Use Social Media With Purpose

If you are a business owner, blogger or entrepreneur, chances are you are active on social media. You are likely to understand the importance of having an online presence and are working towards some big, exciting goals.

But, have you ever felt at times frustrated with your progress, or like you are wasting your time? The key to killer productivity on social media is to use it with purpose and intention.

Below are some tips on how to make the most of your time when it comes to social media:

 Know your brand inside out

What values does your brand have, what does it stand for?

If you can’t answer this question, take the time to write at least four key values down. Values could be anything that is essential to your way of doing business- from the quality of your product, to what is important to you as a business owner (such as your products being fair-trade or locally sourced).

Branding is much more than just a logo and how you communicate on social media needs to reflect this.

 Be Intentional

Do you tend to jump on your computer or pick up your phone and go straight into autopilot?

Before you go online and check your Instagram or Facebook, set an intention. Ask yourself, what do you want to get out of the next hour?

Set a time limit, look at what you need to check, respond to comments, answer any questions and then get off. Hours can be lost in scrolling through your newsfeed during the day. Consider this - if you were paying an employee, would you be happy with their level of productivity, or disappointed in them for spending unlimited time scrolling on Instagram?

 Batch Process

Work a few hours into your agenda to schedule some posts. There are some affordable online tools around to help you with this, and the ability to schedule posts on Facebook Pages is easy to use and edit if you are not ready to invest in management software.

Doing work like this in a block helps to improve your flow and will free up time during the week for other important tasks.

Be sure to save some time for spontaneity, you never know what news will break and you want to make sure you can share it with your followers in real time.

 Create content with your Ideal follower in mind

Knowing whom you are crafting content for is really important when it comes to social media. You really want to be sharing content that will entertain, educate or enrich the lives of your audience.

The best way to do this is to figure out exactly who you are talking to, and think about them every time you post. Social media needs to be less about selling, and more about being a valuable part of your follower’s online experience.