Don't Let Social Media Management Be a Time Suck

DIY Sprocket Solutions

This article has been updated on 5/10/2022 with the article entitled “Embrace Social Media Management To Head Off the Time Suck.”

Social media management can turn into a total time suck if you let it.  Now, I'm not saying that you should stop spending time on your social media marketing, I'm saying that you should plan your time to work more efficiently.  Work smarter, not harder. We've all been sucked into the abyss that is Twitter.  We scroll, then click and read, click and read, click and read, look up and found that 4 hours have gone by and you're still sitting there in your pajamas.  That was a waste of time...

So, what can you do to get the most out of the time you spend on your social media marketing?  

Well, I have a few tips for you:

• Schedule your time - and stick to it!  You know what your company needs for its social media management.  I suggest getting on a schedule a week ahead of time.  Schedule an allotted time to find and research articles to share, photos, quotes, blog posts, etc.  You know - the content.  Next, schedule time to fashion that content into posts for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, whatever-other-social-networks-you-need-to-post-to.  Schedule those posts to send out.  Schedule times each day to engage and respond to comments.  Schedule. Your. Time. This way, all your bases are covered.  Anything else is added bonus.  If you feel like getting lost in Facebook today, that's your business.  At least your social media marketing is done.
• Use a tool to save your sanity.  No, really.  I use Hootsuite; you can use whatever you like.  Schedule your posts to auto-publish. Monitor all of your social networks and feeds in one place.  You will save so much time simply by cutting out the step of logging into each individual account every time. Plus, you'll be organized and organization feels lovely.  
• Create a social calendar.  If your social media is collaborative in your organization, post it to something like google docs so that everything can see the schedule.  You can use these calendars to schedule content you want to post and remind yourself of things that you need to focus on on certain days (holidays, events, promotions, etc.) Save graphics to use.  Make sure that everything is accounted for and you won't be scrambling last minute to promote an event or share a timely article.
• Keep a content vault.  Some "go-to's".  Need content ideas?  Just reach into your content repository and pull out a preformulated post.  Make sure you highlight the posts that are time sensitive so that you don't use them after they've expired (ex: posting a Christmas post in July or posting about an upcoming webinar that happened a week ago).  It's always good to have some back-up content to fill in gaps, especially when you're scheduling content a week in advance.  

Social media marketing is a great tool for businesses, without a doubt.  The key is to be efficient in the time that you're putting in to the management so that you are making the most of it.  Any tips or tricks that you use to make social media management less of a time suck?  Comment below!  And, if you're reading this article as an excuse to procrastinate on your own social media management, back to work!

Breanne BannonBreanne Bannon

Breanne is a Content Writer, Social Media Marketeer, and Sales Associate for Sprocket Websites.

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