Banking on Your Blogging

When marketing on social media sites it is best to develop certain time management strategies since after all you do have a business to operate. These sites offer tremendous traffic potential and to generate it cost you nothing, except TIME! In order to make the best use of these sites while also managing your business calls for some pretty effective time management skills.

Below are 3 simple strategies that will enable you to make good use of social media sites while still having time to effectively manage your businesses.

Limit the Number of Sites

In an effort to NOT spread yourself too thin in regards to time, choose the social sites you want to ‘work’ in based upon their potential. Social bookmarking sites and networking sites offer huge potential and are both worth serious consideration. It would be nice to work them all, but remember that time is a factor and also the topic of this article. The number of sites you pick will depend upon the time you have available so choose wisely.

Schedule Time

Perhaps a couple of short visits per day for each site works best or maybe one longer session would work more effectively. Schedule your time according to when each sites appears to be at its busiest, with the maximum amount of traffic, if possible.

Choose the optimal times and make your presence known. Use your time wisely and follow-up on any messages that require you to do so.

Make your social site visits a part of your work schedule and ‘consciously’ practice effective time management skills to get the most out of each visit.

Stick to Schedule

It is very easy and tempting to get ’sidetracked’ or lose track of time especially at any social network sites. Monitor your time and get business done! It is best to establish what it is you want to accomplish BEFORE each visit to help keep you on track and focused. Allow for time to conduct business and also for ’socializing’ but stick to your time ‘budget’ when at these sites. The key here is to set your priorities and allocate your time accordingly.

Having effective time management strategies in place and utilizing them is the key to generating traffic at social media sites. Remember that you also have a business to manage and the majority of your time should be spent doing just that! The 3 strategies we reviewed above call upon not only your discipline, but also certain time management skills to make good use of these sites. Continually reminding yourself that your visits to these social media sites are for business purposes should help you make better use of your time. By not losing sight of your main objectives you should be able to better maintain your focus and priorities.

It seems that recent past indicates a decrease in the number of blogging sites found on the internet. Many reports infer that the increase in social media use is an indication that people are replacing their blogging efforts and visits with social media use. The are now questions being raised as to whether the blog platform is in fact being pushed aside in favor of social media sites. On the surface it seems these questions may be valid but a closer look reveals that comparisons between blogs and social media sites may not be entirely justifiable or accurate.

Current claims are that social media use is ’siphoning’ away blog traffic thereby leading to the eventual demise of blogs as we know them. The question here is how can this be true when it appears that blogs and social sites serve fundamentally different purposes? True enough these sites both are social gathering spots however comparisons end at that point.

Here are 3 fundamental differences that can be found when comparing the purpose and characteristics of the blog platform to that of online social sites.

Focus

Blogs are highly focused where social sites have little or no focus other than to exchange casual chit chat. Now this is not to belittle social media sites but their purpose is for simply socializing with no major focus towards any one theme or topic.

On the other hand blogs are created around a particular topic upon which the focus is maintained. In fact if the blog was to alter or lose its focus it would also lose its readers. People are attracted to a blog platform for what it is all about and if the information they find there is of use they will continue to return.

Purpose

The purpose of a blog is to educate and/or inform its readers. To do so a blog platform must maintain a strict adherence to the subject matter it has identified itself with. Social sites have no such constraints insofar as any subject matter.

The purpose of social sites is to make available a location for people to gather. The content found on most social media sites is not set but rather it is chosen by participants and subject to immediate change all the time.

Educational Value

Sure you can pick up helpful tidbits from social media sites but that occurs incidentally. The main intent of a blog is to share useful information with readers who in turn also contribute their own by leaving comments at the site.

Claims that online blogging sites are falling by the wayside in favor of an increase in social media use may not be entirely accurate. Although a blog platform and a social media site both function as online social gathering spots they appear to serve different purposes. The fundamental differences between these 2 sites as discussed above indicate a mutually exclusive and ongoing need for both with plenty of traffic to go around!