How to Use Social Media to Increase Productivity

Social media has quickly evolved into an effective marketing tool, and it’s no longer just a place to see what your friends are up to. Businesses can use social media to gain customer insight, increase brand awareness, build an email list, generate leads, and much more. If you’re not sure how to start using social media to market your business or if you’re looking for some inspiration, then this guide on how to use social media to increase productivity will help you get started right away! All the platforms discussed are free and easy to set up.

Treat social media as your work desk

It’s tempting, and sometimes even necessary, to bring your mobile device into bed with you. But if you do it too often, chances are good that you’ll lose precious hours of sleep that you could have spent working on a project or completing another activity. Ideally, stick your phone in a place where you can’t see it (e.g., an end table across the room) so that when work does come up—and it will—you’ll be more likely to follow through on your goals. (Having trouble getting out of bed? These 20 Insanely Simple Ways to Wake Up Early Will Have You Rushing Out of Bed.) Limit social media to one hour per day: Try using your calendar for tracking important business-related events instead of letting Google alerts direct what you do. Although there’s no way to set reminders within events in calendars, some reminders are easy enough to set from outside tools such as Google Calendar, reminding you before certain tasks need to get done (like refilling a specific product). Additionally, marking time slots off limits creates boundaries between work and personal time — which helps ensure no life doesn’t mean having no friends or family. (Calendars are useful everywhere, not just at home! Read The Best Tips & Tools For Digital Calendars To Help You Stay Organized and Never Miss A Deadline .) Delegate social media marketing tasks: Don’t let yourself fall victim to information overload; rather than trying to tackle everything yourself, delegate! Letting others share content also allows you to focus your efforts elsewhere. If you’re still nervous about handing over control, consider passing off only segments of management — like overseeing updates for multiple accounts or different aspects of promoting a single account — rather than being afraid of giving things away completely. Make sure you choose someone trustworthy though, since they’ll be managing other people’s brands. Find someone internally who understands how to promote effectively, but also understands how to craft engaging content and add value rather than spamming followers. Also, make sure your chosen person has strong communication skills as well (so they won’t become overwhelmed and forgetful), isn’t shy about asking questions (so they don’t feel uncomfortable or run into difficulty) and isn’t afraid of making mistakes along the way (because inevitably something unexpected will happen). Before delegating responsibility for any task, take a few minutes to clearly explain what needs doing; otherwise problems may arise later on. Be careful not to assume everyone knows exactly what is required of them until they’ve been properly briefed.

Post at specific times (morning, lunch, afternoon)

The ideal time for posting on each network depends on its user base. If your customers are all using Facebook from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., then that’s likely when you should post there, too. For more information about what times are best for specific social networks, visit Shareaholic . It has collected a wealth of information about which networks are most active during which hours of day—and it even shows you when users on each platform will engage with your content based on their specific demographics and interests (for example, if they like cooking or sports). It also provides similar data for Snapchat and Instagram , although not quite as much as Facebook and Twitter . By understanding these habits, you can craft strategies that work with people’s busy schedules instead of against them. Plus, you’ll be able to plan and execute posts in advance—saving yourself a lot of time. Of course, some platforms have so many users that one strategy doesn’t fit everyone. Twitter , for instance, attracts both early-morning tweeters who follow news and early-evening tweeters who interact with late-night TV personalities; Facebook serves such an international audience that engagement rates may depend on how many hours ahead or behind someone is located in relation to where you’re posting; LinkedIn may be useful at any hour because professionals seek career advice 24/7.

Post content that reaches everyone (food/travel pictures/cat pictures)
It’s easy to forget how many people see each social media post you make, so keep your content appropriate for a large audience. Food pictures are always a plus—people love them!—but it’s not necessarily work if it’s something you really enjoy doing. Also, think about where you direct traffic on your site: If people have to follow more than one link in order to find what they want (like a direct link and then another page), they might not make it past that second page. Keep everything simple and streamlined so readers can get what they want with just one click or tap. Since social media posts take very little time, but spread quickly and effectively when used correctly, schedule all of your future posts ahead of time. Creating a single calendar invites everyone to share their photos throughout a week instead of crowding out their feeds on certain days when lots of friends are sharing things at once. The same goes for reviews or links; setting these up ahead of time will save you some prep time while ensuring you’re hitting key topics as often as possible without wasting extra energy trying to come up with new material every day. These posts only take minutes to create once scheduled , too. If you post cat pictures…follow it up with cat videos (applicable to most internet memes): Using YouTube, Instagram video features, and even Vine can help you extend your content reach. Even if you don’t know how to shoot an effective video yourself, there are plenty of smart editing apps like Splice that use stock clips or let users edit together several different clips into a single movie file. They do an excellent job at making average videos look better than average videos. Don’t go overboard though; try using five clips per video max, especially if they come from different sources. From there, add text slides in between the clip segments that introduce key ideas or points-of-view related to whatever main point(s) you’re trying to emphasize within those clips.

Add polls, ask questions, create memes

When you’re a blogger, people love to engage with you. The comments section is always open, and there are lots of ways for readers to interact with your posts without ever making a comment. For example, try adding polls or questions at key points in your content. Or consider putting your social media strategies into practice by creating a meme out of one of your posts – here’s an easy way: use Canva (it’s free!). It works well for inspirational quotes, too! Just click on Meme, pick something appropriate from their list of layouts, add text and put it through! I have yet to see anything bad come from being positive on social media; if you try something and it doesn’t work, don’t stress about it too much – just keep going until you find something that does work!

Always keep it up to date!

Keeping social media up-to-date is important if you want your fans/followers to see something new every now and then. If they never see anything new, they’ll get bored and will stop following you (and maybe even unfollow you). Also, when your page gets out of date, potential customers are less likely to click on your links because it looks like you don’t know what you’re doing. To keep it fresh, post regularly (3-5 times a week) and use social media scheduling tools so that it doesn’t take up all of your time. Every time someone clicks on a link from one of your social accounts is an opportunity for them to discover something interesting about you or become a fan. Show off your personality! Create fun images and videos to share, put together posts full of behind-the-scenes content, add fun facts about yourself or your business, etc. Show people how awesome you are! Look at other pages in your niche and follow their example. If their social media account is always updated with amazing content, yours needs to be too! [To ensure maximum results] Be sure to have a variety of different types of content on your page: latest work/product updates, articles, tips/resources/giveaways… [Last but not least] Keep engaging with people. Respond to comments, answer questions and ask thoughtful questions of your own. Your followers should feel as though they can talk directly to you through social media; otherwise why would they ever engage with you? Give them a chance!

Maximize it’s effectiveness by using all social channels.

One of your primary goals with social media is to increase your overall productivity. While one major advantage of social media is that it allows you to connect with clients in real time, there are ways you can use these platforms to improve your business’s production overall. Read on for some tips. It’s not just about a social hour, in which you post statuses and chat with followers all day long; you need to create an effective plan that enables your brand or company to get something out of each channel—from Twitter and Facebook (where they have over one billion users), YouTube (where they have more than 1 billion hours viewed every month), Instagram (with 400 million monthly active users), Pinterest (100 million average monthly users) and more. Try incorporating automation tools into your routine: Automation allows you to handle several things at once without losing focus on what’s important. Take scheduling posts as an example. If you want to publish new posts at 8:00am and 6:00pm daily, consider taking an easy approach by scheduling them ahead of time and then moving on to other tasks. This way, if something comes up during those two periods in which you were expecting to publish content, nothing will slip through the cracks. Or automate your customer service efforts: At-prompt customer service is essential for creating lasting relationships with customers who feel valued. Instead of having to check your phone all day long, try using a program like Zendesk (or another third-party solution) that allows you to keep track of everything while also monitoring negative feedback and addressing questions immediately. Don’t forget basic product promotion techniques: In addition to marketing initiatives aimed directly at building relationships with potential customers, make sure you’re also promoting certain products and services regularly so that people know exactly what they’re getting when they do business with you. Holding contests can be useful here too, especially because it gets people interacting on social media platforms instead of elsewhere where engagement isn’t measured quite as easily.

Don’t ignore complaints on social media

It may not be your business, but it is your brand. All social networks have complaint policies that require businesses to respond promptly and professionally, so don’t ignore complaints on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Doing so can result in negative reviews that won’t go away. Instead, address problems head-on and ask for details about why someone was disappointed in your product or service. Then do what you can to fix it. According to a study by Sprout Social, 80 percent of consumers expect brands to respond publicly within an hour, while 77 percent of consumers say they are more likely to buy from brands that reply directly via social media (versus responding privately). Your response doesn’t need to be long, just honest and clear. In fact, research shows shorter responses work best; instead of writing out long paragraphs, use bullet points whenever possible. If you can solve a problem with a direct message rather than posting publicly, then take care of it through private messaging or using one of these three steps: Respond quickly Ask if there’s anything else that needs attention Thank them for their feedback
Reach beyond followers’ friends when sharing content: Another way to build trust is to share relevant news and content from sources other than your own website—not necessarily industry experts or competitors, but also industry news sites or sources like The New York Times . Focusing solely on promoting your own content can lead readers to believe there’s something wrong if you’re incessantly self-promoting. Look at successful companies like Starbucks , Red Bull and GoPro : Each of these companies has its own loyal following, but all of them also share interesting news articles or videos outside their marketing channels—even if they come from rival companies!

Get involved in the conversations. Hashtags can be used in this aspect.

Study after study has shown that social media is a powerful tool for business. According to Forbes, 70% of online consumers are more likely to buy from brands they follow on social media, and 80% of millennials expect companies to engage with them through social media. There’s plenty of reason for all businesses—small or large—to pay attention. For smaller businesses looking to generate new customers and establish their brand presence, there are few better ways than social media. However, taking full advantage of these tools takes time and effort. Here are some tips for using social media to boost productivity: Get involved in conversations. Set aside time each day (or week) to scroll through your feeds, comment and converse with friends, family and industry contacts who will be interested in what you have to say—or vice versa. This can also help you discover current trends and hot topics you can use as part of your marketing strategy, whether it be in blogs posts or conversations with your target audience.