Tips and Tools to Simplify Social Media Activities

Using social media to market your business and build a brand is an excellent way to make the most of social media and social networking. It’s the best place to showcase who you are, what you do, and who you do it for in a friendly and open environment. Having said that, if you want to use social media effectively and not waste time, these tips and tools to simply social media will be appreciated.

Know Your Goals

Do you want to build your brand, increase engagement, get more followers on Twitter, or something else? Whatever your goal is, write down the steps required to meet that goal so that you can break down the task into easy-to-do steps.

Create a To-Do List

Based on the goals you’ve set, create a to-do list to follow for each of the platforms that you’ve determined you will use. Remember that you don’t need to use them all. However, creating a basic profile on them all is a good idea for a backup, assuming your audience will use that platform.

Develop a Schedule for the Tasks

Don’t just say, “I’m going to build my brand via social media.” This is not enough. You need to know what the goal is for each action and why your audience should care about it. Put the to-do list actions into your calendar, giving yourself enough time to accomplish each task.

Make Your Time Count

When you set up your goals, to-do list, and schedule, it’s important that you make your time count. Don’t multitask when doing things on social media for your business. Whether it’s answering questions on Twitter or setting up a Facebook contest, do it without distraction so that you can get it done fast.

Use the Tools of the Trade

Tools like Hootsuite.com, SocialOomph.com and IFTTT software can make all the difference in the success you experience with social media marketing and networking. These tools and more like them can help automate some of the tasks that don’t require engagement, which will give you more time for what’s important on social media: interaction with your audience.

Keep up to date about the ins and outs of the platforms you prefer and remember that social media platforms are only tools to use to drive traffic to the online real estate that you own, while also building a community that can and will follow you to other platforms. When you keep that idea in perspective, you’ll soon realize just the right places to spend your time on social media.