How Do I Find Time for Social Media?

Recently, a good friend of mine (Yes, I have a few.) asked who my primary clients were.

I replied small and mid-sized businesses.

My friend looked perplexed (Unlike a few other good friends of mine, this is not his natural state.  So, I made sure to pay attention.)

His next question (He always asks questions.  Claims this is how he learns.) was how do they make time to do this?  What does their day look like?  (OK, two questions.  He does this a lot but they’re always good questions,)

But, my friend’s questions got me thinking (He’ll be so proud of himself.) about what really goes on during the day with both my prospective and real clients.

Not having enough time to do social media right is another one of those excuses I hear too often as a reason not to use social media.  

But, small and mid-sized businesses can and should use social media.

A well organized social media program will do it.  

Today, I’ll talk a  little about how this can be introduced gradually into the work day of a busy small or mid-sized business owner.

If you’re like me, your day is already full.

The only real free time we have is early morning before “regular” business hours and in the evening after them.  (Don’t know about you, but whomever the person is who came up with the term “regular” business hours never held a real job in their lives!)

The challenge is how to add more activities to our day without adding to our hours.

How can we do this?

Fortunately, like most things in life this can be accomplished with scheduling and self-discipline.

First, a programmatic approach implementing a social media program is a very good start.

Next, understanding what trade-offs can be made.

This is simple triage.

If we map our goals and objectives to our social media channels properly then we’ll see where the higher value tasks are we can drop the lower value ones.

Finally, we can seek help.

There are staff, family members, and consultants available who can help us.  There may be some costs.  But, think about the long term value of the social media program.

(Don’t scoff at the idea of family members either.  I know several physicians who have family members already helping with their practices and who would be perfect candidates to assist.)

Remember, the social media program can be phased in.

I normally recommend a three stage approach.

There are basic, intermediate, and advanced stages.

In the basic stage, start with one social media app like LinkedIn.

After the initial start-up spend 20 to 30 minutes a day working with it.  (I did mine over my morning cup of coffee.)

Maximize its benefits and begin to build a following.

When ready for the intermediate stage, use two or more social media apps.

Begin to develop original content, prepare a basic editorial calendar, and use analytics more aggressively.

In the final advanced stage, this is where we have our full social media footprint.

We’re publishing a blog and our metrics are integrated into everything we do with forecasts to help measure our practice.

Most importantly, at this point we can measure the value that we’re receiving from our social media program.

To recap, what busy small and mid-sized business owners should do is:

1. Start with what you have including available time and help
2. Begin slowly with modest goals, don’t get complicated
3. Build to an advanced social media program.

Think about what I’ve said and we’ll return to these topics in future posts.

That’s it for now!

In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog!

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have.  I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.

Remember!

I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me.  Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.

I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com.

My Twitter handle is @conpsweeney.

Stay well!