How to Not Use a Scattershot Approach to Social Networking
Good grief, do you ever wonder what you did with your time before social networking?
While a typical workday used to involve an overflowing inbox—picture papers dropped helter-skelter into a desk tray on one’s desk—now our email inboxes runneth over, our Twitter feed feels like a marathon read and our Pinterest boards are seriously in need of an overhaul. When the phone rings these days we gulp, wondering, "what could be wrong?" The phone!
Rather than give up on social networking though, find a way to manage it.
Easier said than done, right? The practice may not be fast the first time around, but once a practice is in place for dealing with and even managing your social networking accounts, things will start to look a lot brighter. And tidier.
Where to start
Start by saying this one little word and save yourself hours of angst: “no.” It’s a complete sentence, isn’t it?
If you’re a creative, a small business owner or an entrepreneur, you know that there are lots of tempting distractions built into a work day. You likely say no to other things: unnecessary meetings if you own a business, watching TV during time that you set aside as sacred to writing or creating.
Being proactive and saying, “no” to too many types of social networking is just as important.
But I don’t want to miss out!
Ah, this is one reason that I completely understand. Creatives are kind of like magpies when it comes to new social media: it catches our eye first, then our attention. Before we know it, we have spent three hours jumping down rabbit holes in a single blog before coming up for air. “What happened,” we ask, looking around us blearily. “I just wanted to read one article …”
If you’re afraid you will miss out on a single form of social media, don’t worry. It’s not going anywhere. Just because you don’t set up that Instagram account today, doesn’t mean it won’t be there tomorrow or next month. And if a particular social media platform fades away before you get to use it, consider it a blessing of time saved.
Scattershot = Few results
If there was an award for best scattershot attempts during one’s career, would you win? Are you maintaining sickly-looking profiles on more than three online platforms? More than six? Seven-plus? If so, back away from the keyboard.
Seriously, the more focused your attempts, the more benefits you’ll see. Why spread yourself so thin that you can’t keep up? Better to choose one or two social networks, learn the in’s and out’s of each and present your very best self on these, rather than a not-so-appealing version on six platforms. Alexis Grant, social media maven, has an excellent Quick 'n Dirty Guide to Getting Traffic to Your Website, that I consider a must-read.
Start small and grow
There is no reason that you can’t start small—think one or two social networks—and grow these over time. Every new media, every platform, has a learning curve. But once you’ve gotten familiar with one, say Facebook, interacting there is not as much work. Then it’s time to move on: maybe to Twitter or LinkedIn or Pinterest.
Oh, one more note: there are tons and tons of free resources online for getting started with and expanding one’s social media presence. Sometimes it is helpful to choose one or two authors—just like you chose one or two social media platforms—and soak in their instruction. The caveat is to choose someone who is doing work that you love and connect with and adding them to the top of your “to be read,” file.
***Signed up for the Newsletter for Writers yet? It comes out twice a month and is packed with information, inspiration and education to empower writers. Get on the list in less than a minute and receive my free 7 Ways to Find Time to Write guide.
While a typical workday used to involve an overflowing inbox—picture papers dropped helter-skelter into a desk tray on one’s desk—now our email inboxes runneth over, our Twitter feed feels like a marathon read and our Pinterest boards are seriously in need of an overhaul. When the phone rings these days we gulp, wondering, "what could be wrong?" The phone!
Rather than give up on social networking though, find a way to manage it.
Easier said than done, right? The practice may not be fast the first time around, but once a practice is in place for dealing with and even managing your social networking accounts, things will start to look a lot brighter. And tidier.
Where to start
Start by saying this one little word and save yourself hours of angst: “no.” It’s a complete sentence, isn’t it?
If you’re a creative, a small business owner or an entrepreneur, you know that there are lots of tempting distractions built into a work day. You likely say no to other things: unnecessary meetings if you own a business, watching TV during time that you set aside as sacred to writing or creating.
Being proactive and saying, “no” to too many types of social networking is just as important.
But I don’t want to miss out! Ah, this is one reason that I completely understand. Creatives are kind of like magpies when it comes to new social media: it catches our eye first, then our attention. Before we know it, we have spent three hours jumping down rabbit holes in a single blog before coming up for air. “What happened,” we ask, looking around us blearily. “I just wanted to read one article …”
If you’re afraid you will miss out on a single form of social media, don’t worry. It’s not going anywhere. Just because you don’t set up that Instagram account today, doesn’t mean it won’t be there tomorrow or next month. And if a particular social media platform fades away before you get to use it, consider it a blessing of time saved.
Scattershot = Few results
If there was an award for best scattershot attempts during one’s career, would you win? Are you maintaining sickly-looking profiles on more than three online platforms? More than six? Seven-plus? If so, back away from the keyboard.
Seriously, the more focused your attempts, the more benefits you’ll see. Why spread yourself so thin that you can’t keep up? Better to choose one or two social networks, learn the in’s and out’s of each and present your very best self on these, rather than a not-so-appealing version on six platforms. Alexis Grant, social media maven, has an excellent Quick 'n Dirty Guide to Getting Traffic to Your Website, that I consider a must-read.
Start small and grow
There is no reason that you can’t start small—think one or two social networks—and grow these over time. Every new media, every platform, has a learning curve. But once you’ve gotten familiar with one, say Facebook, interacting there is not as much work. Then it’s time to move on: maybe to Twitter or LinkedIn or Pinterest.
Oh, one more note: there are tons and tons of free resources online for getting started with and expanding one’s social media presence. Sometimes it is helpful to choose one or two authors—just like you chose one or two social media platforms—and soak in their instruction. The caveat is to choose someone who is doing work that you love and connect with and adding them to the top of your “to be read,” file.
***Signed up for the Newsletter for Writers yet? It comes out twice a month and is packed with information, inspiration and education to empower writers. Get on the list in less than a minute and receive my free 7 Ways to Find Time to Write guide.
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