Did you plan your social networking activity? Or did you, like many of us, simply receive an invitation to join one of the hundreds of Social Networking sites and eagerly sign up? What happened?
There is something so immediate and compelling about Social Media, whether it be social media marketing or social media networking that a plan is probably the last thing on your mind.
Soon you find yourself merrily signing up to many social networking sites on the basis of an invitation or the “cool buzz.” Problem is, very soon the overwhelm sets in. Suddenly you’re too busy to keep up a robust presence in all your social networking sites… and you end up with a profile and not much else.
To avoid that you need a plan. You want to be strategic, make the most of your time and track whether you’re achieving your goals. I’d love to say that, I’m innocent of such avid lack of planning. Sadly, I am guilty as charged – well, somewhat.
Like most people I am busy. Extremely. Between working, writing, blogging 2 blogs, writing articles, Twitter, Facebook (I finally put up a new page and am still active on my separate personal profile) and Linked In there’s very little time in between. I could be more active on each one of them. What I realized however, was that for each of my social networks I did have a plan – albeit a loose one. Though I didn’t write them down,I had a specific goal in mind for each site. Even for my blog. And my social networking activity has more or less followed those goals.
My Social Media Networking Objectives
Facebook is for connecting with personal friends and making new ones. It’s almost completely non-business, and I have kept it that way. I know almost all my friends and when I come out with some of my wackier musings I don’t have to worry about what anyone’s thinking.
LinkedIn is for my professional networking, making new connections (online and offline) and keeping up with old ones, profile, and for exposure. On Linked In my revised plan is to be more active in my groups. The thing is that time has to come from somewhere. Link back to goals.
My Twitter goals are social professional with some personal – for sharing relevant information, exposure, learning what’s going on (it’s THE best place for learning about Social Media and finding new blog posts), who’s who, who’s doing what, making new connections and of course sharing my expertise through my blog posts and anything else I have to share. By the way, the traffic I get from Twitter has steadily increased since I joined a few months ago.
My Facebook Page is less than a week old. I have a plan for that too. It’s my Facebook business profile to take advantage of Facebook’s marketing opportunities . I also link everything with my offline networks. And I am “active” in one or two forums.
Here’s where things fall apart
Having recently joined three new networks on invitation I noticed that all I’ve been able to do it put up a profile and little else. Not good. Although there’s the potential for exposure and interaction (I respond to posts) I don’t have the time to do all that’s necessary to maintain a robust presence in these new networks without degrading my participation in my other networks.
Until I work out how to clone myself, my “profile” is really all there is. And, as much as social networks are walled communities with blogging tools and suchlike, if you already have a blog (or two) and have to re-create posts for a forum it does become another barrier. Part of the reason I like Facebook Pages is because you can simply import your blog posts. And the thought of someone else doing the blog writing doesn’t sit well because I invest a lot of myself in my blogging.
Since it bothers me to be in a network and do… well, nothing, really - I think I may have to delete my profiles for the time being. This much is true, though: there are only so many social networking sites you can do well at the same time before the law of diminishing returns sets in.
So, you must have a strategic social networking plan.
What does such a plan look like? Find out in my next post.
In the meantime how about you? Are you in several networks? Or just one or two? Do you give them all the same level of attention or do you have challenges? What’s your experience? Would you ever pay someone to “be you” in a social network?
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Absolutely agree with your sentiment. Who has time to actually work any more when social media/networking is calling? Sadly, my blog is the microblogosphere on Twitter, as my time is vastly reduced these days.
Nicky,
I always enjoy your posts and couldn’t agree more about the value of planning. (Look forward to part 2.) One question though: What steps have you taken to “segregate” your networks. In particular, is there a socially-correct way to decline (or maybe redirect) a Facebook invitation from a business contact? I too prefer to limit Facebook to friends and LinkedIn to professional contacts. But it feels rude to decline anyone.
Julie
And to think there are more social networks being introduced all the time. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to manage everything that is out there.
Personally I am sure I have profiles up on sites that I don’t even remember signing up on. I jumped into this social media/networking pool with both feet and have just started to tread water (up until recently I was drowning).
Jayme – I hear you! Twitter at least allows you to stay engaged. And more people than you may imagine read your tweets. As I get busier I find I have to ration my Twitter time… which means I then miss out on some Tweets. At least there’s search.
@Julie – thanks and great question. The only network I really “segregate” is Facebook. I tend to invite or accept friend requests from people I know in some context or other. And unlike many I use the privacy settings. Facebook was always my “personal friends” network more than a marketing channel, and even though it’s now touted more as a marketing hub I just wasn’t prepared to bombard my friends with “marketing business stuff.” There are people who advocate to having your whole life an open book to everyone, clients, businesses, etc… I’m not one of them. As far as declining an invite from a business contact to connect on FB – I simply decline if it’s a friend request on my personal profile and I don’t wish to connect. I believe it’s your choice whether to accept and if you don’t feel like accepting – don’t.
But if they want to be a “fan” of my page on FB – that’s ok with me. I am happy to connect professionally with businesses and clients on LinkedIn, so I am less inclined to decline an invite there.
@Greg – Yes, there are far too many to manage. The time factor is very significant. It’s not just creating content, it’s being present enough to develop a “presence” if that makes any sense. It can be overwhelming. I wonder when we’ll see the first cases of “Social Media Networking burnout?”