Social media is a great way to connect with friends, family, and clients. However, here’s the full disclosure: Social media can be time-consuming if you don’t know how to properly manage your social media presence. In this article, we’ll share some tips for using social media efficiently so that you can make the most of your time on these platforms.
Social media can be time-consuming.
Full disclosure: social media can be time-consuming. The good news is that you can manage your social media presence without spending all your waking hours on it. For example, you could hire a virtual assistant to help you stay organized and post consistently.
The best way to ensure that you’re using social media effectively is by focusing on specific goals for each channel and then measuring the results of your efforts with analytics tools like Instagram Insights or Google Analytics. This way, even if you don’t have time for posting every single day (or even every week), at least you know what matters most so that when something does need updating online—whether it be an event schedule or product launch—you can do it quickly and effectively!
Helpful tips to help you manage your social media presence
If you’re like most people, you have a lot of social media accounts. If you don’t, that’s great! Please pat yourself on the back for having it together and focus on what’s important: eating pizza and watching Netflix. However, keeping track of everything for those with an online presence can be challenging. Here are some excellent tips for managing your social media presence:
Use a calendar—and use it religiously!
You’ve probably heard this one before, but I think it bears repeating because calendars are helpful when planning posts or events. They come in many different shapes and sizes; there’s no correct answer here except whatever works best for your needs (Google Calendar is an easy-to-use free option). Check out these fantastic ways people use calendars with their brand/business, too!
Use checklists—you’ll go crazy without them!
A checklist is another useful tool for staying organized with all those deadlines looming overhead; whether they’re work-related or personal commitments like “pay rent” or “make doctor appointments,” keeping track of them will help prevent stress down the line when everything gets overwhelming at once.*
Have a system in place!
Managing your social media can be draining if you don’t have a system in place for it. Social media can be a great way to grow your business, but it can also be a time-sucking black hole if you don’t have a management system.
It would be best if you had an organized social media calendar set aside at specific times of day for engaging with followers on each platform. This doesn’t mean you must post something new hourly—these are just guidelines. It’s more important that you’re consistent than hitting random posts per day or week.
Plus, if your social media strategy includes posting at different times of day depending on which platform and audience you’re targeting (for example, Facebook vs. Instagram), this kind of organization will become even more important!
Create an organized social media plan.
Start with your social media calendar.
Knowing when to post content is essential, so use an app like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule your posts. This way, you won’t have to think about what and when you will post on any given day—you can look at your calendar and go from there.
Make use of notifications.
Set up notifications for each platform so that you’ll be notified when someone interacts with one of your social media posts (e.g., likes or comments). This makes it easier for you to see which posts are performing well and which ones aren’t getting much interaction so that you can make changes accordingly (e.g., change the date or time for posting). If possible, set these notifications as push notifications instead of emails. Hence, they show up immediately rather than waiting until later in the day/week/month/year (depending on how often they arrive).
Hire a virtual social media assistant.
Hire a virtual social media assistant if you need help managing your social media.
You may be thinking: Why would I pay someone to do something I can do myself? As someone familiar with social media and who has time to manage it, I can tell you it’s not as easy as it seems. There are so many different platforms out there, and each one has its own rules for posting content—not to mention that you have to keep up with all of them!
For example, if you post on Instagram during the exact times every day and don’t mix up your content from week to week (like posting pictures from vacation on Tuesday instead), people will get bored with seeing the same thing repeatedly. They might even unfollow you because they assume there’s nothing new coming from your page!
It may seem like this would make sense for companies that have large teams handling their social media accounts (especially if those companies plan on hiring an intern). But what about smaller businesses or individuals who want help keeping up with everything? That’s where we come in! We understand how critical engagement is—and how much work goes into creating engaging posts without being annoying or repetitive (which happens when anyone tries doing this alone).
By taking care of everything related to our end users’ needs–we’re able to keep both sides happy while maintaining consistency across multiple platforms, so no matter where they find us – whether Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. – everyone gets what they want without feeling overwhelmed.”
Recap to make the most of your social media
- Use a social media calendar.
- Also, use a tool to schedule your posts in advance, like Hootsuite or Buffer, which can be set up on your phone and desktop computer.
- Schedule posts for a specific time and day you know you will be available to post them (i.e., not at 3 a.m.).
- Set a time limit for yourself!
The bottom line about full disclosure is that social media can be time-consuming.
As we said – social media can be a time-consuming commitment if you don’t have a plan in place for it. By following these tips, you can manage your social media presence and your brand’s online reputation organizationally. If all else fails, hire a virtual social media assistant!