Setting Social Media Boundaries
Tell me if I'm the only one that sees this post a lot..
Q: "Hi, I'm new, how do I grow my following/gain business?"
A: "It's all about engaging, commenting, liking, following, sharing"
Anyone else? Well, I will admit that it has truly helped grow my business. But what people didn't tell me was how addicting it can become. You want to get your name out there, so you stayed glued to Facebook, IG, and Twitter to be the first to comment. I did that, and I do have clients that fill my schedule.
So lets talk about social media boundaries in business and how time blocking can help! I've become a huge fan of time blocking.
If you're like me and are a part of several FB groups, they probably have daily prompts that encourage different sides of promoting or growing small businesses. Make a list of all the days and then highlight ones that could help grow your business. The next step would be to time block an hour to comment on those prompts and then respond to other people's posts each day. This gives you time to interact, establish expertise, and build relationships.
One thing I've been seeing lately is people deleting the actual apps off their phones (especially for FB), which I'm thinking about doing because then you get more notifications throughout the whole day about responses to your comment or just to the post in general. Being honest, I then want to read every.single.comment that was written or link over to every.single.blog.post. By limiting your time, you will be able to really engage with the posts that you connect with business-wise. If you have time later in the day to hop back on, then do it! But start with an hour in the AM & again in the afternoon (I'd recommend 10am-11am and 5-6p).
Twitter chats are a big thing now that allows you to connect with many people at once! Start asking on your feed or in FB groups for great Twitter chats and jump on one or two a week. These typically happen later in the evening, when your favorite shows are on or the kids are in bed, which is a great way to shut down your work and just engage and be present.
As for IG, follow feeds that you truly love. Time block another hour to scroll and comment or like posts. There's one person I follow, and I can't remember how we found each other, but she has a great feed and we just continue to engage on each others' posts. When I have time to plan more guest posts, I know she's one I'll reach out to for that reason alone!
So here's a break down of my suggested social boundaries or when I'd suggest you go for a "Social Walk" (sorry, couldn't resist!)
- 9-9:30am >> Instagram Stroll
- 10-11am >> Coffee Stop at your favorite Facebook Group Hangouts
- 5-6pm >> Happy Hour back on Facebook
- 8-9pm >> Dessert & Twitter Chats
I'd love to hear how you handle this with your life & business! Any other tips are greatly appreciated, so leave them below!