How to Maximize Your Time Spent on Social Media

Please raise your hand if you've ever felt like you were wasting your time on social media.

FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ are just some of the few tabs you have open at any given moment. The activity feeds of all the sites are constantly streaming by with pictures and jokes that have no impact on you or your business. As the minutes pass ten, twenty, sixty you realize you are not spending your time wisely, especially when other aspects of your business could use the help.

Well, don’t worry there’s good news: With a little discipline and a couple set blocks of time, soon you will be in control and able to accomplish what you need efficiently and quickly.

Follow these next few steps, and we’ll walk through how to wisely spend your time on social media. When we’re done you’ll know exactly how to maximize your time spent and get a maximum return. Let’s dive in.

5 Steps to Maximizing Your Time on Social Media

1.) Track your time on the computer for the week.

Before you start diving into the restructure of your social media habits, we need to monitor how you currently spend your time on the computer throughout the week. You want to establish the three or four main time syncs of your current computer habits. Then, you can decide whether these habits are valuable to you and your business before completely start from scratch.

Keep in mind that some of your habits might be on the correct track, but just need to be completed in a more structured manner.

Nothing to overly analytical about this process, keying in on a few points creates our base for improvements.

2.) Brainstorm list of social media values.

After you've monitored your computer habits for the last week, now you must figure out what values you hope to achieve through social media. Similar to the first step—create a list of why you use social media and also what you wish to accomplish using it.

You can refer to How to Set Social Media Goals for specific examples.

3.) Set focused blocks of time.

Whether you plan on devoting anywhere from 20 minutes all the way up to a few hours, breaking up your efforts into focused blocks of time is one of the main focuses of optimization.

Start by choosing any combination of morning, noon and afternoon to be your designated social media times. For example, let’s say you want to devote 45 minutes a day to social media. Break that 45 minutes into multiple 15 minute segments and for those 15 minutes focus only on replying, updating and curating your social media feeds.

4.) Choose your most important goals and stick with them.

Some days you might feel short on time during your predetermined social media sessions. Without risking falling back into your old unstructured way of doing social media, during these times prioritize your most important goals first.

 Making sure to reply to comments and tweets is much more important than scheduling a post for next week, so the less pressing matters can be pushed back to later in the day or sometimes different days all together.

5.) Modify based on results.

Once you are settled into your allotted social media times, the next step in the process is fine tuning. A few times a month or whenever you have reached a milestone you should re-evaluate your goals.

Highlighting the differences between the goals that are currently be fulfilled and those that are not fully being reached, allows you to devote more resources and time to certain areas. Eventually you will find a balance that allows you to pursue all your goals equally.

There you go, now you are ready to manage your social media in a more consistent and efficient way. And you know what the best part is? Now your social media will work for you, instead of the other way around.

Have any more questions about common social media tips? Don’t hesitate to ask.

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How to Set Social Media Goals

How do you remain productive through your day? For some they jot down quick lists of goals to accomplish and for others they can put all their focus into completing once task at a time.

While each individual person has preferences in how they accomplish their tasks, defining proper goals when it comes to social media is key to success in the long run.

It is common for a business to feel the need to jump on the bandwagon that is social media. Find the most popular sites and quickly signing up, and then having no idea what to do from there. You might think “Hey, I just need 10,000 likes and I will be golden” or “I want to make money from this”.

These are the worst types of goals to have. While in the end they might be exactly what you want, without defining any type of specifics the chance you reach them are slim to none.

Here are some examples of proper goals:

-          I will add 100 new fans per month on the FaceBook page

-          I will make 5 new professional connections on LinkedIn through December 31

-          I will follow 10 new people on Twitter per month

These are examples of proper goals because they are S.M.A.R.T.

-          Specific

o   Goals should be specific and state exactly what you want to accomplish

-          Measurable

o   Goals should be measurable so you know you’ve met your goal

-          Attainable

o   Goals should be attainable and reasonable

-          Relevant

o   Goals should be relevant, consistent with other goals

-          Timely

o   Goals should be timely and include a deadline for reaching the goal

By defining proper goals when it comes to your social media practices, you will be able to track your progress and have an easier time when adjusting certain aspects in order to be successful. 

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Is Social Media Required For Small Business?

While there are obvious arguments and exceptions, getting down to the knitty gritty

Yes, Social Media is required.

Whether you are a local area carpenter or a small pizza franchise, utilizing the various aspects of social media to reach your overall business goals is a great option. However, you don’t need to be a computer wiz or technology junkie to reap the benefits.

“But I don’t understand all of the fuss about these silly websites!”

This is the first step. Once you begin to understand and get a grasp on the basics of social media, the rest follows suit. The fundamental understanding of the major social media platforms may come quickly to some, but with a minimal time commitment, even the most stubborn of luddites can be tweeting and posting status updates with ease.

Still not convinced it is worth the effort? Here is a quick list of the many benefits provided:

• Business Exposure
• Customer Insights
• Reduced Marketing Expenses
• Lead Generations
• Extremely Targeted
• Competitve Advantage
• Analytics and Reporting
• Strengthen Loyalty
• Rise in Search Rankings
• Increased Website Traffic

"OK, You have convinced me... bring on the hordes of new customers!"

In today’s age we can compare having social media to needing a website ten years ago, and needing your business in the phone book years before that. So much so that it has almost become an expectation of every business, and just like its predecessors it is not enough to just sign up and wait.

An easy way to look at using social media is to compare it to going on a diet. Sure many people every year get excited and promise:

 “Alright from here on out, I am only going to eat healthy and get in the best shape I can”. 

But for many, two days later they can be seen eating slices of pizza and drinking soda.

Social media is a commitment. Just like you wouldn't expect to lose 20 pounds over night on a diet, neither should you expect social media to be the be all end all of your marketing. The more consistency and effort you put into your social media practices the greater the benefits.

Like many things in life, it is a marathon not a sprint.


Stay tuned for upcoming blogs that will expand on many of the most pressing questions small business owners have. Examples: How to Optimize A Facebook Page, Defining a Social Media Strategy and more.

Optimizing your Image and Brand

Every time you step out of the house, you are representing yourself and your brand in everything you do. While your image might change with the new trends and styles, your core brand and ideologies should be consistent across all mediums. Your brand represents your values, it is your legacy, it is your fingerprint.

Here are a few helpful thoughts:

- Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Never under estimate the power of good hygiene.
-Strive for your best possible physical condition.
-Dress tastefully and appropriate every day. You never know who you may encounter next to you at the gas pump.
-Promptness communicates respect and dependability.
-Be present. Don't fidget, gaze off or be preoccupied with your mobile device.
-Make eye contact and maintain relaxed, positive facial expressions.
-Body language needs to communicate approachability, alertness and respect.
-Listen more than speak. Never interrupt.
-Don't simply use good manners, have them.
-Social Media: Be other-centered offering rich content and compelling status updates.
-Keep appointments. Keep your word.
-Return correspondence promptly via the same medium (texts with texts, calls with calls, etc.) and with correct grammar.

Keeping these simple thoughts in mind when you go about your daily business will allow you to present and consistent and quality image.