Stop Wasting Time on Social Networks
As a blogger, there are two major aspects of your professional presence in the online environment: your writing abilities and your business savvy. By creating content and publishing it on the web, you are also creating a need to market yourself. Otherwise, no one will come across your content and your voice will not be heard. Balancing your life to accommodate these two demanding aspects of your blog can be a tough task, but managing your time around these needs can set you on the right path.
Instead of informing you of services, tricks and tips for trimming the fat off your daily activities, I’m going to emphasize the need for avoiding the specific lure of wasting time on the web. I think there are plenty of tools, books and guides for making your work day more efficient. The importance of time-wasting on the web is especially pertinent to bloggers, however, as this is a primary outlet for self-marketing.
Blogging originated online, and the social web has since emerged to encourage the blogging economy while also presenting a new way to share media in general. The result was an online collection of eyeballs, which brands and individuals alike can market towards.
Leveraging the social web has also been a way to spread one’s brand, from friend to friend as a part of a personal recommendation system. More and more are recognizing the power of creating access and sharing mechanisms along the longtail of content and their niche audiences. However, the ability to navigate this social web in order to actually leverage it instead of becoming victim to it relies on your ability to properly manage your time.
I see a number of people losing focus on their blog if they get too wrapped up in the social media aspect of their overall process. The business side is very important for the growth of your blog, but wasting time on social media outlets will take away from both the writing and business sides of your blog. Think of it this way; if someone were to look at any of your online social profiles and thinks you have way too much time on your hands, then maybe you do.
As a blogger, avoiding this perception is a balancing act, as you rely on your social networking activity for professional purposes. But it is achievable. Reevaluate your professional goals, reset your priorities and find a way to optimize your schedule.
This is an issue that many corporations and other businesses have when it comes to their employee’s management time. As businesses also recognize the possibilities for building their brand names by leveraging the social web, they are once again finding it difficult to find a measurable balance for their employees that need to use social networking sites as part of their marketing practices. Seeking out some of the lessons learned in the business world may also help you as a blogger. Any additional ideas on how to walk the tight rope between the writing and socially driven marketing portions of one’s blog, feel free to share them in the comments below.
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Stop Wasting Time on Social Networks
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