Last year I transitioned from using social media for my business to using it for writing. As with any new toy, I was very excited about it for the first month or two. Then life got very busy. I knew that in order to be effective, social media needed to be done regularly. But it was hard to keep up with it when life got hectic. How could I be consistent?
Well, my efforts resembled a seven-year-old on his first trampoline. Weee! Some days were up and I was tweeting like a mad woman, posting on Facebook and meeting new friends. Unfortunately, other days were down and it was all I could do to open a browser window. Sadly, for a little while I bounced right off and the days turned into weeks. Did a month really go by without a tweet? Yep, and the numbers at my blog reflected it.
It was the old song and dance. I was too busy, writing and overworking myself. It's true, but isn’t it true for all of us? Yet, some people are out there every day. How do they do it?
I’m putting my bet on planning. Doesn’t it always revolves around that?
So this year my resolution is to be more consistent in my social media efforts. In order to do that, I’ve decided on a few strategies:
- I will write a few extra tweets each week and gather interesting links. These extra tweeks will not be posted right away but saved for the days when things get hectic.
- I will schedule a few automated tweets to go out every day (more about this later).
- I will plan out a series of facebook topics for the year.
Using these methods, my social media campaign should be consistent even on the days when I am not.
I know what you are thinking, social media is about authenticity. You hate those people who automate their tweets and facebook posts. This is not about about abusing the automation. I still plan to make regular appearances. It will just help to write some of them when I have more time.
Plus, automation is not my daily strategy. It is just to fill in those days when tweeting just can’t be on the agenda. For me, knowing that a scheduled tweet is going out will actually motivate me to get on my social media accounts, even if I’m overwhelmed or tired. Because, basically, I’m like a kid passing a note in school. I just can’t help but want to see how people respond. So this little cheat with the automation will actually motivate me to get online to see who made comments. It will make me more consistent and prevent the days from turning into weeks.
That is my New Years resolution.
How about you? This month I will be exploring using social media for writers. I’d love to hear from you about what has worked and what has bombed and what frustrates the hell out of you.
Next Wednesday I’ll be serving up fried Twitter Bird sandwiches. It's the new white meat.
Posted by Tamela Buhrke
