I Lost Control Of My Social Media
I lost control of my social media earlier this year, not due to any algorithm tweaks but because my mother became ill. She had been doing a wonderful job of tweeting interesting and unusual stories that theoretically made me look like a well-rounded resource. They got more re-tweets and likes than my announcements anyway.
I tried to tweet extra, but that quickly grew overwhelming, so I had to decide where to focus my energies. Of the channels I was already on, Facebook and Twitter got the most response, so that’s where I concentrated. You also have to consider audience. Who needs to hear what you’re trying to say?
- How Different Generations Consume Content Online
- How to Choose the Right Social Network for Your Business
- 25 Social Media Channels You’re Probably Not Using
Sometimes the answer isn’t obvious. For Giovanni Goes To Med School, I probably should try Tumbler or other young adult/new adult channel, but I really couldn’t manage another channel. So when Facebook implemented its latest restriction on pages, I stopped promoting there and instead opened up my profile to the public. That works well enough for the students I know who are comfortable following me in a non-school capacity.
Just about the time I started to run out of things to tweet, a friend showed me Buffer. It lives on your laptop and when you run across an interesting article, you can add it to an on-going list of tweets or posts. I already use HootSuite to schedule announcements, so informative post automation wasn’t a big leap.
- 7 worthwhile ways to automate social media
- Social Media Automation Strategy
- Top 20 Social-Media Tools
There are tricks for making your posts go further:
- Hashtags can enable you to reach beyond your followers
- A cellphone lets you respond to posts in brief down moments
- Blog Features and Hops help you keep posting
- Nothing beats FREE for getting attention and keeping it going
Gradually, I realized that I had to make a choice. Between work, the election, and writing another book, I needed to get off the internet. Social media just has to come in, well, 4th after a home life as well. Because ultimately, I’m not writing for the fame and fortune of it all – fortunately! 😉
Where’s your limit in social media and how do you stay on top of it?
kathybryson 
Social media is a time whore, yet an evil when it comes to the business or writing and selling novels. I use the power of Hootsuit, too, but only for Twitter. I schedule a month in advance and it’s been a huge help. I hope your mother is feeling better and it’s nothing serious.
Thanks Angela! She’s back on email, so getting there. I’ll get her Hootsuite trained yet!