Nancy Sheed 5 Social media hacks to save you time

5 Easy Hacks to Cut Your Social Media Time in Half

Save time and still look like a social media superstar

There are two types of social media users. Those who love it and those who consider it a necessary evil. Social media is important but it doesn’t have to take all your time. Here are my go-to shortcuts and hacks that will have you sharing your social media in record time with consistency and ease.

Tip one: Turn off notifications

You do not need an email, ping, and pop-up every time some action is taken on your social media platforms. These notifications are distractions and killing your time for productivity and creativity. You should be in charge of your time, not the other way around.

  • Turn notifications off on your phone (settings tab)
  • Turn them off in settings on computer/laptop as well
  • Turn off all notifications about email list updates, a daily summary will do
  • Schedule specific times to check comments, post and reply

Tip two: Create a portfolio of your social media assets

This includes images, content, hashtags, brand elements, style guide, boilerplate, bios and mission statement info. With everything in one place, you won’t spend hours tracking down all your stuff, every time you want to post on social media. Put it into one easy accessible location. If you don’t have an easy-to-find folder on your computer, then put it in the cloud, so you and your team can access it.

Here are popular apps for storing and retrieving images and information from anywhere:

Tip three: Develop a content calendar or checklist

This is ideal to have so you know what’s coming and you have dates and deadlines built in (free one here, for you!) With a plan in place, you will no longer be scrambling trying to figure out “What will I post today?”

A social media post checklist means you won’t forget anything and it provides you with a process for getting things done and leads to consistency across your platforms, which most certainly leads to better engagement.

Tip four: Batch your content or posting

This is big, so don’t skip it. Use focused blocks of time to knock out multiple versions of the same type of content.

  • Write 3-4 blog posts – then you are done for the month (if you are weekly)
  • Record 3-4 podcasts and schedule them for weekly release
  • Pick a time every week in which you schedule the bulk of your social media posts
  • Use posting tools to help you with your scheduling and management: Hootsuite, Buffer and Sprout Social are a few I like to use

Tip five: Hire someone

I promise, this is not a shameless plug! If you are stuck, uninterested, or truly don’t have the time for this, then figure out what would help you the most, and start there. Don’t waste time on projects that aren’t your “zone of genius.”

If a $20 an hour task is keeping you from doing the $100 or $1000 an hour work, then hiring someone else is a no brainer.

  • Need help organizing everything – hire an assistant (or VA)
  • Need help making things look pretty – hire a designer
  • Need help figuring out what the best content is – hire a strategist
  • Need help with Facebook ads – hire an ad specialist
  • Need help posting it all – hire a social media manager

What’s giving you fits today? Start there. Find out how to batch it, automate it or outsource it. You’ll love seeing these tasks off your to-do list and know they are still happening and helping you grow your audience reach.

Need specific help with these tips, tools or a strategy to make it work? Happy to chat about how I can help. Schedule a clarity call here.