Every effective machine requires an operating system that guides it to take the right actions. Social media is a machine that needs a similarly efficient and effective system. To make social media actually pay dividends for business or personal branding efforts, consider taking a look at the operating system. Is it strategic? Is it even intentional?
You have to be intentional about social media if there is ever going to be any value that comes from it, just like with anything else in life or business. One must continually refine and improve systems to ensure maximum efficiency. This is actually easier for new businesses than for older, established brands. There’s something to be said for starting from scratch. But even if there isn’t a fresh start, there are ways to make sure that best practices are being followed.
Here are some habits you can implement in your business right now:
Assess the Situation
Document the processes for publishing posts to social media. What resources do you use? Are you writing your own original content every time or are you curating content from other sources? If the former, what is the process for creating a post? Write it down as a step-by-step process.
For content curation, do you have a list or compilation of trusted resources that you consistently use? Where do you keep them? How do you publish? Write it all down. Visualizing the individual steps allows you to remove the weakest links and keep the ones that work.
Evaluate the Steps
Let’s analyze each step to see how they can be improved. For example, if you don’t use the same resources for content curation, start by compiling your favorites in an RSS feed aggregator, like Feedly, for faster reading. As an added benefit, Feedly integrates with most social media platforms and social media management tools, allowing for simple sharing.
Once you take a step back, assess your business performance, and become systematic with your social media processes, you can create a system that’s not just operational, but something that you can depend on for a long time.
I will attest to the fact that intentional analysis and streamlining pays off.
Oh, and I’m glad I don’t have to actually rewrite the social media operating system. That would take a long time, if such a thing even existed, and I’m certain it wouldn’t be an effective nor efficient use of my time.
Way to get it done, Reade.
This is an important post, Reade. I think at some point people have to decide to do social media casually, or treat it like they are running a business. If treating social media like a business, there has to be intentionality and consistency to the operating system, saying we’re “open for business”. Making this decision will really help people know what they need to put into social media. If someone says they’re serious about growing their audience and aren’t doing anything to build their brand, well then I would challenge their seriousness.