Just A Card Social Media Tutorials: Day 5
We really hope you have enjoyed this week of tutorials and that we've given you things to think about.
We do think it's important for you to be on social media but please do what you can and do not feel pressured to do it all.
Today I am sharing my tips for getting organised and having a social media plan. I find this really helps me to avoid overwhelm or worry, and to get the most out of my time on social media.
Emily's social media planning tips
1. Use scheduling tools - I use Buffer to schedule my Twitter accounts, Facebook scheduling for my Facebook posts and Planoly for my Instagram (sometimes - I do really love to decide on the day on Instagram because I love it so much).
2. Plan what you are going to say - I regularly plan things to talk about on social media and things that I want to share, both mine and other people's. This helps me keep showing up even when I'm busy or not so inspired.
3. Batch your photography - I have four young children and fit running my business into school hours, so batching my photography has been a technique I have used for many years now. This means I can spend an hour or two a month taking a month's worth of images and then I can add to these when I see inspiring things or go to an interesting place but whatever happens in my month I know that I have a bank of images ready to use on social media.
4. Set a timer - it can be so easy to turn on Twitter for a few minutes and the next thing you realise is that a whole hour has gone by. I often set myself a timer on my phone for the amount of time I know that I have to give social media that day and when the alarm goes off I move onto a different task. Don't let it suck up all your time!
5. Remember to also be spontaneous - planning is wonderful but also remember to be spontaneous. If everything is scheduled it will sound that way. People want to know you are really there and it is a lot more fun when you post in the moment. I think a combination of planning ahead and posting directly is a great one.
6. Above all enjoy yourself - there are hundreds of social media 'rules' and ways that people believe you can make it work for you but I think that the most important thing to do is enjoy yourself. When you see someone really enjoying creating and sharing content, you want to engage and join in. If you are passionate about what you are doing in the world then spread that passion onto your social media.