5 Painless Ways to Sneak Social Media Into Your Schedule
Be honest. You’ve probably used the line “I don’t have time” as an excuse to avoid a variety of essential tasks, for both your personal and professional life. As a business owner, this can cost you. Staying active on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn is one of the first things to fall into that “Save for Later” category, where later becomes never.
That ends today–for social media anyway. Here are 5 simple tricks to squeeze social into that tight schedule of yours.
1. GET THE MOBILE APP
It’s astounding how many people I run into who don’t have social media mobile apps on their phone! If you can only post or interact on social when you have access to a desktop, you’re limiting yourself. Every social platform has a mobile app. Go to the app store right now and download these apps so you can start engaging with your audience anytime, anywhere.
2. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR DRIVE TIME
First, let me be clear: I am NOT an advocate of texting while driving. (Join me and sign the no texting pledge on www.itcanwait.com.) However, there are those 5-minute stop lights, delayed train arrivals, and long waits in the check-out line. Use these times to hop on Twitter and retweet someone’s post or to comment on someone’s Instagram photo. These small gestures can go a long way toward increasing your followers and reach on social media.
3. “TWEET FROM THE SEAT”
As much as I would like to take credit for that crafty slogan, I am not the originator, just a raving fan of Charmin tissue for being marketing geniuses. Since I believe this tip is self-explanatory I’ll just say post wisely and leave it at that.
4. SET A REMINDER
People find it hard to believe that sometimes set reminders to post and interact on social media. It’s true. Whether it’s a reminder in my phone, a reoccurring task on my digital calendar, or even the old school sticky note every once in a while. Either way, we all could use that tap on the shoulder every now and then to help crystallize the habit.
5. PLAN IN ADVANCE
Social is a part of your life now. Embrace it. When you sit down to plan your week or day, write “comment on a post” or “interact with a thought leader” on your calendar. It takes less than a minute to write it down and about the same amount of time to implement. Make this an essential part of your social media strategy.
BONUS TIP: SCHEDULE IN ADVANCE
Ain’t nothing wrong with a little automation. Like almost all entrepreneurs, a busy schedule is not unfamiliar for us. Tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer and Sprinklr take a lot of the work off your back when it comes to social media management. Pick a certain day and time to schedule a week ahead. That way, you’re a little more prepared for the unavoidable last-minute appointment that pops on your calendar and the spur-of-the-moment nap you’ll eventually give in to (go ahead, you deserve it).
These tips have saved me hours of time and made my social media management a lot easier. What have you done to fit social media into your schedule? Tweet me @biancalynch!
