If the past couple of years has taught us anything, it’s that having an online presence is essential for small business owners and brands.

Despite being vital to business, with smaller teams and less time, many business owners don’t have the resources for a full social media strategy to be executed for their business. Others have the time but they’re not sure where to start when it comes to social media marketing.

Here are 10 time-saving hacks for people looking to do their own social media management.

1. Plan regular Brainstorming Sessions

When people say that social media doesn’t work for their business, what they usually mean is that sitting at their computer scrolling and liking posts isn’t working for their business.

Well, of course it isn’t! Social media is the most successful when you’re always sitting down with a plan as to what you’re going to do with your time.

My tip: Set up a weekly or monthly meeting where you (and your team if you have one) sit down and discuss future topics that you wish to include on your social media platforms.

Keep a stockpile of ideas from these sessions so when you’re not sure what to post, you have somewhere to start.

Need some ideas to get started? Check out this list here.

2. Limit the Platforms you use and the time you spend on them

With the number of social media platforms out there, the demographic for each of them are as unique as your own audience is.

Make sure you’re not spending time on a platform if your ideal customer isn’t already using it regularly. Limiting yourself to 2-3 platforms where you know your audience is already engaged means you can spend more time speaking to people who will actually buy from you.

By cutting down on all but the most effective platforms, you’ll save hours every week. Check out my post on social media demographics to figure out where to start.

3. Batch your content/work

There’s a lie that business owners tell themselves often. It’s something along the lines of ‘I can multitask.’

But multitasking has been proven time and again to be ineffective for someone trying to actually be productive daily.

Cut down on the time lost while shifting from one task to another by batching your work.

I wrote a whole post about batch-working right here.

4. Use Twitter Lists

A ‘List’ is a curated group of Twitter accounts. You can create your own Lists or follow Lists created by others. Viewing a List timeline will show you a stream of Tweets from only the accounts on that List.

So for a social consultant who does the social management for various brands, this feature means I can keep tabs on potential clients, current clients, vendors, suppliers etc. without falling down the rabbit hole.

You can find out how to use them to your advantage right here.

5.Use a content calendar/ Schedule Weeks in Advance

Knowing what you want to post prior to posting it is half if not 75% of the battle of social media! Take your brainstorming session and start plugging them into a content calendar.

Pre-Scheduling posts, especially “evergreen” content a few days or weeks in advance will save you time in the long run.

6. Use a Pre-scheduling tool

Social media scheduling is pre-planning and pre-writing your social media content to be posted at a particular time or date on the specific social media channel you wish whether that be Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter ect.

Once you have your content calendar done it’s time to pre-schedule your content! Find a scheduling tool that works for you and your business.

Check out my recommendations here.

7. When all else fails outsource your social media

If you’re still thinking ‘there’s no way I have time for this in my schedule’ then you’re not alone. Many companies quickly reach the point where they need to outsource their social media management.

Having someone you trust to do your social media marketing leaves you, the business owner, with free time to do what you do best and that’s run your business.

No matter what you decide to implement and incorporate into your business, the best thing to incorporate is consistency!

Stay consistent with your brand voice, stay consistent with how often you post, and stay consistent on what platforms you are posting and engaging on.

Your followers are following you for a reason and what to hear from YOU! Find a balance that doesn’t overwhelm you and get posting!

7 time-saving hacks for social media management