Social media is a very effective tool but if you don’t watch what you’re doing, before you know it, you’ve spent many hours in the social media abyss. Running a business is about saving money and time. So stop wasting time with social media tactics that don't work. It’s so easy to get absorbed in the games, idle gossip and chit chat as well as the various other parts of social media that can suck the time right out of you. Sure these things are fun but not something you need to spend time doing while trying to grow your business. Granted you work for yourself but if you stay on this path of wasted time, it will catch up with you before you know and can spiral out of control easily. That's why you need to remain in control when it comes to social media. So how do you do that? That’s the easy part.
Plan for Success
If you don’t know what direction you’re heading towards then how will you know when you get there? Granted some people have that undeniable luck but these people are few and far between. So you need to have a plan of action in place such as a roadmap for your business success. This will help you avoid going blindly forward and will allow you to have a guideline to follow. In addition, you can adjust this plan as you see fit.
Implement Automation
Getting ahead is about saving time. The more time you waste in one area, the more time you waste getting to the areas that really need your attention. Today’s business world is all about automation. There’s no reason you shouldn’t have your social media on auto pilot. You can set up to have your posts, articles, blogs and other information automatically distributed across all your social media platforms by using tools such at Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or SocialOomph. In addition, putting your social media on auto pilot lets you devote more time directly with your clients versus distributing information to them.
Schedule your time
By scheduling the time that you devote to social media, you will not only stay away from wasting time but you will actually be able to have time to be… more sociable. So instead of devoting all your time to getting out your information, you can actually have time to read the other social media users posts and updates. This will enable you to become part of the conversation instead of watching it pass you by. One suggestion to help you schedule your time is the use of Google calendar and also hiring a virtual assistant (VA) who can help manage your time.
Article comments
1 - Aaron Eden
You're absolutely right that running a business is all about saving time and money... and your tips on scheduling time rings a bell. You see, the problem with many of us who are into the social media hype is that we think that the Web is a free billboard for us to post anything we like. It's like shouting stuff to passersby on the street and it's not really pretty. There's really no harm automating your posts, so long as you still have time to talk and listen to your peers online. Now, imagine having to keep more than 10 social networking sites up-to-date. It used to be a horror story for me until I took on the calling to find a real fix. By the way, thanks for the awesome tips!