5 Ways to Overcome Social Networking Overwhelm
By: Michele Pariza Wacek | Leave a comment
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard something about the whole social networking craze. Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Digg and so on.
And as a busy entrepreneur, you’ve probably been wringing your hands trying to figure out how to work social networking tasks onto your already overcrowded to-do list.
Well, you’re in luck. Here are 5 strategies to successfully add social networking into your day and start reaping the benefits.
1. Make social networking a priority. Social networking CAN make a difference in your business. It can help you develop leads, turn prospects into paying customers, increase your sales and grow your business.
BUT, you got to work it if you want to see the results.
Rather than looking at social networking as a burden or a “should†in your life, look at it as an opportunity. This is an opportunity to build relationships and make a difference in people’s lives. If you look at it that way, it might make it easier to spend the few hours a week growing your social networking network.
2. Block out time each week. I know, I know. You already have too much to do. But do your best. Even if it’s only an hour or two a week, that’s still better than nothing. Just block out what you can, even if it doesn’t feel like very much, and do something.
3. Use the 80/20 rule. If you only have one or two hours a week, then it’s REALLY important to make sure you’re spending your time wisely. Surfing different MySpace pages or spending hours watching YouTube videos is NOT a good use of that time. So take a few moments and put together a plan on what exactly you want your end results to be, then make sure you’re doing the right tasks to get that result.
In addition, don’t try to be everything to everyone. You don’t have to be on every social networking site on the Internet. In fact, it’s better if you aren’t. After all, remember it’s about building relationships. You simply don’t have the time to build relationships on dozens or hundreds of social networking sites. It’s better to pick a handful (or even one or two) and just focus on them (hence the 80/20 rule, spend 80% of your time on a couple, then 20% on the rest). Overall you’ll get better results.
4. You don’t have to do it alone. There’s no reason to think you have to do all the social networking tasks yourself. You can hire someone to help you.
You see, there are certain things you MUST do as part of social networking (for instance, answering personal messages or emails that are clearly meant for you). But there ARE tasks that don’t require your personal touch. So if you hire someone to do those other tasks, now you can focus your time on what you need to be doing. So you’ll get more done in the social networking world, and you’ll start to reap the benefits faster.
5. Give yourself a break. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your social networking empire be. Know it’s going to take at least a few months to get yourself established and start seeing results.
Above all, the worst thing you can do is not do anything. If you only have a couple of hours and you aren’t in a position to hire someone, that’s fine. Spend a couple of hours and get your profile up. At least get started and get some momentum. Eventually, as you start seeing results, it will be easier for you to justify carving out more time and/or hire someone to help you out. And then you’ll REALLY be able to see your social networking commitment take off!
Last 5 posts by Michele Pariza Wacek
- What the Packers’ Losing Season Teaches You About Winning In Your Business - December 29th, 2008
- What Happened to You? Tips on Using Bad News in Your Copywriting - December 10th, 2008
- How Do You Feel Right Now? - December 4th, 2008
- Will You See It as a Big Opportunity or Will You Throw In the Towel? - November 26th, 2008
- PW and the Badger - October 31st, 2008
