4 Tips for Social Media Time Management
Raise your hand if you’ve gone onto Facebook to check on a client page and you go down the rabbit hole and come up 3 hours later and have nothing done! Yes, I have done it too.
Recently I surveyed my fans and followers about their biggest social media struggle and time management was overwhelmingly #1!
With several different platforms to choose from, it is easy to get lost down that rabbit hole. Here are my tips to more effectively manage the time you have for social media.
1. AUTOMATE! The more you can automate content, the better. Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Buffer are three popular platforms. All of these allow you to schedule posts for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. A good Google+ scheduling tool is the Do Share extension for the Google Chrome browser.
What I suggest is take about 1 hour, once a week, to schedule your content for the next week. You can then spend the rest of your time responding and interacting! This is what I do my myself and my clients.
2. PLAN AHEAD! If you have a goal to blog 1-2 times per week, dedicate time each week to spend writing and scheduling those posts. This will save you from the “oh crud” moment you have when you realize you are suppose to have a post up in 12 hours! WordPress sites have scheduling functions within them to schedule a post for the future. For example, I am writing this post on Sunday afternoon and it will be published Tuesday morning.
The plan ahead suggestion applies to more than just blogging – plan ahead as much as you can for everything. This will keep your organized and in a routine.
3. NOT DO IT ALL. Yes, I did just say you do not have to do everything. Many businesses think they need to have a presence on every.single.platform when in reality, they don’t. If you know your target market posts on Facebook more than any other, then concentrate on that one. There is no sense in wasting your time updating 5 or 6 social media platforms when your customers are only on Facebook or Twitter.
Concentrating on those platforms that your target market is on and forgetting about the rest will free up a lot of time. Trust me, it easy to lose time on these platforms – just stick with what works!
4. TIME YOURSELF. Decide how much time you want to spend on each platform and then set a kitchen timer or an alarm on your smartphone to buzz when your time is up. For example, if you want to set aside 30 minutes per day on Facebook, set the timer to start when you do and then it will let you know when your 30 minutes is up. At that time, move on to something else. I know of several who do this and swear by it. Placing a time limit can force you to concentrate on what you need to do and get it done.
I hope by implementing these tips, you will find your time better managed and your product increased.
What tips would you give to better manage your time? Comment below, I’d love to hear them!
Want more? Click here for my Top 10 Social Media Tips.
