Social Media Tsunami? 7 Life Preservers

Social media is supposed to be fun, isn’t it? If you’re not having fun, try these tips to get some perspective on the issue.

Social Media Life Preservers

1. Use Tools.

Like building a fence, it helps to have the right tools. There are social media tools that can help you make the most of the least amount of time.

For Twitter, there’s Tweetdeck which is very easy to use. You register using your Twitter account credentials. You can schedule posts, with images, for as far in advance as you wish. You can set up columns with the hashtags that interest you. You can easily copy a tweet’s URL link to share on other social media.

For Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, there’s Twittimer which is a lifesaver for me. If I want to share information about my blog, my books, or about friends’ books, this website makes it easy. You can upload a CSV file with hundreds of tweets and posts.

I’ve previously written 2 posts about Twittimer: Save Time on Social Media With Twittimer and
Uploading a Spreadsheet to Twittimer. Read those to learn everything you need to know.

2. Be realistic.

There is no way you can be active on every popular social media site. So don’t even think you can. Find 2 or 3 that you really enjoy. They’re probably the ones where you already interact with readers. Focus on those. Use tools to post something every day then pop in to see comments or answer questions.

3. Check in every day.

Make checking your 2 or 3 social media sites part of your morning and evening routine. Heck, do it at lunchtime if you have a few minutes. The trick is to scan content quickly, looking for a place where  you can add something relevant.

4. Make lists.

There’s no way to keep up with the feed on any site. It just goes too fast. So set parameters for what your feed shows you. In Facebook, pin the pages you want to stay up with. In Twitter, create relevant lists of authors, reviewers, bloggers, or whatever groups you want to keep up with so you’ll always see their content. (Tweetdeck makes that easy for Twitter.)

5. Set alarms.

First, use the timer function on your cell phone to see how long it takes you to scan through each social media site you’ve chosen. Write it down.

If it’s a huge chunk of time, lower the number of social media you’re trying to keep up with even if you have to cut it down to one.

When you can manage one efficiently, cutting the time enough to add another social media, start using the stopwatch function on your cell to keep you on track.

6. Send your blog feed to your social media accounts.

If you blog frequently, set it up so your blog feeds into your social media accounts, but be careful that you don’t flood every social media account with the same content.

People who follow you on Facebook may also follow you on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc. They will tend to you’re a nuisance when you pump out the same content all over the internet.

7. Plan your social media sessions. 

Plan your work and how much time you’ll spend and what you want to accomplish so you don’t get sucked into looking at new hairstyles on Pinterest or watching funny dog videos.

Takeaway Truth

Plan your work, and work your plan. You’ll be surprised how well this works.