7 Social Media Time-Traps and How to Avoid Them
Posted by Christine Parizo on Tue, Sep 27, 2011
A cohesive social media strategy is key to any business in today’s hyper-
connected world. However, despite its potential to increase revenue, social media can also be a gigantic vacuum that Hoovers up your time.
Optimization is more than just engaging followers; it’s also making the best use of your time. Here are 7 ways to avoid wasting time in your social media efforts and optimize your results:
1. Don’t feed the trolls. Much like feeding a bear in the wild, feeding a troll will only encourage it to return. Responding to an obvious troll post wastes time and damages your credibility for not recognizing the inflammatory, off-topic and irrelevant nature of the post in the first place.
2. Consolidate your accounts. If you spread out your company across several Twitter accounts and Facebook pages, you may be spreading yourself too thin and making it difficult to attract followers. Rather than having multiple pages for sales, marketing and other departments, use one account for as many as possible.
3. Choose social networks your market actually uses. Yes, Google+ is the next big thing, but is your target market using it? Depending on who you’re trying to attract with your social media strategy, choose networks that your market uses. More business-oriented companies should choose LinkedIn; those trying to attract Gen Y or Millennials need a Facebook presence. There is absolutely no point to having a Digg account if you know your target market doesn't use it.
4. Track only useful metrics. Social media metrics are like the numbers on the scale when you weigh yourself: they’re just a number unless you compare them with other relevant information. Traffic, leads and sales are the useful metrics; the number of followers you have is iffy, at best.
5. Don’t just talk about your product. Yes, you signed up for Twitter and Facebook (and other accounts) to sell your product or service. But if you incessantly post about how great it is, you risk alienating followers. Populate your feed with relevant articles from other sites, job postings or links to your blog updates.
6. Just do it. At the risk of ripping off Nike’s excellent slogan, there is only so much strategy you can plan. At some point, you have to just jump into social media and start connecting with prospects and customers. Tweet, get on Facebook, set up a LinkedIn presence and take it all to the next level.
7. Don’t respond to EVERYTHING. Some things are worthy of a response, especially dissatisfied customers and clients, false rumors and general questions. You also want to engage in conversation with your followers. However, when you’re responding to every single reply Tweet and Facebook wall post, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Respond to the important posts as quickly as possible. Just remember that you don’t have to respond when it’s a simple post or @ reply that doesn't add to the conversation you're trying to have with followers.
In your social media strategy, focus on what matters. Focus on getting your message out there, building your brand and engaging followers. Having a goal for your efforts will save you time and help you avoid these time traps.