How to Make Social Media Marketing Less Stressful

Social media marketing can be overwhelming.  There is a lot of advice on strategy, content, tools, etc., which can be confusing and seem like too much.  With a couple of practices in place, however, social media is manageable and can be a great addition to your marketing.  Here’s what to do for less-stress social media marketing:

Create A Schedule

Which sounds more doable?  1. Mondays are content creation days and Tuesdays and Fridays are post days.  Or 2. post two times a week.  Hint: it’s the first one.  Deciding when you’ll create the content and the days that you’ll post it gives your brain focus.  You know exactly when and what to do.  Also, creating content on different days from when you post allows you to lay fresh eyes on your work and edit if necessary.

Make A Content Calendar

This does not have to be hard.  You can write your topics in your planner or Google calendar, or make a spreadsheet with content ideas and dates of when you’ll post what.  Content calendars are also a great way to see the mix of content you have and if you need more variety. 

Set Blocks Of Time For Engagement

I know this sounds too planned and/or restrictive but hear me out.  We all know the rabbit hole social media can be, and as a business owner, you don’t have time for that.  Setting time to engage with others (followers and people who post similar hashtags – see this post on social listening) limits the amount of time you’re on the platform, and ensures you’re covering the social part of social media.

Have Fun!

Have fun with your posts and engagement, and don’t take yourself – or your business – too seriously.  Worry less about reaching more customers or gaining more followers, and focus more on making connections and enjoying the “community.” 

Use A Scheduling Tool

Depending on your goals, you may want to use a social media scheduling/managing tool.  These tools can help you schedule your posts in advance, manage multiple social media accounts from one dashboard, get more analytics, and more.  The catch is they cost a monthly fee and sometimes your visibility on a platform can be affected because some don’t like third-party posts.  When you can, real-time, platform-native posts are best. 

Do you think social media is stressful?  What are some ways you make social media less stressful?