5 proven ways to make social media easier

Time-saving tips that work for all business owners

By now you’d know that social media isn’t going anywhere and that to be seen, you need to be online.

But for most business owners, it’s still a massively time-consuming task, and they do a half baked job to have something to post.

The great news is, it’s never too late to ramp up your social media, and the advantages for your brand are amazing. You can improve customer service with posts that encourage interaction, engage on a new level with your customers, reach new customers, build your community and direct people to your website to make more sales.

So, how do you get it done properly, effectively and start building your brand?

Here are my 5 proven ways to simplify your social media efforts

1. Set aside time to create your social media posts

As with most things in business, you need to dedicate some time to your social media efforts. When you’re planning your week and scheduling your tasks, I recommend setting aside 1 hour to create the content for your social media. I use a Google sheet to create ideas which make post creation super quick.

You should also find 15 minutes each day to engage and interact with your audience. This is vital! If they’ve asked questions, answer them. If they’ve made comments, respond to them. If your audience/customers have gone to the effort to make contact with you, it’s great business sense that you reply.

2. Schedule your content

However you decide to plan out your social media posts; you should look at scheduling tools.

These tools allow you to schedule your content ahead of time so in that hour you’ve set aside to create posts, you can also pop them all into a scheduling tool and set and forget for the week. I’ve trialled a range of tools over the years. If you’re looking for a free, user-friendly option, take a look at Later, Hoosuite or Buffer.

3. Created branded memes

Branded memes are a great little time saver. Using an online graphic tool like Canva, you can set up a meme template using your brand colours and logo. While you’re getting creative, I recommend you create a few different templates that you can re-use.

Once you’ve got the wording for your posts sorted, you can drop them onto one of your branded templates and schedule it to post. It’s so much quicker than trying to create new graphics for your posts every time.

4. Create themes for each day

One of the biggest challenges with social media is deciding what to post. I’ve found that theme days are the best way to tackle decision fatigue. This also helps with your scheduling and planning.

Here’s how I usually break it down:

• Monday Motivation – a motivational or mindfulness quote or picture to welcome everyone to the new week and help them get going.

• Tuesday Tips – a tip that you feel your audience will benefit from such as ‘top tips for social media’, or ‘how to dress for your shape’.

• Wednesday Wisdom – share a frequently asked question as the chances are, if it’s asked all the time, it’s a topic most of your audience would be interested in.

• Thursday Throwback/Thankfulness – you could do a throwback to a past blog post, shout out to your clients, or share a testimonial from a happy client.

• Friday Fun/Facts – everyone loves to have a laugh on a Friday at the end of a long week so share some fun, share an interesting fact, or let your audience know of your new favourite book or Netflix series they can try over the weekend.

5. Repurpose your content

If you write blogs or have a podcast, you’ve already done half the work for social media. You’ll have a bucket load of content already produced, and all you need to do is dig out all the little nuggets to create social media posts.

This is also a great way to drive people to your website to read your blogs or listen to your podcasts. For example, you could create a post saying, ‘Want to know how to make your social media posting 5 times easier?’ and then share a link to your blog. Then have follow up posts with your top tips from that blog.

Get back to doing what you love and get off social media quicker!

By using these top 5 proven methods to enhance your social media efforts, you’ll find you’re getting it done quickly and you’re not spending all day trying to work out what to post. And as we all know, social media can be a huge time zapper!

Not only are you trying to work out your posts, but you start scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc. and before you know it, you’ve wasted an hour of your time. It’s a trap!

Do you have any time saving social media tips to add?

If you’ve found other ways to speed up your social media efforts and have had some great results with posts, I’d love for you to share your insights too. Feel free to pop your comments below and let us know your top tips.

Still not interested in creating your social media posts? I’d love to have a chat with you and see if my services will help you stay social and connected to your audience.