The post was written by guest blogger Erin Blakemore

Is your overloaded inbox or your inability to stop playing Mafia Wars preventing you from taking advantage of social media tools that could change the way you do business?  If you answered yes, you’re in good company.  Social media overload is more common than you think…and social media scope creep can plague even the most organized user.  If you’re ready to stop the madness, here are ten ways to put social media in its place.

• Have A Plan:  If you can’t sum up why you’re using a particular tool or what you hope to get out of it, you shouldn’t use it at all.  Step back and make a plan or you plan to fail.
• Practice Laser Focus:  Target your message to your audience.  It’ll make it easier for you to create content and have a coherent conversation.
• The Timer is Your Friend:  If you’re like me and have a lengthy, insane to-do list, try timing your social media use.  Schedule a ten-minute check-in period a few times a day, then enforce the amount of time you spend surfing, responding, and procrastinating.
• Pare It Down:  Do you really need 6,000 accounts on 22 different social media services?  Probably not.  Do a quick cost-benefit analysis and focus on the tools that connect you to your target audience and constitute a great investment of your time.  Then let the others go.
• Consider Scheduling:  If you have announcements to make or want to point others to your content, scheduling tweets, blog posts, and Facebook status updates through a service like TweetDeck could work for you…as long as you don’t let your scheduled status get in the way of real conversation or lapse into spammer mode.
• Do It In Blocks:  Do you respond to every notification as it comes in and get distracted by friend requests and incoming messages?  Don’t be afraid to put some boundaries around your social media use by blocking out time for follower-building, conversation, and maintenance.
• Go Mobile:  There’s a common misconception that investing in a smartphone to manage your social media will just end your ability to interact with other humans while overtaxing your thumbs.  Not true:  used with restraint and focus, mobile technology can definitely maximize your social media time and allow you to maintain your social media life in tiny blips instead of long chunks of time.
• Go On a Fast:  If your social media use is truly cutting into your productivity, it might be time to go on a diet of sorts.  Try cutting out all use for a week, then assess what you missed and what you didn’t.  Use what you learn to dictate what you focus your energies on in the future.
• Separate Business and Pleasure:  An “inner sanctum” approach to one social medium (usually Facebook or a blog) can reduce stress and expectations.  If you find yourself spending too much time filtering, blocking, and separating business from pleasure, it might be time to divorce your social media functions into uni-taskers that each serve a discrete function.
• Get Help:  The lightning-fast world of social media means that you could have a full-blown community on your hands within days.  If you’re having trouble managing your social media presence, get help, either internally through an assistant who understands the tools and has your trust, or externally through a reputable consultant.  The right confidant will remind you that social media is about connection, not overextension, and help you get back on track.

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Erin Blakemore is co-founder and Executive Director of VOCO Creative, a straightforward, savvy, and sustainable social media, marketing, and brand strategy firm in Boulder, Colorado. When she’s not helping companies grow their brands, she’s biting her fingernails over the October release of The Heroine’s Bookshelf, her debut book from HarperCollins. Connect with Erin on Twitter at @vococreative or @heroinebook.

*Photo by biewoef

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