Five Simple Ways to Save Time On Social Media

A few years ago we struggled to keep up with our crazy inbox. Responding to all those emails while at the same time getting the groceries, laundry and day to day tasks done – it’s no wonder you feel like you can’t find time to participate in Social Media the way you want to.

Combine that with “over-thinking” your strategy and you have a perfect recipe for analysis paralysis at it’s best!

I get that time is an issue for you.  And, I also get that your presence being felt on Social Media is a priority – I know you don’t want people to think you don’t get it or don’t make time for it.

So, to help you get the most out of your Social Media time, I have put together some of my ideas and suggestions that can help you save time and get more done.

1. Get a good smartphone. Being able to access all of your social media platforms on the go makes interacting with people a lot easier to do.  We all have “moments” here and there where we can check in, leave a comment, respond to someone or post a status update.My favorite tool for this is my iPhone.  I love the ease of use more than a Droid or a BlackBerry, and because I own Parlez Wireless, I have used all three.
2. Focus on relationships first. Having a great content plan is important but it is not the most important thing.  Great content is of no use if people do not know, like and trust you.  Focus on just being social with other people as a way to fill in the gaps and get more visibility on social media.This works wonders for me. People do not message me to work with me because I write a great blog post and tweet it.  It usually is because we have had some type of dialogue about something random and they “like” me and I “like” them.
3. Pick 2-3 platforms and forget the rest.  Over saturation is happening everywhere.  You cannot be at ten dinner parties on the same night, so why try and engage in so many social networks and expect them all to work? Pick two or three that you enjoy and focus your time on these sites.If you are just doing a little bit everywhere it is sort of like the old fashioned spray and pray mentality of advertising.  Social Media is not about creating the perfect TV commercial where the communication is one way, it is about relationships and two way dialogue.
4. Create what I call a Social Media Stack of Content.  This is a list of content and URLs for your best work, and for the work of others that you want to share that can add value for your community.  This is NOT about selling products every hour on twitter ok? It’s about adding value.Once you have a great stack of content that you love and actually can help people, you can read number 5.
5. Learn how to schedule some of your content. Sites like Hootsuite (one of my favorites for scheduling) allow you to post to different social networks from their site and schedule when you want the content to show up. This means you could schedule a Facebook page update every day at noon if you wanted.Use your Social Media Stack to determine what content you want to share, when you want to share and then set it and forget it.Well not really – don’t just forget it…
6. BONUS TIP! – Schedule a reminder in your phone to remind yourself that the scheduled content got posted.  This way you remember to “check in” when you have a moment and reply to anyone who has responded to your recent post.

It is important that if you are going to schedule content that you remember to show up to participate in the discussion.  If you are only ever broadcasting scheduled content – people will know and they will stop engaging in the conversation with you.

Try these tips and see if they make an impact on your engagement with your followers as well as the time you spend on Social Media. Always remember that Social Media is a tool and, like any tool, there is a right way and a wrong way to use it.

Please leave me a comment and let me know if this helps you in any way!