listening to podcasts and absorbing everything.

Who do you think they’re gonna remember come January? The person who disappeared for a few weeks? Or the person who showed up consistently? Even if you are actually offline enjoying a mince pie at the time, but you don’t need to tell them that.

So what I’m trying to say is ultimately you get to choose your own version of showing up. There’s no right or wrong way to do December. There’s only what works for you and your energy.

Maybe your version is batching everything now, scheduling it all out, and then properly logging off . Or it could be keeping your weekly rhythm going, but making the content lighter and more reflective, which is what I’m doing with this podcast. Or you might actually just enjoy the quieter pace, and use December to work on your business in a more chilled way.

You know, if you’ve been in business for a while, when you do try to switch off, that’s when all the ideas come. So maybe you want to give yourself that chilled time to let the ideas flow in. Or you could come offline completely and take the time to be present with whatever you’re doing.

The point is you get to choose, and whatever you choose is fine.

Why I want you to think about this is because I don’t want you to disappear completely and then feel like you’ve lost momentum, or worse to push through December feeling resentful because you think you should be working. I want you to be intentional about it.

So decide now what that holiday period is gonna look like for you, and then stick to that without guilt.

If you wanna stay visible, but actually take time off. Here’s what that could look like:

1. Schedule and step away.

Block out a couple of hours this week to create some content for the holiday period. It doesn’t have to be loads, maybe three or four posts, a couple of emails and you can create from scratch or just go through content from this year and reshare your best performers. No one’s gonna know and schedule them out for the days that you want to be seen.

Don’t forget to set up your out of office, not only on your emails, but also as an autoresponder in your dms as well. Tell people when you’re gonna be back properly, but also signpost them to, I dunno, a lead magnet or a podcast episode or, to book a call for your service.

Don’t leave them hanging. ‘ there might be people scrolling who are interested in what you’ve got to offer, even though you are offline. And then log off and enjoy your break knowing that everything’s handled.

If you’re thinking I got way too much to do before I break up, then that’s fine.

2. You can go for the light touch and just show up when you feel like it.

But this only works if you’re still gonna be online anyway and you don’t mind popping in and out.

Or you can do 3. Properly log off.

And you know what? That’s also completely fine.

Just disappear. Take a full break. Don’t schedule anything in, and your business won’t collapse, I promise. Sometimes the best thing you can do is fully rest and come back in January with fresh energy. Just make sure your profile is set up properly, so people can still find what they need.

And honestly there’s no right answer. Pick what feels good for your energy and your life right now.

Whichever option you choose, make sure you sort out your passive stuff. So before you log off or go into that light touch mode, make sure your profile is actually working for you.

By that I mean:

• Check that the links in your bio are all working and going to the right places.
• Update your pinned posts or your featured section to match what you wanna promote in January when you come back
• Set up auto responses on Instagram with links to your lead magnet or the next step.

So if someone DMs you while you’re offline, they’re still gonna get what they need because if someone discovers you in December while you’re offline you might lose them. So make it easy for people to take that next step, even when you’re not there.

What I want you to take away from this episode is that you can absolutely take proper time off and still stay visible. You just have to be really intentional about it.

If you’ve got some time this week, sit down and just take a moment to decide how you want the holidays to feel, then do whatever you need to do to make that happen.

I’ll be back with a little message for you on Christmas Eve. Until then, keep embracing your quiet confidence so you can make that loud impact in the world. Speak soon.