Unless you’re able to step away from your desk on a regular basis (which can be useful, but might not be possible), conversation overload in social media can seem downright inevitable. Here are three tips to help keep your head from spinning off your shoulders.
1. Narrow Your Searches
When it comes to seeking out new conversations to participate in, search can be either a powerful ally or a dastardly interloper. The key is to narrow your search terms so that the results returned to you are small and manageable. Searching for “books” isn’t going to be nearly as helpful as searching for the particular genre of books you’re selling, or a specific title that you’ve identified as competition.
As with segmenting existing contacts into groups, you should schedule time to work on conversations in each of your major search areas. Alternating topics on a regular basis will help keep you fresh. After all, it’s hard to talk about the exact same aspects of a product or service day in and day out. Change it up!
2. The Four Ds: Delete, Delegate, Defer, Do
In 2007, Merlin Mann delivered a now-famous talk about the concept of Inbox Zero. In it, he proposed an email management system that would keep a user’s inbox message count at zero 100% of the time. Why not apply those same techniques to your social media workflow? Once per hour, do this: A) Delete irrelevant messages; B) Delegate questions that can be fielded by others; C) Do tasks that will take less than 60 seconds; and D) Defer those tasks which will take longer.
How you manage to do these things will depend upon the software you’re using to run your social media marketing campaigns, but each should be possible. And when you clean out your social media inbox on a regular basis (whatever that inbox might look like), that feeling of conversation overload can be avoided. Then you can move on to the rest of your job without feeling like you’ve dropped any balls along the way.
3. Measure Effectiveness and Refocus Accordingly
Measuring ROI in social media marketing doesn’t have to be difficult, and it is necessary if you’re going to successfully avoid conversation overload. So, the first step here is to make sure that you can track the effectiveness of your campaigns. If you can’t, you need to find a product or service that will allow you to do so. (Might I suggest JitterJam?) Next, examine your results on a regular basis. Find a schedule that works for you and stick with it. Then, once you see what’s working and what’s not, reevaluate how you’re approaching things. Keep plugging away at what’s working, and either step away from unproductive conversations or find some new way to interact.
Got any other ideas on how to manage conversation overload? Please leave a comment below.
