28 February How to Make Time for Social Media February 28, 2019 By NPI Marketing Team Marketing, Social Media digital marketing, facebook, linkedin, time management 0 HOW TO MAKE TIME FOR SOCIAL MEDIA February 28, 2019 | Marketing, Social Media | digital marketing, Facebook, LinkedIn, time management By Stepha Vesper, NPI, Inc.'s Marketing Communications Specialist As a small business owner, you probably feel pretty rushed. You want to be sure that anything you do will be worth it in the long-run so your business can thrive. We can tell you with confidence that social media is definitely worth the manpower, but how can you allocate that priceless commodity, time? Here’s where to start. Take a look at your task list. If you’re trying to make time for anything, it only makes sense to take a look at what you’re actually doing over the course of your day. Now is a good time to create a list of tasks you already do, from the moment you wake up till the moment you quit work for the day. Be sure not to leave anything out! Now that you’ve made a list, take a close look at it. What items on your list absolutely have to be done every day? What items have flexibility? What items are you just not sure about in terms of long-term success? What items aren’t helping you reach your goals at all? Once you have a definitive list of must-do tasks, you have a great place to start. Know how much time you actually have. Now that you have your list, how much time does it realistically take to complete your tasks? Since you’ve trimmed back on to-dos, you should be able to find at least a modest amount of time to devote to social media. If you haven’t managed to find at ten to twenty minutes a day to create a new post, engage with a couple more and/or give your own feed a quick scroll for inspiration, it may be time to either start delegating or to trim your list back even more. Keep your approach simple. There’s always something new going on when it comes to social media. New video capabilities, advertising trends, analytics software . . . it’s tough to keep up with the latest, let alone implement it seamlessly in your digital marketing plan. That’s why we fully endorse the “keep it simple” method. There are some “classic” social media practices that will always have a chance of making a huge impact without you needing to completely switch gears. For example, making a habit of posting at least once a day, sharing high-quality images and taking the time to regularly interact with and support other social media accounts (such as those of fellow small businesses) is far more impactful than creating a slick animation that will just get lost in your followers’ feeds. That said, it’s never a bad idea to keep your social media content fresh. We recommend making a note whenever you see something that jumps out at you as you’re scrolling through your own social media feeds. What do you like about it? How could you adapt it for your own business? If a particular concept is calling your name, it means it’s worth your time to pursue it. That way, you’re prioritizing more “experimental” content rather than feeling obligated to try out every little thing you see. Have a plan - know where you're going and why. Good old-fashioned goal-setting will get you far in business, and that goes for digital marketing and social media, too. Do you want to gain 100 new followers over the next six months? Do you want to add one video a week to your repertoire? Write it down and don’t lose sight of it. Hold yourself accountable to not just your goals, but also to your time commitment to social media. If you stick to it, you’ll get results. Become a National Property Inspections home inspector. Have you always wanted to start your own business? Check out npifranchise.com to learn more about the inspection business! About the Author Stepha Vesper, Senior Marketing Communications Strategist Stepha holds two advanced writing degrees and has more than nine years’ experience creating blog articles, PR pitches, emails, website copy, print mailers, social media posts, newsletters, and taglines. Stepha also specializes in marketing training, strategy, and consultation, particularly in the areas of social media and email marketing. Her favorite part of her job at NPI is assisting franchisees with their digital marketing strategies so they reach their goals faster. Comments are closed.