The Social Marketing Time Suck
June 10, 2009 by Audrey Kerwood
Filed under Marketing
Social Marketing your eCommerce store can be fun, it can be tedious, or somewhere in the middle. There is also so much of it to be done and so many different avenues to take that you can become so engrossed in it that you ignore other areas of your business.
I’ve had days where something fun or cool was happening on Twitter and I had to use all my will to stop hitting the refresh button and go get some actual work done. It’s bound to happen sometimes but if it becomes a habit you’ll end up wasting time that could and should be spent doing things that make you money.
I’m not suggesting that you avoid social networks, they can do great things for your business, you just have to watch that you stay focused while using them.
You should regularly post and respond to your followers and friends but it should be a get-in-and-get-out sort of thing. If you hang around too long you can easily spend hours clicking through pages, comments, and pictures; or worse get caught up with silly distractions like quizzes and games.
I try to spend no more than a half hour or so a day working on my social networking. I go in, spend a few minutes on one, and then move onto the next. I do the rotation a few times a day and am able to stay caught up with what’s going on and communicate with my networks without it taking away from my work time.
If you do it right, it’s a great way to take a break from whatever main project you’re working on while still doing something positive for your business.
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Hi Audrey
you've definitely hit a nerve here! I have to admit that I'm guilty of popping in to take a look at something, getting distracted and suddenly finding time has flown by. It takes some discipline to stop yourself going off at tangents when you get onto those sites and – as you say – getting caught up in quizzes and games is worse.
My particular weakness is on the sites where people ask questions – I like to read the answers others give and, where I can, offer some insights if it is my area of expertise.
That's why I tend to keep my visits to outside normal working hours – then at least I'm enjoying a bit of relaxation during which I might find something useful!
Regards
~ Carol Bentley
It can happen all to easily Carol, and before you know it too! As I mentioned it's bound to happen sometimes, I got caught up in a medieval movies thing on Twitter and before I knew it 3 hours were gone. Sure it was fun… but seriously 3 hours! On Twitter! Haha, there are certain ones I really enjoy, like Facebook, where I'll spend extra time once I'm done working, that's a good way to approach it.
Hi Audrey,
Is the social marketing really that important or is sticking to articles, blog and forum post maybe more useful.
Hi Toby,
I think it is. Articles, blogs, and forum posts are useful too but as an entrepreneur I think anything that can build a base for you is something you need to embrace and use. The followers I've built on Twitter and Facebook check out my posted specials, watch my videos, read my goofy stories, and also buy from me. They get to know my store through me personally and it works. I'm not the only one it's working for either, the Internet Marketers are screaming about social networks (have been for a while). I do think it's harder for an eCommerce storeowner to jump into this type of marketing but I don't think it's any less effective or important.
I totally agree, it's better to set a time limit on how much Twitter work you do – and automate the other stuff with TweetLater! That way you maximize your use of Twitter and minimize your wasted time on it…
Automation is amazing Doug! That's something I'm actually just getting into, I'll have more to write about it in a few months – what works and what doesn't.
What a timely topic! I can really relate to this after getting caught up spending WAY too much time watching Twitter from the Iranian protests recently. It's too easy to get caught in that time suck. I like your approach of using the social sites for short breaks from your main project. Think that's what I'll try today!
Thanks for the reminders and ideas, Audrey! This is my first time on your site and this is the second page I clicked to as the blog subject line caught my attention right away. As I was reading, I was thinking, "I'd like to follow her on Twitter and looked for a Twitter signup on this page but didn't find one. If I missed it, sorry; if it didn't, it would be great to have one on this page too.
You're absolutely right Mary, my Twitter is: http://www.a2armory.com and if you're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/audreykerwood. I'll add it to the post as well
You're absolutely right Mary, my Twitter is: http://www.a2armory.com and if you're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/audreykerwood. I'll add it to the post as well
You're absolutely right Mary, my Twitter is: http://www.a2armory.com and if you're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/audreykerwood. I'll add it to the post as well
You're absolutely right Mary, my Twitter is: http://www.twitter.com/a2armory and if you're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/audreykerwood. I'll add it to the post as well
You're absolutely right Mary, my Twitter is: http://www.twitter.com/a2armory and if you're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/audreykerwood. I'll add it to the post as well
You're absolutely right Mary, my Twitter is: http://www.twitter.com/a2armory and if you're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/audreykerwood. I'll add it to the post as well