How you use your social media throughout the day determines how successful you will be in building community around your business. There will be two types of users. Both have there advantages and both have there disadvantages. I trust this will help my social media participants in Halifax, Dartmouth and elsewhere see better results. Read on to learn more.

I introduced the idea of flowing with your social media in a previous post entitled: “Flowing with your business social media throughout day – Halifax social media“. There I talked about various ways you could use your social media naturally in your day. We learned that some people use social media in a segmented way, and some people use it naturally throughout the day.

Today we want to talk about both methods and see if we can take the best from both methods. Up front, I want to say that I use a “Flow through the day” method more than an “Out of the box” method for my social media marketing. Let’s start with the “Out of the box” method.

Out of the box method:

  • Social media is relegated to certain time segment during the day or one time segment.
  • Entire social media effort is focused on those time periods.
  • Conversations are conducted during those time segments.
  • Following, adding friends and adding people to social networks is done during those time segments.
  • Social media maintenance is done during these time segments.
  • Social media content is created or re-shared during that time segment.

Flow throughout the day method:

  • Social media is not seen as an in box process. Social media activities are conducted as time permits and as opportunities arise.
  • Social media effort is natural and part of one’s lifestyle.
  • Conversations happen naturally as they would when talking to individuals throughout the day.
  • Following, adding friends and adding people to social networks happens as requests arrive or soon after where possible.
  • Social media maintenance happens as one goes throughout the day.
  • Things that grab our attention are captured and shared as they occur.

Taking the best of both methods:

  • I do like to have some structure to the day when using my social media. There needs to be some scheduled posts to entertain, educate and encourage your community. This should not take a lot of time, but should be part of the daily “To Do List”. We do have work to get done as a business. But we also have to establish a continual presence throughout the day to some degree.
  • I try to run my social media conversations and posts naturally throughout the day. Think of it as how you might come into and go out of conversations with people you meet as you go out and about your business. As time permits, I strike up conversations with people and acknowledge them naturally throughout the day. A simple “Hi” can go a long way to starting conversations and opportunities. Creating lists is a great way to focus on people in your local area where you are building your community.
  • When I see things that stop me in my tracks, I share them at that moment. If something is good enough to get my attention, then it will be good enough to get the attention of others.
  • When I encounter someone new, I add them to my social media networks right then. It’s like talking someone’s business card and putting it in your shirt pocket. Le the process flow naturally.
  • I deal with issues around social media as they happen, when possible. Saving all your maintenance for one time segment can be a bit frustrating and overwhelming.

Final thoughts around using social media:

My belief is that social media should flow, and not be something you pull out of a box, then put away. Social media should be something that you naturally flow in. It should not be as time consuming as it would be if you simply relegated it to a specific time segment. As you get better at using your social media marketing, and you get better at flowing with it throughout the day, your social media should take no more time than the every day things you naturally do throughout the day.

I depend on my smartphone to be the tool that allows me all this freedom to flow naturally with my social media. All my social media icons are on the front screen of my iPhone 6.  This permits me easy access to see whether I have updates to act upon. If there are updates, I respond quickly and move along to what I am working on. Over time, you will learn how to action them quickly and get back to doing work.

I am moving away from simply segmenting social media to specific time segments. I am focusing on building community around me in real time. It is in those moments that people reach out to your business that opportunity abounds. I see social media as a phone call, an email or any form of communication that can afford me opportunity if I will only respond.

Now keep in mind that you do have to get your work done. But there are always periods in the day where you can get some social media done. You want to engage your customers and build community around your business. With this in mind, you have to learn how to effortlessly use your social media as you would the telephone. Time will take time, but you will get better at it as you use it.

I trust this post will get you thinking in new ways. Any questions? Please ask.

Here’s to a great day of business for you in Halifax, Dartmouth, Truro and elsewhere.