Social media is a Catch-22. You want to grow your popularity, but you find it difficult to spend the enormous amount of time it requires.
Is there a way to enjoy rising popularity on social media while not sinking life and soul into the pursuit?
I've discovered a few methods. The key to growing in popularity doesn't have to be a time drain. All you need is a few proven strategies that will catch people's attention and cultivate a following.
You'll save tons of time and watch your social media clout rise.
1. Schedule your posts ahead of time.
This is my number one time-saving tactic. I'm all about social media spontaneity, but I can't engage in a tweet storm at any time of day or night.
Instead, I stay active on the social networks by scheduling my posts ahead of time. I'll dip in from time to time throughout the day, but my social media existence doesn't depend on it.
The method I prefer is to spend time on Monday queuing up Buffer with all my posts. I have a full week's worth of content that will be released at peak times.
I save time, and I sustain my output. Win. Win.
2. Congratulate people on LinkedIn.
I like to stay connected with people on LinkedIn. The platform's user interface makes it easy to do.
LinkedIn's homepage features a section announcing work anniversaries and new jobs. Click "Comment," and LinkedIn automatically populates the field with the word "Congrats!" Click "Comment" again, and you're on to congratulate your next connection in the list.
It takes two minutes to fly through and congratulate twenty or thirty connections. You've reached out and personally connected with someone, and the time it took was negligible.
3. Start a group on LinkedIn.
This technique takes a substantial amount of startup time, but it saves you an enormous amount of time in the long run. The impact on your popularity is exponential.
How do you start? Simply pick an attractive niche or topic, invite people in, and start discussions.
Eventually, the group will take on a life of its own. You don't have to spend a lot of time on it, but you will enjoy the popularity benefits that it accrues.
4. Endorse your connections on LinkedIn.
It feels good to get LinkedIn endorsements. It's also a valuable way to improve your professional status.
I make it a point to endorse people whose work and expertise I respect. This is another quick-and-easy way to increase your social media standing.
LinkedIn allows you to rapidly endorse many of your connections in a very short amount of time.
5. Favorite tweets.
Whenever you click that little star on a tweet, the user gets a notification. You're noticed, and they are rewarded.
How hard is it to favorite tweets? It's not hard at all. However, doing so gives you social media recognition, and makes the receiver feel good about herself
Not bad for a millisecond click.
6. Retweet frequently.
Retweeting content is a great way to show others that you value the content they posted. It is a positive digital affirmation that creates followers, generates respect, and doesn't take much time at all.
Retweet generously, and you'll probably get the same back in the form of followers, favorites, and retweets.
7. Comment "Love it! Thanks for sharing!" on everything.
You may not have the time to compose an insightful response to everyone's Facebook status update, but you can create a copy/paste shortcut that adds value.
Here's what you can do. Type "Love It! Thanks for sharing!" Copy it. Then paste it whenever you see a valuable update on Instagram, Twitter, Google+, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
8. Create quotes.
Visual content gets shared far more frequently than any other form of content on social medial. But then you face the familiar problem. It takes a lot of time to create visual content.
That's where several powerful websites come into play. Pablo (by Buffer) Quozio, Recite, and BeHappy.me make it easy to create visually appealing quotes.
Find a quote you like. Simply search for [your topic] + "quotes" on Google. Paste the quote into a quotation creation app, and presto! You've got an engaging post that will attract lots of shares and likes.
9. Use hashtags.
Finally, use hashtags. You can double your engagement level by simply dropping a few appropriate hashtags in the right locations.
- Two for Twitter
It's a tested, research-backed, and proven fact that hashtags generate higher levels of engagement. For the extra time it takes to type #, I'd say that it's worth it.
Conclusion
Social media has a learning curve. It takes time to learn a platform, manage it effectively, and save time.
The more you use it, however, the faster you become. Face the fact that you'll have to spend some time on the front end, but it will get easier as time goes on.
What are your time-saving social media tricks?