The key message that I keep hearing from business owners is the feeling of being overwhelmed by the numerous social media platforms and the lack of time to participate in even one of them.
Here are strategies to feel less overwhelmed.

• Social media is a tool
  Social media is simply another tool to help you communicate with your audience. Tools are there to empower you, not the other way around.

• Have a plan and measure its effectiveness
  Understand what you’re trying to achieve. Set goals and objectives then measure its effectiveness.

• Determine who and where your audience is
  Figure out who your audience is, where they spend their time and use the appropriate social media tool.

• Choose the tools that work best for you
  If you’re a great writer with good content to share, try writing a blog. If you’re great on camera, try posting videos on YouTube instead.

• Stay focused. Master one social media platform at a time
  Don’t be distracted by the “new shiny object.” Master one platform before moving on.

• Reserve your name
  Even if you aren’t actively using each social media site, it’s important to reserve your name. The website www.namechk.com allows you to check your name’s availability across different social media websites.

• Budget your time
  Determine how much time you need for social media and prioritize this against other tasks.

• Use automated tools where appropriate
  A practical approach is to engage in direct conversations in real time whenever possible and schedule messages using tools like Hootsuite when you’re busy, but know that your audience is listening.

• Share good content
  Give value to your audience by sharing good content (don’t just sell your service) and the community of people you interact with will reciprocate by sharing your content.

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite quotes: “Social media is word of mouth powered by technology.”