I admit it. I’m attracted to shiny objects online. Of course, it used to be a lot worse. These days, I will accept or reject a new tool, social media outlet or widget within a few minutes. It used to take days or weeks before I realized I was simply wasting time.
How about you? Are you still jumping on board with a new tool? Spending hours a day Tweeting? Working that Facebook page hour after hour? Find new stuff like Tungle.me, Postling, NudgeMail, TwitPix or any of a number of tools and widgets that promise to connect you to more people and make your life easier? Only to do it, you gotta sign up for yet another account with yet another website or tool?
And don’t get me started on smartphone apps. It’s easy to see something, think it’s gonna be great and then you end up finding out that all it is is a pretty big waste of time with very little increased productivity?
Yeah. Been there, done that. I humbly admit that I’ve gone through those phases.
Perhaps I’m done with that now. I think so.
If you’re still enamored of all of those social media platforms and seriously feel that you’re spending waaaay too much time and all you’re doing is spinning your wheels, take heart: there is a solution. But it may not be what you want to hear.
To get past all of those things to where you’re using them in a grown-up manner, you just have to do one thing: get past them. And deal with them in a grown-up manner.
Huh? That’s it? That’s the answer?
Yup, it’s that easy.
Realize that with each tool out there, whether it’s Twitter or Facebook or YouTube or whatever, you have to find a happy medium. You have to first figure out how it all works. Then you have to figure out what works best for you (realizing of course that things will probably change and evolve). And then you have to work them as a grown-up.
This means:
- Setting an ‘engagement’ limit that works with your situation.
- Answering the question: ‘what do I want out of this?’
- Realizing that while social media is a great connectivity tool, there’s more to your business/marketing/life than social media.
It helps to realize that your situation may be completely different from other people, and that what you want out of social media may be very different from other folks.
To get maximum productivity out of your social media engagement, one suggestion is to connect with people off-line. Track someone down that you’ve made connection with, pick up the phone, and introduce yourself. Have an open conversation with no agenda other than getting to know them a little bit.
Offer to help someone. If you see a post in your social media group that is a cry for help, however small, offer to help. Again, there’s nothing wrong with picking up the phone and reaching out. Social media is great for seeing what people are doing – but it is not a substitute for a one-on-one conversation.
Another good skill to have is the art of saying ‘NO.’ From Joshua Noerr comes this tidbit: “If I have a list of tasks or projects on my plate, and someone wants to add to it, I simply ask, “Okay, which of these previous projects would you like me to delay so that I can add this new one?” Usually, the answer is, “None.” If they would like me to postpone one of them, I have still accomplished my goal, because I have not immediately added anything to my work load.”
Social media offers incredible connectivity tools and avenues to people around the world. But you’ll be much better off if you can figure out to steer and navigate. Much like controlling a sailboat, you wouldn’t want to try and sail around the world until you were confident in your skills. Do the same with social media. Get involved, learn, gain skill, wisdom and confidence.
And then sail around the world.
photo credit: Dominique Godbout
Communication Steroids
