Too much information. Too many social sites. Too many new marketing tools.
Help!
It’s one of the main challenges we hear from time-strapped business owners, “I can’t keep up!”
What should I read? How do I learn? How do I find time to implement all of the tips, advice, and tools that I read about?
Relax. In this post you’ll find some easy tips for reducing overwhelm.
Focus on one social media destination to start
If you read Engagement Marketing: How Small Business Wins in a Socially Connect World, you already know we recommend taking it one step at a time. First, focus on your email newsletter.
Next, choose one social platform that makes the most sense for your business — Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.
Tip: Do a quick online survey to see where your customers hang out online. You could also talk to your peers about what is working for them.
After that, decide what platform or tool you want to learn more about. Experiment to see what engages people. (See Engagement Marketing for content ideas.) If you have a question about how something works, read your platform’s “Help” section or FAQs. You can also find help for each platform on our Social Media Quickstarter.
By focusing on one social media destination, you greatly reduce overwhelm. You also significantly increase your odds for success. The more comfortable you become posting, replying to fans and followers, and learning how things work, the more engaging you’ll become.
Measure and evaluate and don’t be afraid to stick with one thing long enough to know if it is working.
Get news straight from the source
Ever wonder where the “gurus” get their information? They get it right from the social media companies themselves — and you can too. Instead of following half a dozen experts, follow your preferred social platform.
- Twitter and LinkedIn have blogs where they post updates and how-to tips.
- To receive Facebook updates and tips, “Like” their Page.
- For Pinterest, follow their “Official Pinterest Page” where you can find boards, pinning tips, and official news.
- For Google+, you’ll need a G+ profile in order to follow the Google+ Business profile.
- For email marketing, follow your service provider (we sure hope that’s Constant Contact.)
Let Constant Contact keep up for you
Let’s face it, the fire hose of information is overwhelming. Even if you’re focused on one social media destination, it’s still difficult to keep up with, and make sense of, the latest trends, news, changes, etc.
Here at Constant Contact, our team spends its days reading news and testing new tools and applications. Then, we present the information you need in manageable chunks. Easy!
You can dive into this information in any way that makes sense to you.
- We have a Learning Center chock full of information.
- You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and G+. (Choose one of these, preferably your favorite social media destination, to keep things simple.)
- Or, subscribe to our email newsletter, blog, or join our community.
Get some help
Just because you run your own business doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. Here are some tips for delegating engagement marketing tasks:
Recruit employees: Have one or two employees who “get” social media or love email marketing and have the time to devote to it? Give them the job — and watch them shine.
Hire an intern: Don’t have employees or they’re all too busy? Call your local college or university to see if they have an internship program. An internship is a win-win. Once you have a plan for your engagement marketing program, you’ll have someone to help you execute it. The student also gets valuable work experience.
Outsource it: You can hire a consultant, like one of our Solution Providers, to manage your social media.
The key to reducing the overwhelm that comes with “too much information” is to keep things simple. Focus on one social media destination. Reduce the amount of information coming in. Get help — either from your employees or by outsourcing.
How do you manage information overwhelm? Please share your ideas.
The post Answers to Your Plea, “Help! I Can’t Keep Up With It All!” appeared first on Engagement Marketing.
