Save Time on Social Media with the “Easy” Button
Stop social media overwhelm by using time-saving tools plus a plan.
You did well by getting your business on major social media sites. All you need now is a plan. Just like your plan for hard copy marketing campaigns you need one for virtual campaigns. You can merge the two to make it easier.
This is part 2 in the “Is Social Media a Waste of Time” series. Click to read part 1: Create Truly Engaging Content | part 2: You are HERE | part 3: Marketing, Leads, and Revenue | Series Conclusion
Hootsuite is an application that will help focus your attention by putting all your accounts in one place. Read and post all-in-one. (from $9.99/mo USD with a 30-day free trial)
Post Planner is another tool you can utilize for scheduling content and tracking how well it is doing. (from $7/mo USD)
BufferApp - lets you schedule posts for the future. It now has the capability to pre-schedule Pinterest posts. There is a free version and a paid version.
Co-Schedule - by far my favorite application for scheduling posts and social media. They have a plugin for WordPress which makes it super easy to schedule future broadcasts months in the future. This keeps your content in front of your audience longer.
Don’t have the self-control it takes to manage everything?
Don’t have the self-control it takes to manage everything? Try StayFocused App Click To TweetRescueTime can help. It blocks sites for you so you stay on task. (from $9/mo USD)
Stay Focused - this is similar to Rescue Time in that it blocks a site for you. I have this set for Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and a certain game I like to play 🙂
A consistent presence is mandatory for any business. This means you need a steady flow of content your customers find valuable. Scheduling your content and focusing will help tremendously in growing your business.
Tip: Use PLR (private label rights) content to share on social media. You can create statuses, add quotes to images, and create short tips to Tweet.
Do you have difficulty keeping to a schedule?
I recommend “Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take 5 Minutes or Less” by S.J. Scott.
It shows how adding just a small task before or after something you already do, like brushing your teeth, helps develop new habits. [ It works! 🙂 ]
FREE Printable Social Media Plan
Stop social media overwhelm by using time-saving tools plus a plan. Click To Tweet- S.M. Template from CoSchedule - this is printable, you need to sign up for their mailing list. If you haven’t tried Co-Schedule yet, I suggest signing up for the 14-day free trial. It makes scheduling easy.
- S.M. Content Calendar by LocalVox - this is an excel sheet with pre-labeled boxes. It has a sample schedule too.
- Business Marketing Plan by HalfAsleepStudio - this is part of a series of blog printables. You can choose a weekly schedule or a monthly one. Very cute and colorful.
- S.M. Planner for Posts by ColorvaleActions (a photographer’s site) - this is a clean design, you must opt-in for this freebie.
- S.M. Editorial calendar (can be used for S.M.) by MyDIY.life - this is one of many printables she offers for bloggers
- S.M. calendar for the month of April by ChloeSocial - I like how you can see the overall flow of the plan. She includes holidays, quotes, homework for your readers, curated posts, and more. Plus, check out her opt-in for a Social Media Strategy download.
- S.M. Organizer by NellieBellie - this one is more of a ‘best time’ to post on social media. She includes Pinterest, G+, Facebook, and Twitter. Read the post because she shares the S.M. tracking tools she uses.
- Bufferapp has a very extensive post on creating an S.M. marketing plan. This isn’t a printable but an infographic that helps you make your own plan.
Take Action:
- Download one of the above social content planners and start to fill it in.
- Set up Hootesuite or Hire a Virtual Assistant to do it for you
- Plan your next marketing campaign around a product or service and pre-schedule it 30-days in advance
- Add habit-stacking to your routine to start seeing results in 5-minute increments
- Write 10 Facebook Statuses
- Create 10 Visual Updates (video, infographic, image quote, or photos)
Thank you for stopping by and reading until the end. Here’s a social media posting schedule that I use as a guide. It includes topical ideas for Facebook and Twitter. If you want to have it customized for you reserve a time to talk with me on the phone.
What do you use to plan your Social Media content? Share below in the comments or pop on by the Facebook page or Twitter and let me know.
Adrienne says
Hey Sara,
Wanted to come back by and comment on the post I had previously read but I see you only just have comments open on your most recent post.
I use Buffer and have for a few years now. It’s just SO easy to use and I do have the browser extension as well that makes it easy for any post I want to load up to share that doesn’t have a Buffer sharing button. Actually, I did some checking some time back to see when my followers are online the most and I have those times scheduled throughout the week. Each time I load a post they go in a certain time slot so that just makes things that much easier for me. I’m just been doing it this way for awhile now and it works beautifully.
I’ve heard of several of these others programs but I haven’t used them myself. I have CoScheduler for the headlines but not for scheduling my posts.
Thanks for sharing all of these and I hope you have a wonderful week.
~Adrienne
SD says
Thank you Adrienne, for taking the time to stop by my blog. I just started it last month so still putting everything in its place. Buffer is great. I don’t have the paid version so can only do 10 at a time. I use Hootsuite with it to pre-schedule things for the week.