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You want to be seen, heard, and stay connected so you can network and build your brand. But sometimes social media can consume your life in ways you didn’t think possible.
Think about this — how much time did you spend on social media last week?
An hour? Two? Three or more? Not sure? If you don’t know the answer, you’re most likely spending more time on it than you should.
As a Facebook Ads Coach I struggle with this, too! My business is built on a social media platform like Facebook and here I am telling you to spend less time on social media.
Oh the irony! 😁
As someone who spends all day on Facebook (working on ads and communicating with clients), I’ve struggled with getting sucked in and staying focused on the tasks that are actually going to move my business forward.
And while I love the opportunities we have to connect with others on social, and I WANT people to engage with ads, I also want you to have a life outside of technology!
With that, here are eleven awesome tips for spending less time on social media!
1. Eliminate the Chance to Get Sucked In
For starters, the best way to reduce the overwhelm that is social media is to stop getting sucked in. Easier said than done, though!
That’s why I’m sharing my personal tips for not getting sucked into social media:
Turn off any notifications so you only see alerts when you’re logged into your account. I also suggest turning off notifications inside the app that you don’t really care about (I just reviewed mine today!).
Install extensions to help you focus on what’s important. For Facebook specifically, try installing the Newsfeed Eradicator Chrome extension to block the newsfeed on desktop.
Finally, delete any mobile apps you use for social media. (Gasp!) I’ve done this a couple of times when I’ve found myself getting sucked in too frequently, and it really helps.
Even if it’s just for a short time, removing unnecessary apps and notifications can help you regain control of the time spent on social media.
2. Check In Twice per Day Only
This might be a tough one, but give it a try anyway! Work towards only checking your social media channels twice per day — preferably once in the morning/early afternoon and once at night.
Don’t stay logged into social media accounts all day long. Instead, limit yourself to only checking in during a specific time. ( I know, this can be hard!)
This will give you the opportunity to accomplish more important to-dos and tasks.
3. Give Yourself a Time Limit
Take things a step further by giving yourself a time limit when checking in with your social media platforms! It can be anywhere from 10-20 minutes a day but doesn’t need to be more than that.
You may think that’s not enough time, but trust me, it is. Social media seems to take forever, but that’s because we’re constantly scrolling.
Giving yourself a time limit is one of the ultimate tests to see if you are ready to spend less time on social media, so don’t worry if you can’t accomplish it in one day!
Just keep tracking your time and little by little, you’ll start getting used to the shorter timeframe.
4. Use a Social Media Calendar
Just as you have a calendar to keep track of important business appointments, you should also have a schedule for your social media.
It doesn’t have to be fancy. It can be something simple as using a Word Doc or a Google Drive spreadsheet. But it should contain your channels and what you plan on posting each day.
For example, if you want to post to Twitter three times each day, what kind of content are you planning on sharing? Twitter is the one place where you can share Retweets (RTs), so you can add this into your social media strategy — but only for this platform.
This is why having a social media calendar can be so great. It can help you come up with a custom social media schedule for each platform. It will also keep you organized and productive because you’re not having to guess what to post each day.
By taking out all of the guess work, you’re able to spend less time on social media this week!
5. Try Social Media Scheduling Tools
Thanks to a social media calendar, you already know what to post each day, but how will you post it? Instead of hopping on every few hours to schedule your posts, use time-saving social media tools.
My favorites social media scheduling tools include Tailwind for Pinterest and Post Planner for Facebook and Twitter.
Each of these tools keeps everything organized and ready to go, and I only spend an hour or two at the beginning of the week to schedule it all!
Some other great options for scheduling tools are Hootsuite, Buffer, and Planoly, but you can use whatever scheduling tool works best for you.
6. Keep an Ongoing List
Keep an ongoing list of hashtags for each platform as it relates to your business. (This is really only relevant for Twitter, Instagram, and now Pinterest, but other platforms may add this in the future.)
It’s not always easy to remember your favorite hashtags or the ones that get the most engagement, so a list really comes in handy.
It’s also a great idea to have a central place for links to posts you enjoyed reading, or videos you liked, that you may want to share on your social media channels later.
You can keep this list on your phone, using a bookmarking tool like Pocket, or in a management tool like Asana. That way if you forget, it’s all written out and saved for you!
7. Bulk Create Content & Graphics
You can save a lot of time on social media by bulk curating and creating content at one time — especially if you create your own social media graphics.
Instead of creating graphics for blog posts, quotes, and random social media photos as you need them, bulk create them all at once.
Choose a time once each week (or even a few times a month) to curate all of your social media content and create graphics or quote images. Then, once it’s time to schedule them, you can do so a lot more efficiently, helping you spend less time on social media.
8. Bulk Schedule Everything
Speaking of scheduling your social media, this is another task you can do in bulk to save time. Try scheduling all of your posts at once!
This works great if you are using a social media tool like one of the ones mentioned above, as you can view your content weeks ahead of time.
When I’m scheduling posts, also add in captions and hashtags as well. It may take a little time upfront to bulk schedule everything. But then you don’t have to worry about scheduling anything for the next few weeks — leaving you more time to grow other areas of your business.
9. Set Recurring Posts
Another great way to spend less time on social media is to have recurring posts! If you have blog posts, or evergreen events, set up these posts as recurring content.
This is a great way to get people to see them over and over again — driving more traffic to your brand. And the best part is you only have to add them once!
Great tools for recurring posts are Post Planner and Recurpost, but there may be other great tools out there as well. Don’t forget to add each of your new blog posts too!
10. Outsource to an Assistant
If you don’t have time for any of the above tips, why not hire someone to manage your social media accounts for you? While I recommend knowing how social media works and what your goals are, sometimes you just don’t have the time to do everything yourself.
This is when having a good process in place, such as having a social media calendar and strategy for scheduling in bulk can be SUPER beneficial for outsourcing this task.
This will ensure that the person you hire will give you the results you’re looking and adhere to your personal strategy! There’s no sense in hiring someone to help you if they aren’t giving you the results you want.
11. Keep Social Media in Perspective
At the end of the day, social media isn’t everything. Sure, it’s important in any business, but there are other more important things! Plus, social media is constantly changing which can become a big headache.
Give yourself some grace if your social media falls by the wayside. Remember, done is better than perfect! So don’t beat yourself up if a graphic isn’t exactly how you wanted it to look.
What’s most important is that it’s done, and you’re engaging with your audience!
Summary
I hope these tips helped you learn how to spend less time on social media so you can focus on growing your business!
Learn more about my Flourish with Facebook Ads course so you can create campaigns that convert.
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