Be Efficient to be Effective With Social Media

As a woman who has raised four children, I would not have survived without my ability to multi-task at the highest level. I could make a kid a peanut butter sandwich with one hand and mop the floor with the other–while arguing with the T-Moble operator about yet another error in my cell phone bill.

Unfortunately my obsession with multi-tasking went beyond the everyday tasks, and seeped into my business activities…but not in a good way.

Did you say “squirrel”?

I know you’ve been there (and don’t tell me you haven’t). You sit down at your desk promptly at 8 a.m. with your daily schedule on your right and steaming cup of coffee on the left. You feel empowered. It’s going to be a great day. You log onto your computer, ready to start knocking things off your to-do list and you see that you’ve left your Facebook page up. A quick glance shows that you have 11 notifications and 2 friend requests. Best to get those out of the way now, you think. So you click and accept and then read the top news and then scroll through your feed. You see that it’s your cousin’s birthday so you hop over to his wall to leave a witty birthday greeting, then you notice that he’s posted that he’s attending a festival this weekend that you forgot all about. Wondering what time it starts you click on the link and you hop over to the Fall Festival page to see what’s on the agenda. After spending 10 minutes cruising the site, you close the page. You see in the news ticker on Facebook that your friend Erik is listening to “The Night Time is the Right Time” by CCR. Wow, that’s a blast from the past, you think to yourself as you click the link to listen along with him just as your computer beeps, an alert that “you’ve got mail.”

Thinking you should probably check your messages before you start your day, you open your Outlook and see that you have 17 messages. As you scroll through them you see that The Loft is having a big “One Day Only” online sale. You click the email and immediately you see the blouse you were going to buy last Thursday when you were at the store — the one that was $59 — is on sale for just $29.99 (today only…) You click to go to The Loft website and you see there’s lots of great stuff on sale. Twenty minutes later you complete your purchase and close the page…

I’d like to say that this is an exaggerated account, but I’d be lying. And you’d be lying, too. You know you’ve done it. You’re on a roll, knocking things off the list and you think “I’ll just check email this once.” The next thing you know you’re ordering Christmas gifts on Amazon in July, and you’re wondering “How did I get here?”

With so many distractions online, it can be difficult to stay focused. With Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter competing for your time, how do you organize your day to be effective and efficient in social media–without feeling like you’re just chasing shiny objects all day lone (aka SQUIRREL syndrome).

Some tips I have found to help me make the most effective use of my time online include:

• First, have a social media strategy. If you use social media for business (and you should), have a clear direction BEFORE you start.
• Create an daily schedule and stick to it. If you have to, use a tool like Stay Focused to limit the amount of time you spend on a site. It works.
• Use Google Reader. A great tool to organize your favorite content, making it easier to find resources to share with your audience.
• Create an editorial calendar for your blog. The quantity and quality of your blog posts will increase.
• Use Hootsuite. Connect multiple social networks, schedule posts, track analytics and more.
• Do it your way. Sure there are lots of great new online tools out there with lots of bells and whistles, but if you are a rolodex girl–use a rolodex. Don’t spend hours trying to find the BEST contact management tool, if your rolodex is doing it for you. Do what’s comfortable for you.
• Get up and move. Get up from your desk every hour and stretch. Go out and breathe the air. Fill your water glass. Don’t sit at your desk ALL day. The change of scenery does wonders for the brain.
• Give yourself time to play. Set aside 15 – 20 minutes a day to play Words with Friends, read your favorite blogs, and post pictures and status updates on your personal Facebook page (this is actually good for your Klout score, by the way).