Social Media Planner

I was at Search Engine Strategies New York last week and, as always, I come away with new ideas, another slant on a concept, or tools that will make my work more efficient. One idea I heard is remarkably simple, yet I’m certain that many, including me, don’t do it on a regular basis. A tool to implement the strategy, Hootsuite.

Create Social Media Calendar

The social media calendar is literally a calendar with dates of blog posts, email marketing campaigns, Tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn status updates, YouTube videos, etc., planned out ahead of time to either correspond with seasonal events for your business or service or as a planned approach to make sure interaction occurs on a regular basis.

Obviously, spontaneous status updates and Tweets are encouraged, but the calendar makes sense, especially if you need approvals for your business communications or if you experience periods of being extremely busy to the point that your social interactions are sparse at best.

When I heard this idea, the first thought that went through my head was how organized this concept seems; it reminded me of an acquaintance who wrote her Christmas cards for the following year as soon as she received the current year’s card. I also thought that this would take a lot of time to do, but I’m beginning to see how this could really work and how it’s actually helping me to overcome writer’s block.

Scheduling Your Tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn Status Updates – Automating the Process

This week I found five great articles I want to share with my clients on a particular subject. Instead of copying those links into a calendar and then re-pasting them into Twitter, etc., I can schedule them using Hootsuite, which offers a free account or a Pro account for $5.99/month. It will allow me to track and schedule messages more easily and monitor mentions – automating the process and providing me with a more streamlined approach.

Hootsuite also can be linked to WordPress.com blogs, but not yet to WordPress.org, though they say it’s coming. You also will still have to do your own scheduling of email newsletters and videos, etc., but having a tool to help with some of the work makes life easier.

Benefits of a Social Media Calendar

What I like most about planning out my social media is that I can get better at interacting with my clients and prospective clients. Everyone is busy, and finding the time to participate in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, etc., is sometimes overwhelming. Many of my clients say it’s one of their greatest challenges. Planning your social media can help you stay on top of it. I’m not saying that there won’t be a few bumps in the road, but, it should help my social media strategy which involves – wait for it – interaction (I’m watching too much of “How I Met Your Mother”).

If you have some ideas on handling the various social media interactions, please comment below.

Tagged as: hootsuite, social media