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Narrow your social media channels
Identify how your channels can work together.
Create a schedule for posting content
Once a week, I schedule my social media. I can always add more or change things up if the mood strikes me, but I get the minimum out of the way. That way I’m not stuck in the infinite scroll, wondering what to post about.
Your content mix should include links to your own website, stand-alone statuses, calls to action/sales posts, and curated content that will be of interest to your readers. The curated content that you share doesn't have to have direct correlation to your business either – as long as you can create a compelling reason why it applies to your readers. I recently shared a post about the last Blockbuster in America. It had nothing to do with marketing – or really even business. But we've almost all heard the story of how Netflix changed the game on Blockbuster – even though Blockbuster had many opportunities to pivot and stay the leader in the game. I used that article – about the last Blockbuster out there in Portland – to challenge my followers to think about the new competition in their market that they're wanting to turn a blind eye to.
Book Time Each Day for Engagement
Use scheduling tools
Find a social media scheduling tool or use native scheduling to keep your content distribution on track. If you’re looking for a tool, here are a few criteria to evaluate:
- Does it schedule to all of the biggest platforms that you want to use? For example, there are only a few that can actually post TO Instagram for you (Hootsuite, Buffer, Later). Many let you schedule posts on Facebook Pages, but fewer post to groups. I don’t know of any that will post to groups that you don’t manage.
- How far in advance does it let you schedule on the plan that fits in your budget? Some scheduling tools limit how many posts you can schedule in advance based on the tier of service. For example, on the Hootsuite free plan you can schedule up to 30 posts across three platforms, including Instagram. If you want to attach more platforms or schedule more, then you need to upgrade to a higher-level plan.
- Does it have other features that help you manage your content? For example, with Hootsuite you can create streams that help you monitor or “listen to” the conversation around keywords and hashtags that impact your business. PostPlanner helps you curate content by providing suggested articles and even statuses.
Turn off notifications
Turn off notifications on your devices when it’s not social media time. As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, social apps are designed to encourage addiction. They scroll infinitely. They use push notifications to get you back into them as often as they can. So, when you’re NOT in a social media window, turn off your notifications. Or turn them off and leave them off. Trust me, your customers don’t need you to respond to their comments within 5 minutes. Within a couple of hours will often serve just fine.
So – those are my top tips on saving time on social media. Let me know yours in the comments!
PS: I've added a copy of my Facebook Group Tracking Spreadsheet in the Resource Library. You can get access FREE by signing up below!
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