As a small business owner or solo-preneur, your time is very limited. And when it comes to social media, you may sometimes feel like you’ve wasted a whole day on Facebook or Twitter without much to show for it. So use these 10 tips to optimize your time and increase your social media productivity.
1. Set Specific Goals for Using Social Media
The more specific your goals, the better you can maximize your time. “Scheduling 3 Facebook Posts and leaving a comment on 3 new connections’ Pages” is a much better daily goal than “Checking in on Facebook”.
2. Schedule “Business” and “Fun” Time
If you can separate your work time from your personal time online, you’ll get much more accomplished on social media sites.
Daily habits work best: for example, use social media for personal time in the evening, and business networking in the morning.
3. Choose Several Favorite Tools and Stick With Them
Initially, you’ll want to try out a few tools that help you manage your social sites; but once you’ve found the few that really save you time, stick with them!
The “shiny object syndrome” is a big distraction. Trying every new tool launched that promises to save time or produce amazing results can end up costing you time when you already have a plan that works.
Stick with what you know, get better at using those tools first, and then, when your system is running smoothly, set aside time to check out new tools.
4. Minimize the Distractions
If you’re online to work on your business, you may want to close all chat options, turn off notifications, log out of email, etc. If you know that a lot of your family members are on social sites in the evening, then plan your business time on social media earlier in the day.
Know what distractions are the hardest for you to avoid, and set a timer if necessary, to stay on track.
5. Put New Skills Into Practice Right Away
It’s a challenge to keep up with new features on social sites, and it may seem like you’re learning something new every few months.
The best way to retain that new information is to use it right away. Or keep a folder/notebook (online or offline) to save new tips or how-to’s for your social media sites.
6. Set Up a Content Calendar / Content Strategy
Do you have a plan when you log on to your social media accounts? Or do you look at other people’s accounts/trending topics to figure out what to post?
While keeping up with trends, competitors, and industry influencers is a smart strategy for inspiration, you need to start out with your own content strategy and calendar.
Create your content calendars: weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual – to keep your business message on track, and your posting schedule consistent.
Then add a few updates on trending topics if they are relevant and of interest to your Fans/Followers.
7. Automate Some of Your Posts
It makes sense to automate some of your social media posts: you can’t be online 24-hours a day, and your target audience will not always be online at the same time as you.
The trick is to find the right balance of automated posts and real-time interaction to keep your community happy. Experiment with a few automated posts, and then take note of their reach, and your community’s engagement.
8. Integrate Social Sites As Often As Possible
Save time by integrating your social sites whenever possible. Examples include:
- Linking your Instagram account to Facebook so new posts on Instagram can be shared to your Facebook Page/Profile.
- Sharing some of your Pinterest Pins to Twitter by checking the box on a new Pin (link your Twitter account to Pinterest first).
- Using a tool like Friends+Me to share your Google Plus posts to other social sites automatically.
9. Build an Email List
Your email list is your core group of customers/prospects who want to receive more information from you. Whether they’ve signed up for a free give-away, or want periodic updates on blog posts, newsletters or videos, take the time to communicate with them on a regular basis.
So if you haven’t already, start building a list of targeted followers by offering something of value. Be more helpful than promotional to build a long-term relationship. Down the road, this list can be one of your best sources of customers.
10. Monitor Your Accounts and Results
Set up a system for monitoring your results on social media: number of Fans/Followers, engagement rate, opt-ins to email lists, website traffic, etc.
You can use a social media dashboard/tool or start out with a simple system or spreadsheet of your own. The important things is to continue to monitor your social accounts, and make adjustments as necessary.
Bonus: Stick with a System for At Least One Month
Social media success is a long-term goal: so don’t get frustrated when results don’t happen overnight. You need to stick with a strategy and system for at least a month (many times for several months) to give your target audience a chance to get to know, like, and trust you.
Testing out a brand new social media strategy every week is going to end up wasting your valuable time, and most likely frustrate you – especially if you are a small business/solo-preneur who does all the social media postings yourself.
Social media takes time, but if you put these tips into action, you’ll soon find that you can work smarter, not harder to achieve the desired results for your business.
About Terry League