Strike while the iron is hot. Be in the right time at the right place. Dig deeper and you’re surely going to find more adages related to the concept of timing, not time. The early bird might get the worm, and forgive me for going a bit macabre here, but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese. You see, timing isn’t necessarily about being the first to do or say something but more about finding yourself at exactly the right window and in the right position to do whatever it is you’re supposed to do. Comedies are all about timing and surprisingly, the world of marketing also has a lot to do with the concept of timing.

Right now, what most people seem to be talking about consists almost entirely of the boycott Sony movement on social media. Borne out of frustration from the collapse of the deal between Sony Pictures and Disney-owned Marvel that enables Spider-Man to exist in the MCU, the movement quickly began trending on Twitter as soon as news about the deal breaks. #SaveSpiderman is what everyone’s talking about right now but I guarantee you that this isn’t going to hold up for long, which is why it’s important for SEO services and marketers to publish their content when public’s interest is at their peak.

Finding your moment in the sun

Our attention span is so hopelessly short. Roughly a decade ago, we consume television the usual way, spread across 20-something episodes over the course of 7 or 8 months with several breaks in between those months. Right now, as soon as the new season of Stranger Things is uploaded on Netflix, we devour them over three nights and proceed to forget that the series ever existed for the rest of the year until the new season is uploaded upon which the cycle repeats all over again.

The above is one of the reason why agility is such an important trait to have in the world of marketing as at least half of what consists of being a marketer is reactionary. You see what’s trending for the moment and figure out how to capitalize on that trend to help your business. But you also have to pick the right moment of maximum exposure and the more practical consideration of what time should you choose to publish your content.

As an analogy, think about how the biggest video games of the year have typically been released in the last quarter. Winter and the snow is all about the indoors, which is perfect for video games. Additionally, winter also coincides with Christmas, which means more spending money for the public. For films, the equivalent trend is of the summer blockbuster but that trend is somewhat less prevalent now compared to the 90s. Just as how video game and film companies plan the release of their products for maximum exposure, businesses also have to take the same approach for their marketing efforts.

Consider how much time you can devote to content creation

How long it would take you from the process of content creation to publishing wouldn’t just dictate your content publishing schedule but also the type of content you could make. Professionally shot and edited videos for example would take considerably more resource than a simple blog post as you’re going to have to come up with a concept, the script and how the video is going to be shot. I’m not saying that content writing is easy but you have to admit that they can be less complicated. This is especially important for contents that are reactionary in nature as you won’t really have the time to plan ahead so always keep your own capability in mind when planning your content.

Cross-reference your content calendar with an event calendar

Major holidays like Australia Day or Christmas is easy but if you want to be thorough, you’re going to want to check out more obscure events like International Cat Day or the birthday of a notable figure in your field. Thematic contents are a must in marketing but because traditional holidays can be a bit blasé, you can take advantage of the lesser-known observances to still take part in the practice of thematic contents while still showcasing your quirkiness. These unofficial holidays are particularly effective on social media because that’s the platform where you’re encouraged, not just allowed, to be weird.

Stick to a consistent posting schedule and keep your content decently spaced

If I leave my Instagram account unattended for 3 months and then posts a barrage of pictures from that period of 3 months, no one’s probably going to care. Thanks to double standards however, any business and/or professional account that does something like this would be grounds for an unfollow. This might be accepted if it was an event-based account like my local philharmonic that is only active around a scheduled performance but other businesses should stick to a consistent content schedule.

What this means is that aside from thematic contents, you need to have what in the publishing world calls a regular feature. In the world of fashion for example we have selvedge Sunday where you post pictures of your selvedge jeans every Sunday. I don’t know where it originates but like clockwork, my Instagram feed is flooded with pictures of that signature selvedge pattern from the denim brands that I follow. It can be inspirational quotes, industry-specific jokes, etc but the important thing is to keep it on rotation in your content publishing schedule.