How do you manage your social media presence?
It doesn’t matter if you’re a social media whiz or just a beginner– the ever-changing nature of the social web can be overwhelming to the brightest tech brains.
With Facebook’s new announcement of page subscriptions, Twitter‘s new redesign and brand pages, in addition to Google+ announcing a gmail integration, it is downright exhausting to manage your presence online.
Luckily, there are a few easy tips and programs that can help you stay on top of social media.
1. Figure out your strengths.
For your blog or brand, you need to figure out where your audience is and then post to the places get you the most web traffic and engagement.
For example, a tech-oriented blog would most likely do pretty well on Google+ whereas a craft blog would do a lot better on Twitter and Facebook. You should definitely make a profile on all of the social sites, but figure out which ones work and go after those like a ferocious man-eating social media lion.
For the others that you don’t receive much traffic? Just keep those in maintenance mode.
2. Make a checklist.
If you’ve a brand or blog that is active on few social sites, (ie: a fashion or e-commerce company that is active on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ as well as Pinterest, Polyvore, Tumblr, Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon, Stylehive, Looklet, LinkedIn, Lookbook, WeHeartIt, etc.) you should have a list of sites to which you add new products or submit fresh content.
It’s such a simple suggestion, but a list will help the task seem less daunting and it becomes methodic, even a bit fun, whenever you want to get something out on the web. Remember though, bad content does not spread. Make sure you have excellent stuff to share.
3. Schedule time to interact on the sites that work.
Managing your social web presence is a lot like being a mini customer service rep 24/7. If you ignore people who interact with you, then they are less likely to return to your site, blog, or store. Take time out of your day to respond to every little comment, tweet, or message.
It is difficult and time consuming, but you never know what can happen. The worst thing that could happen is that you get more followers and people interested. Not so bad, right?
4. Use a third party dashboard to keep things organized.
Sites like Hootsuite are great because they allow you to manage more than one social platform at once to schedule and plan out your posts and tweets.
It is a handy tool if you need to manage more than one brand or site, but it is also a great way to plan for busy days when you can’t post consistently.
Finally, it is important to stay on top of the social media news if you want to be effective. Pay attention to what your friends and followers are sharing as well as following sites like Mashable and SEOmoz.
They are experts and if the social media world has some important changes, they’ll share it. With these tips and tricks you’ll be on your way to become an organized social media monster in no time. 🙂
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Stacie Grissom is a writer and social media specialist for Affordable Style where she writes about everything from bifocals and computer glasses to infinity scarves. In her free time she loves to work on her DIY craft blog, run, and play with her three-legged Labrador, Bridget. Find her @SewStacie.