At each of the marketing workshops I’ve presented during the past few years, invariably the question comes up, “How can I reduce the amount of time I spend marketing my business on the Social Networks?”
We all know that social media marketing can take a lot of time.
How to maximize it? Here are three tips for reducing the time you spend on social media marketing:
1. Have a strategy. The most important tip is to have a strategy. Why are you using social media? Know who you’re trying to engage, what you’d like them to do and then figure out how you want to use which media. You may want to combine how you use Facebook and YouTube together to bring your message to life. SlideShare and Linked In could be exactly what you need. You’ll want to leverage the social media sites that is most appropriate for your goal and they each have pros and cons.
2. Create a plan. It can be an editorial type calendar or just a list of subjects with a reminder at the top of the goal (who you’re talking with, what you hope to accomplish and what the measurement of success is.) That way you have a roadmap of what’s to come.
3. Schedule ahead. You can schedule LinkedIn updates by using HootSuite. I’ve been using HootSuite for Twitter and Facebook status updates, but prior to this Linked In wasn’t available. I also use a WordPress Plug-in to post on Twitter to promote “encore” or “archive” posts at regular intervals. Make sure you don’t rely ONLY on automation however or your social media will turn into robot media. And be completely ineffective!
Even following these 3 tips, you can get sucked into reading silly, fun comments. Here’s a bonus tip: Set a timer each time you start your actual execution of strategy. Fifteen minutes should do it. Having that visual reminder on my desk helps me with the sense of urgency and keeps me from sliding down the rabbit hole of reading personal social media versus using it as a marketing tool for business.
What tips/tools do you use to manage your time on social media marketing? Please leave a comment below. Thanks!
photo credit: Annie Mole
Chris, I can’t agree with you more when it comes to creating a strategy before you even start to post your first Facebook update or tweet. The trouble is that the world of social media is still evolving and we are all on-the-job training, thus, we just strike anywhere and hope that somehow, we get ROI in as little time as possible. If I were to add another item on your list, it is: Engage. It’s very easy to send out sweet hello’s in a hope that word about your brand spreads like wildfire; but keeping the fire of conversation burning like a Greek fire is something that takes time. Are you listening? I guess, we have so much to learn and no matter how much automation tools are ready for us to use out there, it all comes down to authenticity and quality. As the adage goes, ‘Share or solve, don’t shill’. Cheers!
Aaron:
Engage. Absolutely. That’s what’s it’s all about… the conversation part. Other wise it is just another one way media like the radio or TV or newspapers.
Thanks so much for adding to this post!!
Chris
I agree to have a plan as often I find myself ‘playing’ with time while on FB. I have found it to be so useful in making connections, and truly enjoy getting together with FB like minded women at luncheons, and events. This post reminds me to end and start my day with a plan, to be more productive and really have time to Play. ‘Feel the Hugs’ and thanks for the help,
Karen
There’s so much going on in social media that it’s easy to spend all day there! I think the key is to set aside a certain amount of time each day, and that’s it. Automation tools are very beneficial, but you still need to go in and add the human/conversation element.
Although, software are available to make the work of social media, it is important to make real human conversation also. Hence, it is better to plan ahead (as mentioned above) and set a specific schedule on this task.
Your Suggestion:
1. Have a strategy.
2. Create a plan
3. Schedule ahead.
Are really good, but difficult for me, to doing this, please help me how can i use these tips properly.
Dear IT:
Yes these are difficult to do if you haven’t done it before. Here’s a more directive, detailed suggestion. You can modify it to match your own situation:
I notice you have LinkedIn and Twitter links to your social media on your new website. But when I visit your Twitter, you only have tweeted 3 times — and two of those in ’09.
Assuming your strategy is to reach out to potential customers who are looking for an outsourced IT professional and engage them in a Twitter conversation, why not put a plan together of developing a series of IT tips that someone who is looking for an IT professional to outsource their IT challenges to would find value in reading?
Strategy: build Twitter following with potential clients
Plan:
1) Fill out the rest of your Twitter profile at @maxlandit. Be sure to include something like Providing fresh ideas to old IT challenges. Our 31 employees offer outsourced IT services in Europe, Asia and the USA.
2) Tweet: Brainstorm and tweet IT tips - maybe 2 a day
3) Engage: search using ? and location for people tweeting IT challenges in your area and talk with them by with @ symbol.
Schedule ahead: brainstorm a bunch of tips - maybe enough for a month. Schedule them to go out through out the week. Bundle up your efforts into a half hour at a time, once a week. It is better than trying to do 5 minutes once a day since it takes a while to log in and get your bearings.
Does that help more?
Chris