By now you all know that social media is a great tool to help you build your business. However, incorporating social media into your life can be challenging if you’re not used to it. Whether you struggle with knowing how much time to spend on each social network or the type of content you should post, we’re here to help! Here are some of our favorite time-saving tips and tricks for staying active on social media.
Tip #1: Establish a routine for logging in to your accounts
If you are the kind of person who forgets to log on to your social media accounts for days at a time, this tip is for you! Establish a routine by logging on to your accounts for a few minutes in the morning, afternoon, and evening, and do your best to stick to a schedule. Set reminders on your phone, your computer, or write it down in your agenda to spend 10-15 minutes checking up on your accounts. For example: if you like to browse news sites while drinking your morning coffee, that’s also a great time to jump on Twitter to see what your friends are talking about. If twelve o’clock rolls around and you’re drained from working on a project all morning, take a break and switch gears by seeing what your friends are up to on Facebook. Regardless of how you decide to schedule your time, as long as you log on for a few minutes several times a day, you’re in good shape.
Tip #2: Know what to look for when you log in.
Not really sure what to look for or pay attention to when you log in to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? Rather than clicking around aimlessly, refer to this list of features you should always check when you sign in to your accounts
Notifications, Messages, and Friend requests: these features live next to each other at the top of your screen.
Your own profile: click on your own profile at least once a day. Check for photos that didn’t upload correctly, links that don’t work, or anything else that didn’t get posted as you had planned.
Your news feed: scroll through your news feed to see what your friends are posting. Notice that I said “scroll through” and not “read everything everyone has posted for the past 24 hours”. Only read the things that catch your eye, comment on them if you feel so inclined, and then move on.
Mentions and Interactions: click the @Connect icon at the top of your screen to view your most recent interactions (new followers and people who favorite your tweets) and mentions (people who mentioned you in a tweet or people who retweeted your tweets).
Direct messages: select the gear icon at the top of your screen to open a drop-down menu, and click on “direct messages” to display private messages that other users have sent you.
Your own profile: similarly to Facebook, it’s important to keep an eye on your own Twitter profile for tweets you sent out that didn’t post correctly.
Your home feed: scroll through your feed (again, this doesn’t mean “read everything”) to see what people are talking about. Retweet an interesting tweet or reply to something you like and move on.
Recent Likes, comments, and new followers: click the speech bubble icon at the bottom of your screen to view a list displaying all three.
Your profile: Again, check your own profile to make sure your photos posted with the correct captions, hashtags, etc.
Your feed: Scroll through to see what people are posting, and comment on or “like” the images that appeal to you. Hint: to “like” a photo, you can either hit the heart-shaped button at the bottom of each photo, OR you can simply double tap the photo.
Tip #3: Share what you discover online
When you find an interesting article or post online, what do you normally do after you’re done viewing it? Navigate to another page? Tell your spouse about it? Email it to a friend? That is all going to change right here, right now. When you find something online that piques your interest, don’t just close out your browser; take 30 seconds to share it on one of your social media channels. If there isn’t a share icon, simply copy the link and share it directly on your page. Include a short blurb about why you’re sharing that particular article and BAM – look what you just did! You posted an update on social media in under a minute.
Tip 4: Become best friends with the camera app on your smartphone
Do you have a smartphone? Then it’s time to start taking photos of things you see that are interesting, unusual, funny – whatever! People pay more attention to posts with images and plain-text posts, so do your best to upload at least one photo to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter every other day. Share images showing what you do on a daily basis that sets you apart from the rest, because remember; your life is only “normal” to you because you’re the one living it! Post updates that will people the opportunity to be curious about you, your business, and your life. If you make a point to do this, their curiosity will eventually motivate them to reach out to you to find out more about your business or the products you sell.
Some ideas to get you started: Snap a pic of the Isotonix products you take at breakfast and include a caption like, “can’t start my day without these!” Posting a photo of your newest business partner with a short blurb about how excited to have them on board will make them feel welcome, and it will make other people curious about what you do. If you host a Motives® party, take some fun photos of your guests interacting with the products and share a few before and after pictures of their Motives makeovers (with their permission, of course!). The possibilities are endless, so get crackin’!
These are our favorite time-saving tips for staying active on social media, but we want to know yours, too! Post your tips tricks, or social media advice in the comment section below!