10 tips to make social media less overwhelming in 2021

With the current situation, social media is bound to fall down on the priority list of many small business owners as we try to juggle home life and our business. So here some tips to make social media less overwhelming in 2021 and so that you can spend a minimum amount of time on it for maximum effectiveness.

1 – set yourself a goal

If you are present on social media just because people have been telling you that’s what you should do, then you won’t get anything out of it. Think about what you want to get out of your social media and be specific about it. For example, “I would like to keep in touch with the connection I make during networking events on my Facebook group” or “ I would like to get one new client a month through LinkedIn” or “ I would like to have 5 conversations a month with new leads from Instagram”.

2 –  don’t spend too much time on social media

Be mindful of how much time you spend on social media. It can be difficult to not fall in a rabbit hole when you open your social media apps. So here are 2 tips I use myself:

• Before opening Instagram (that’s my weakness!) I write down what I need to do on the platform (interact with my followers, post, check my insights, etc…) so that when I get distracted I can get back on track more quickly.

• Set a reminder for time spent on the platform. You can do this on Instagram: go to menu – your activity – time tab – set a daily reminder. Then you will receive a reminder when you reach that limit each day.

3 – plan

Schedule half a day each month to prepare your content.

Open your calendar today and schedule 3 or 4 hours the last week of each month to plan, write, create images and schedule your social media content for next month. Do this for the next 11 months. Other things will pop up throughout the year but at least this will remind you that it needs to be done.

4 – get your social media images sorted.

Now may not be the best time for a photoshoot but now could be a good time to research a style of photography you like or a photographer to help you build a content library. It is so helpful to have some good images to post on social media, whether these are pictures of your products or personal branding. Check out the competition I am running is partnership with fabulous photographer Jo Robbens.

5 – interact with your followers

If there is one thing you mustn’t forget to do, it is interact with your followers. Even if you don’t have time to post, make sure you like, comment and support your followers’ posts. Interacting is just as, or more, important as broadcasting on social media. So don’t forget to allocate some time to this.

6 – join a pod or an accountability group

This helps with visibility and holds your accountable for posting regularly. Ask around you if any of your contacts are part of a posting pod or create one.

Usually pod members agree to post to a specific platform on a chosen day, share their post with the pod, and interact with each other’s posts. This means that your post will be bumped up the news feed as it receives more interactions, and the other pod members expect you to post, so your are held accountable for posting that day.

7 – turn off your notifications

I find that I get distracted by my phone all the time throughout the day – Whatsapp messages, social media notifications, breaking news, etc…So when I don’t want to get distracted I turn off notifications. For some social media apps, I know I check them once a day, so the notifications are always off and I know I will get to the comment or message at most 24 hours after it was posted. With Whatsapp you can mute conversations for 8 hours, a week or always, which can be useful for some active groups.

8 – prioritise

You can’t be on every channel so based on your goals for social media and who your target audience is, prioritise the channels you think you can get the most out of. Even if that means taking an account offline for a while.

9 – try new things

If you generally don’t enjoy social media, why not try new platforms or new functionalities. You might enjoy them more, find them less of a chore. For example, Instagram stories can be fun with their effects, stickers, etc and need to be less polished than feed posts. And Tiktok and reels can be a creative way to demonstrate your products and your personality.

10 – use a scheduling tool

Make the most of the scheduling tools we have available so that when things get busy you don’t have to think about social media too much! If you schedule all the content you plan each month, all you need to do the rest of the month is interact with your followers.

Bonus tip – Be yourself!

It is so much easier to post and think of things to say and write if you are true to yourself. And your followers will be happy to get to know you and understand your personality. Make sure you include in your content posts that show your personality and that can help you create a connection with your followers.

Want help setting yourself up for a successful social media year in 2021? Book a one to one content brainstorming session with me for lots of content ideas, planning tips and organisation advice.