Finding a Balance: How to Use Social Media Without Feeling Overwhelmed
Are you feeling overwhelmed with posting on social media? Are you feeling like social media is taking over your life?
I feel the same way.
If you are like me, you have realized that there are a lot of social media platforms out there, and it is hard to keep up with them all.
And, if you are not using them correctly or not getting enough engagement from your audience, then it can be even harder.
Social media is a great way to connect with your audience but can also be overwhelming—especially if you're new to the space. But don't worry! Here are some simple steps to get yourself started on your social media journey.
Create a social media strategy.
Before you get started, it's important to define your goals. Are you trying to grow an audience? Increase sales? Generate leads? Once these are clear in your mind, it'll be much easier for us to create a strategy that works for them.
Once we know where we're headed, we need to figure out who our audience is. Are they millennials or Baby Boomers? Do they live in rural areas or urban centers? What are their pain points and interests--and how can those inform our content creation process (hint: it should)?
Next up: define the brand voice and tone of voice used on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by answering questions such as "Who am I talking too?" "What do I want them thinking about when they see my content?" And lastly...
Set up the right social accounts.
- Set up the right social accounts.
Social media can be confusing, so it's important that you create accounts for the right platforms and use them correctly. Here are some tips:
- Choose the right platform for your business. Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, so choose one based on what works best for your product or service. For example, if you're selling custom-made furniture online (like IKEA), Facebook may not be the best place to focus most of your energy--but Pinterest might be!
- Understand personal vs. business accounts in each social media network (and don't mix them up). It's easy to accidentally connect with people who aren't interested in receiving updates from businesses on their private time zones; make sure all posts are professional by keeping personal profiles separate from work ones.
Post consistently and regularly.
The point of social media is to engage with your audience and build a community. If you're posting once a week or even once a day but only when it's convenient for you (and not when people are actually looking at their feeds), then there won't be much engagement happening.
Posting consistently will help keep people coming back to see what else is going on in your life or business. It also gives them an opportunity to get involved with the conversation by liking or commenting on posts--something that can lead directly to sales conversions!
While there's no right answer as far as how often is too often (it depends on how active your audience is), we recommend posting at least twice per day during normal working hours and no more than three times per day total across all platforms combined (including Facebook) if possible.
Use analytics to track success.
The first step to understanding your social media strategy is to look at the data. Analytics can help you see what content is working and what isn't, which time of day works best for posting, how many people engage with your posts and more.
There are several tools available that make it easy for anyone--even those without technical skills--to understand their analytics reports in an intuitive way. Some of these include:
Create a content calendar.
A content calendar is a great way to track your posts and ensure they're being shared at the right time. It's also a useful tool for planning your social media strategy so that you can post consistently while still ensuring each post has its unique value.
The first step in creating a content calendar is to decide how many days per week you want to post, then set aside time (or multiple times per day) that works best for you when writing and scheduling posts. You can use any number of tools for this: Google Calendar, iCalendar files (.ics), or Excel spreadsheets--the choice is yours! Just make sure whatever system works best for you makes sense from an organizational standpoint and an aesthetic one (iCalendar files tend not be easy on the eyes).
Create an editorial and content calendar in tandem with your Social Media Strategy.
An editorial calendar is a tool that helps you plan out your social media content. It can be used to organize posts by date, or by category, or both. The content calendar is similar but focuses more on the type of post you'll be sharing: photos? Videos? Quotes? Events? A combination of all four?
The best way to use them together is by creating one big master calendar that includes both editorial and content plans--and then using each separately as needed. If you're working with a team in your organization (or even just yourself), this will help everyone stay organized and ensure that nothing goes awry when it comes time for execution!
Research your audience and industry trends to stay ahead of the curve when creating content for your platform(s).
Research your audience and industry trends to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to creating content for your platform(s).
This step is crucial to understand who your target market is, what they want and need from you, and how they interact online. This research will help inform what type of content should be produced (e.g., video vs text posts) as well as where it should be posted on social media channels.
It's also important that you keep up-to-date with industry trends so that you're not left behind when competitors come out with new ideas or products/services!
Pinpoint which days you're most likely to post (and which days you're not).
The second step is to pinpoint which days you're most likely to post (and which days you're not). To do this, set up a calendar and schedule your social media check-ins for the next four weeks. This will help ensure that your social media posts go out on time and that you don't forget about them.
If you have multiple accounts and want to manage them all at once, consider using an app like Buffer or Hootsuite instead of scheduling individual posts in Google Calendar.
Make it easy on yourself by setting up some systems that will make it easier to post quality content on your own schedule consistently.
If you want to build a social media presence and grow your audience, it's important to get into the habit of posting regularly. But if posting isn't something you enjoy doing or feels like a chore, then chances are good that your content will suffer.
To help make things easier on yourself (and ensure consistent engagement with your audience), it's worth setting up some systems that will make it easier to consistently post quality content on your schedule.
- Make sure everything is in one place so there aren't any distractions or interruptions during the process of creating new posts.
Conclusion
It's not easy to keep up with all of your social media accounts, but it's worth the effort. A well-rounded social media strategy will help you attract new customers and keep them coming back for more. In this article, we've covered some of the most important elements of creating a successful campaign--from creating a content calendar that works with your Social Media Strategy to tracking analytics so that you know what works best for each platform. Remember: consistency is key!