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Is social media taking up too much of your time? Have you abandoned your social media accounts because it’s not as exciting as when you first started? You’re not alone. The marketing benefits of social media activity are undeniable. The reality of trying to fit it into your workload can seem impossible. I’m providing nine of my own tricks critical to helping me maintain a social media presence without affecting my normal workload.

Because social media tools are designed to entice and engage you, they can also quickly become a burden if you have a busy schedule. Even if you enjoy the time spent using social media, it’s also a terrific procrastination aid. I’ve developed a nifty system, broken into two task groups, for keeping my profiles active without it taking a lot of time or impacting my schedule.

Curating Content

1) Google Alerts I have Google alerts set up with my business name, my own name and keywords relevant to my work. I also have alerts set up for my clients, both business names and key personnel names.

3) I subscribe to a lot of industry newsletters. It can be mind-numbing stuff but has a tendency to provide good content. It usually takes less than a minute to skim an email newsletter so it’s not as onerous as it sounds.

4) Paper.li has been a revelation. I subscribe to three different papers and always find great content I haven’t seen before.

5) Twitter is full of hash tag symbols allowing for quick research. For instance, I continually poll the #SMM tag to find out what’s new in social media marketing.

6) Twitter is good at making recommendations for people to follow. If I find a good account, I’ll see who they’re following and keep following the thread. If you have a high-quality group of people to follow, it’s easy to find good content.

7) I’ve joined a number of discussion groups on LinkedIn, which can provide good content, but I have to wade through a LOT of self-promotion and job listings.

Scheduling Content

8) I use a utility called Sendible that allows me to schedule updates to several different social media sites and from multiple accounts. (Hello holiday!) For example, I can use Sendible to post the same article to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I can post from different accounts, e.g. @globalcopywrite and @WITWA. Good when I want to repeat a tweet, it’s particularly handy for things like promoting events or conferences. You type the post once, set up a schedule and it repeats it accordingly.

9) TweetDeck is useful for scheduling tweets in advance, especially when I know I’m going to be busy or out of the office. This is especially useful when I’m working 12 time zones away from my office or traveling.

Select likely candidates
Every morning I wake up, grab a cup of coffee and get busy doing my reading. I browse through my email alerts and newsletters, clicking on any link that looks interesting. Next, I pop over to my daily Paper.li papers and click on any articles that capture my interest. I usually have about 20 or more articles opened in my browser at that point.

Identify shareable content
Next, I skim each of the articles. If one looks promising, I read it thoroughly then decide whether it’s worthy of a tweet or a post to another site. Depending on the hour this often happens about 5:00 am when my core audience is still sensibly in bed I’ll either tweet the story or schedule it for later in the day. I delete the article out of my browser and move to the next one until they’ve all been reviewed.

Poll favourite sites
Lastly, I check in to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn my favourite sites to see what’s going on. I always leave this step to the last because it’s too easy to get distracted by whatever may or may not be happening.

Sticking to the process
The whole process takes me about an hour but then the vast majority of my work is done. I periodically check for mentions, reply to comments or troll through hash tags on Twitter when it’s convenient lunchtime, if I’m on hold, or waiting for an appointment. I try to check in before the end of the day to make sure nothing is left outstanding. Otherwise, I discipline myself to stay away from social media sites or I’ll never make another deadline.

The take-away
I’d be interested in hearing what you do to help balance your social media activity with your workload. I’ve developed a little command centre over time, out of necessity. I love the interaction and the vast resources available but just can’t park myself on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook all day. I suspect you’re the same. These simple tricks of the trade will help you continue your social media activity without a massive impact on your workload.

What are your hints, tips or tricks for managing your social media activity?

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*Updated on 5 June 2014 to remove references to defunct tools and include current tools being used.

It's a big day at Global Copywriting. Paul Hassing – Chief Blogger, MYOB Small Business Owner and Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire – has graciously agreed to guest post. I'm beyond excited. Paul, aka @PaulHassing on Twitter, is a master of engagement. When I asked him to share his secret for getting people to leave comments, he generously offered this post. If you don't already read the MYOB blog, I highly recommend you start. While each post is packed with extra good information, Paul's ability to entice comments explodes the value of every one. He's got Australian small business owners clamouring to share their expertise and personal experiences.You won't want to miss out on the fun. Over to Paul.

Stick to the basics and readers will stick to you!

Introduction
Catching and keeping business owner attention during a GFC was never going to be easy.

Let alone with a new blog by an unknown copywriter.

So when MYOB asked me to be Chief Writer for their Small Business Owner blog, I had a few qualms.

Fortunately, the cream pie principles of persistency and consistency saved the day.

Persistency
Cream pies persist in Western culture because they're:

• Familiar.
• Welcome.
• Easily digested.

In the Small Business Owner blog, I talk straight from one businessperson to another. And they talk back. From good clients to bad debts, we cover common issues in a familiar language.

Each blog post brings something welcome be it tips, laughs, empathy, insight or proof that readers aren't alone.

Posts are brief around 450 words. I use pictures, captions, bullets, sub-headers, short sentences and frequent paragraph breaks to ensure even the busiest readers can easily digest.

Consistency
Cream pies are consistent because they have:

• Standard ingredients.
• A straightforward recipe.

So does this blog.

Apart from Christmas, I post every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Apart from guest posters, I've not missed a beat. Every polite or erudite comment is acknowledged with thanks. MYOB and I have set a standard and everyone sticks to it.

Or else.

My posts follow a straightforward recipe:[color=gray]

1. Take 1 real-life event.
2. Research the underlying topic.
3. Add personal observations.
4. Ask questions.
5. Suggest a solution.
6. Serve.
7. Solicit comments.
8. Allow to rest.
9. Facilitate debate.
10. Stir if needed.

With more than 200 posts and 5,200 comments to date (including several from Seth Godin and Penelope Trunk) this recipe is producing sweet success.

Recipe for Success
MYOB have facilitated our achievement by staying out of the kitchen.

They promote the menu and suggest the odd theme, but they don't stick their fingers in the pie.

Apart from guest posters, I'm the only cook.

My voice is consistent, the story lines are persistent and our message is clear.

With the Small Business Owner blog, there's always room for dessert!

What's your best tip for cooking up sticky content?

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How concerned are you about the performance of your website? Dumb question, right? If you've missed the cacophony on the internet about SEO and unique user traffic, it's because you're not using the internet for business. Regardless of your reasons for having a website, we put them out there so people will visit us. Improving your search rankings can be an expensive and mysterious undertaking. It doesn't have to be that way.

[Note to reader: Grab a cuppa, it's a long post with a lot of information.]

Sorry, I'm sold out
I've been pondering this since receiving a note via my website from someone insisting I help with their webcopy. I put a "sold out" notice on my contact form because my workload is such I'm not accepting any new projects. Not taking "No" for an answer, I received this reply:

Your website has a global Alexa.com ranking of 830,142 and a US ranking of 432,897, with 62 sites linking in which is brilliant. That rank is not easy to achieve, and most websites have a rank that is down in the millions, plus they have either few or no inbound links.

I honestly hadn't realised my website was doing so well. I confirmed the figures with Alexa this morning. My ranking puts www.globalcopywriting.com in the top 2.56% of all websites in the world. In. The. World. The figures are even better for Australian websites. Needless to say I'm chuffed. But I take issue with the conclusions in the rest of the letter.

Domain names though are a key factor in websites achieving success, and without detracting from the work that you have evidently put into your website, your domain name has without doubt contributed to the success of the site. What copywriter could possibly have a more keyword rich domain name than globalcopywriting.com? It states exactly what the site is about, plus your on-page optimisation is near perfect.
Other websites by comparison often have domain names which mean little or nothing to the search engines.

I'm not a copywriter
The current issue of Chief Content Officer has a brilliant article from Glenn Murray of Divine Write titled, You think you're a copywriter? What a joke!. Glenn, a competitor and colleague, argues none of us are copywriters. I agree completely. My business name and domain name don't represent my work as a Content Marketing Consultant. So how did my website get ranked so high? How can you do the same?

I'm a cheapskate
Despite plenty of offers and lots of advice to do so, I have not monetised my site in any way. I have never:

• Paid a single cent for my rankings
• Used adwords to drive traffic to my site
• Enlisted help from SEO marketing consultants
• Sold anything on my website
• Participated in affiliate programs
• Run advertisements
• Accepted sponsorship

Sweat equity
So what have I done to push my rankings up AND keep my work schedule loaded? I've implemented a classic content marketing strategy. The recent changes to Google reward businesses employing content marketing techniques. Since I launched my website, I've diligently focused on producing original content on my blog. I'll be the first to admit it's a demanding activity, even for someone who likes to write. The benefits are undeniable and within reach of any business.

The Perfect Storm
Content marketing isn't just about creating content. It's also about getting your content distributed by having healthy networks. My distribution strategy involves

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Leaving comments on other blogs and articles
• LinkedIn
• MailChimp
• Putting an RSS feed on my blog
• Registering my blog at aggregator sites
• Guest posting on other blogs
• Public speaking
• Volunteer work

I consider each of these activities integral to boosting the rankings of my website either by direct traffic or enhancing the coveted Word of Mouth reputation critical to continued traffic flows. None of it is difficult although I do concede public speaking isn't everyone's cup of tea. All of it takes dedication and persistence.

Final thoughts
Regardless of your budget or the size of your company, it's completely within your power to positively influence your website rankings without spending gobs of money. Frequently producing original content blog posts, videos, infographics, photographs is key to improving your search engine rankings. The proverbial silver bullet does not exist. Trying to buy your way to better rankings only puts you in a cycle of spending money without enhancing your authority. While a great domain is a bonus, you can still be wildly successful if your URL name doesn't have any obvious correlation to your work. Forget trying to game the system. Invest in content marketing. The time and money spent create long-lasting and pervasive assets for your company.

What do you do to increase your website rankings?

Some of the Global Copywriting articles related to this post:

[*]Do-it-yourself SEO[*]Blog Logistics: A key insight for your content marketing strategy[*]BRIEF: One fantastic technique to generate new business[*]Why original content is vital to your business[*]Content Marketing: Are you expecting love at first site?[*]6 Ways your content is letting you down

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Are you reading Chief Content Officer Magazine (CCO)? You'll want to make sure to have a look at the latest issue, available today. The free digital magazine explores innovation in content marketing, showcasing wonderful Australian writers next to the top content marketers in the world. Personally, I think it's our best issue yet.

If you're pressed for time, have a look at these "must read" articles featuring Australian businesses and writers:

Moving to Print
Soggy Bones: Why an Online Surf/Skate Magazine Made the Bold Move to Print – When I found out the popular online skate/surf/snowboarding magazine was moving to print, I persuaded the editor of Soggybones, Justin Ward, to let me interview him. The article brims with the energy and great ideas characteristic of the whole organisation. Don't miss Russell Ord's fabulous photos; our managing editor aptly described them as `lush' just like the rest of the publication.

You're NOT a Copywriter
You Think You Are a Copywriter? What a Joke! I've been badgering Glenn Murray of Divine Write to contribute an article since the inception of CCO. One of the best writers in Australia, Glenn questions whether anyone is really a copywriter anymore. It's a great read.

Big YouTube News
Calling All Storytellers: YouTube Means( Big) Business Kate Edwards from KONTENTED pitched me an idea for a story about YouTube and I'm glad she did. She deftly explains why we should all be thinking about video content and what YouTube is doing to encourage more choice and better quality viewing.

Fab 15
The Fab 15: 15 Content Marketing Projects to Inspire Lastly, the cover story features awesome examples of Australian content marketing including Under Your Influence and Ban Live Export. I think you'll agree Australia is stacking up next to the biggest companies around the world when it comes to content marketing.

Want to contribute?
I'm already getting busy sourcing new articles for the next issue of CCO. If you would like to contribute or know of a great content marketing project, don't hesitate to contact me. In the meantime, make sure you read Issue 3. It's chock-full of great tips and good articles about content marketing.

What are your favourite content marketing examples?

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One of the hardest things about content marketing is getting people to understand the importance of investing in original content. While most organisations easily accept the concept behind a content strategy using your expertise and knowledge to draw people to your business – getting content creation into the budget is another story.

In a popular post from last year, The Website Conundrum: Design vs. Content, I spoke about the importance of investing equal amounts of budget into design and content. Just because you've built a website, doesn't mean you have an online business. Without content, I would argue you don't have a business at all.

When you compare a traditional bricks-and-mortar business with an online business, it's easier to see why content is so important. People will visit a shop because of the location, its curb appeal, and the way it looks on the inside. All those things help to get bodies through your front door. Once there, it's your stock making them decide whether they'll spend money with you. More importantly, the more stock you have, the more variety and the frequency of your turnover will keep them coming back repeatedly.

What are you stocking?
Online businesses work the same way. It's not hard to get people to your domain. You can do that with online advertising and a healthy SEO campaign. The way your website looks, easy navigation, and good copy on your home page will attract prospective customers. How are you going to get them to stay and how will you get them to come back? With original content.

Driving traffic to your website
You need to give your prospects and customers a reason to come to your website and keep coming back. If you don't stock your business with original content, you're wasting a lot of time and money on having a web presence. Would you go into a hardware store devoid of nails, hammers, or sandpaper? Would you keep going back to a dress shop with a single dress hanging around year after year? No, you wouldn't.

The Take-Away
If your budget makes no provision for an ongoing stream of original content, you're missing valuable opportunities to promote your expertise and increase your authority. You're also jeopardising your ability to grow your business. Your website should be loaded with a variety of content including a blog, customer success stories, infographics, videos and anything else that will encourage people to visit your site repeatedly. Without content, you're available for window shoppers and nothing more.

Do you budget for an ongoing stream of original content?

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