Managing Your Social Media Marketing

Social media can be time-consuming and overwhelming, if you allow it to be. When setting up your social media schedule (Yes, you shouldn’t just be doing it whenever, wherever, however!), be sure to prioritize your efforts.

I always tell my clients, the first step is to get clear on what your goal is for your social networking marketing campaigns. If you don’t have a clear idea of what you’re heading towards, it’s going to be very difficult to know if you’re heading in the right direction or if you’ve even arrived there. It would be like going on a road trip to somewhere completely new, and not having a road map or GPS in your car. You’ll be absolutely lost!

Once you’re clear on what your goal is, set up a schedule. Figure out what days you’re going to work on blog posts, when you’re going to update your status, send out your Tweets. Once you’ve set up your schedule, stick to it! Schedule it into your calendar, set up appointments for yourself, do whatever you need to do to make it part of your routine. Because with social networking, online marketing, social media – if you’re not consistent, it’s not going to work!

Ok, so you’ve gotten your goals clarified and you’ve set up a schedule. Now you need to automate as much as you can. Use some of the many tools available to systematize and automate your Tweets, your Facebook updates, your blog posts, etc.  Some of the tools I personally use are Hootsuite, Ping.fm, and SocialOomph.com.

For a great series on social media time management and setting priorities, check out Amber Naslund’s social media time management series.

Have a great day! Make sure to let me know about any tips you have that help you save time with your social media efforts.