One of the biggest barriers to social media success is the perceived time investment - with so many social media platforms, it can be daunting to consider engaging in successful social media engagement.
The simplest solution for many businesses is to not engage at all.
But, if you're willing to commit a solid, simple, 60 minutes per day to your social media marketing efforts, you can achieve remarkable rewards and returns. On different levels, too - professional, personal and financial.
So, here's how to secure social media success - by giving an hour of committed social media marketing time daily:
* Less is sometimes more
First thing to remember is that the only social media platforms which, ultimately, count are those where your ideal client or customer are hanging out. Many people spend hours on Facebook, for example, but their target audience might well be on Twitter or LinkedIn. Spend less time on the social media platforms which do not serve your commercial purposes well.
* Do less, but do it well
Another important factor to consider is that it's better to do less social media engagement, blogging outreach, tweeting, and time on Forums answering industry-related questions if it's not delivering you a definitive result. A definitive result, for me, could be more traffic to my blog, more subscribers to my Newsletter, or a client inquiry from a Guest blog post on another site.
* Use tech to do less
I recommend social media management platforms including Hootsuite and Social Flow - why? Because I can pre-schedule social media content during the week, leaving me free to spend 10-15 minutes daily answering direct tweets, or emails from blog readers. My main focus is always delivering fresh blog content on a weekly basis - usually 20 minutes daily.
* Good clients expect less
Something I've seen since blogging from 2005 onwards, and getting more involved with social media engagement for myself and clients is a simple truth. Good, consistent, reputable clients do not expect to be everywhere online at once: they appreciate that it's better to give quality time on high-relevance social media sites. Deliver content to your ideal clients sparingly but with savvy.
* Focus on less, filter more
It can be overwhelming, with so much content to absorb on social media platforms - for example, Facebook currently seems to be awash with random 'meaningful', inspirational quotes, and a growing plethora of white noise. Filter it out. Be prepared to un-Like Facebook pages, to unsubscribe from spam-filled feeds, to switch Group Notifications off. Value your time and filter out more.
* Fill the hour, but no more
Being disciplined with your social media engagement delivers huge rewards. I find that the more I value my time, the more others value it, too. My daily hour is spent with a firm focus on the Home Base of my Blog, with direct emails being answered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Researching latest industry news and developments? Twenty minutes daily. Keep it short and simple.
How's your hour looking?
My main point is this - if you're not running your social media marketing, then you're not really marketing at all.
It becomes a case of "I'm spending hours on social media, so I'm doing social media marketing" but the reality is this - if social media engagement isn't delivering good quality traffic to your blog, loyal fans to your Newsletter, followers who re-tweet your content, and interested potential clients to your email inbox, it's basically an exercise in online vanity.
By being determined and focused within that daily hour, you'll see results. You'll see higher engagement. You'll see financial ROI.
Plus, you'll also be able to ensure that other elements in the marketing mix are getting the appropriate amount of investment.