If you live in the world of community management, new media, digital journalism and/or online advertising & marketing, then you know how much content your social communities can provide for you. It's a lot. And it's a lot to keep track of in each day. So, here's five quick organizational tips on how to streamline your media day-to-day.
1. Two At A Time, Over Time
Social networks tend to be the first order of business in the morning, along with e-mail. In the beginning, I thought I was being "organized" by opening up all of these tabs at once and going through one by one. Nope. This will cause distraction and social ADD. Choose two (social networks). Your inbox open, plus two chosen networks to focus on, will make life easier and will help corral focus on content you get from these networks and content you need to be publishing on these networks.
2. Twitter Lists
This is my favorite item on this list. Twitter lists are goldmines for content that is laser-focused to your interests. Create a Twitter list that houses the types of influencers you want content from - base this on what you want! For example, I have a 'Brands & Influencers' list that I check multiple times a day. It includes social media influencers, journalists, film critics, podcasters and some comedians. Your list should resemble the groups you hang around when at a cocktail party.
3. Split Mobile and Desktop
Designating networks to devices can help organize efforts greatly. If you associate a network with a device it can help split the mental anxiousness you get from having various things open on your computer (which you shouldn't if you are abiding by suggestion number one). Try and designate byte-size networks to mobile devices (ie. Twitter, Tumblr, etc.) and larger networks to your desktop (ie. Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ etc.).
4. Gmail Tasks List
Simple. Create a Task List within your Gmail where you write everything. Do not skip even the smallest of tasks. Most of the time, having an effective day is a result of crossing off a large amount of small things. Plus, the functionality of Gmail's Tasks List is easy and helpful.
5. Try NOT To Use Hootsuite
I understand I might receive some backlash for this one, but I think it is true. I have used Hootsuite for years (ever since it existed basically), but it is a cluttered platform, both on mobile and desktop. Take this suggestion with a grain of salt because these types of platforms are situational to the user. Monitoring social trends, keywords, conversations and scheduling content are key for staying organized, but I highly encourage doing this manually if you have the bandwidth. Knowing each social network's native layout and functionality is vital and Hootsuite can remove this aspect completely for some.