Here is the thing: time is the most precious we have and it is one which we can never get back no matter what we do. None know this truth more painfully than entrepreneurs and business owners. There are so many things to do every day to grow your business, and you also need some time to spend with your family and pursue your hobbies.
And, on top of all the other tasks, you have to create and follow through with your social media calendar. The other option would be paying a lot of money for advertising. As things stand at the present, the social media is the most efficient and cost-effective platform for deploying your marketing strategy.
So, yes, you have to make time for that social media calendar. But we know ways that will save you time and help you implement your plan with confidence and ease. And we will share them with you in this article.
- Define and Set the Schedule for Your Content Mix
A rich and effective social media calendar contains different types of content: blog posts, videos, curated content shared from other sources, quotes, polls/contests, etc. Each content type takes different amount of time in creating and sharing. For instance, sharing an article takes a few minutes, but writing a blog post or creating a Facebook™ poll takes much longer.
Once you know how much content you need to create and how long it will take you to create it, you can plan your time ahead and use periods of less intense activity to work on your social media content mix.
- Identify All Social Media Items Which Can Be Automated
Automation is a life saver for busy entrepreneurs. Thankfully, there are a lot of tools which will help you automate your posting schedule, monitor brand mentions and brand reputation, obtain curated content and identify social media trends in your niche.
Thus, instead of spending valuable time with manual post sharing, you can schedule your social media calendar for the next week or even longer, and dedicate your efforts to core business activities.
- Outsource Content Creation
Freelance writers and social media management agencies can help you get a lot of work off your shoulders. They can create original, valuable content and ad campaigns following your guidelines and keep your social media accounts active both in terms of engagement and as sales funnels.
Even small businesses can afford to outsource their content these days: a lot of independent freelancers offer their services at competitive and flexible prices.
- Use If This Then That
IFTTT is a great tool for social media automation between various platforms. It helps you define a set of actions triggered by other actions. For example, whenever you post a Tweet, an Instagram photo or a YouTube video, they can also be shared on your Facebook account, as well.
Actually, IFTTT can help you automate tasks beyond the social media calendar, so you should really give it a try and see how your daily schedule can become lighter and easier to manage.
- Set Aside Time for Answering Comments and Messages
No matter how much you want to automate your social media calendar, you should include at least a quarter of an hour on a daily basis to look over comments and messages left by your followers and give appropriate answers. People rely on the social media as a customer service agent and really expect to receive prompt replies to their enquiries.
However, make sure to set this time in your calendar and stick to it. Do not leave it to the spur of the moment, because you will actually lose more time with constant interruptions to reply to social media comments.