Who has time for ALL that?!

Definitely one of the biggest concerns I hear or read often when it comes to Social Media for entrepreneurs is “who has time for all that?”

Trust me, I understand! Hang on. There is a method to the madness! 

Honestly, you are not meant to do “all that” and you just need to implement a strategy and a system that streamlines your time; not overload it.

I know easier said than done? Let me make more sense of this for you. One of the main elements in my coaching personal branding for social media success is making sure my content has a streamlined approach for my clients (besides recommending hiring a virtual assistant). I never want to overwhelm them; but I am also realistic in the time it takes to innovate their business marketing (and mindset) to match today’s savvy consumer (and their needs) for our “social reward” economy.

To illustrate my point, I ran across a Facebook posting from my online mastermind group page that speaks directly to this “time” issue. I know you will relate and I know this will take the edge off the frustration.

Q: “How do you manage it all? (Facebook) I know there are tools to automate your posts, but how do possibly find the time to reply to (or even just read!) the responses? If I’m posting frequently, so is everyone else I follow. So again, a time thing; how do you possibly really follow all the people you follow and if I am not really reading what they post, how can I expect them to be reading what I post?”

A: Phew! That’s sounds exhausting, right? Well, it is when you don’t have a strategy or system.

First - as long as we are “mindful” and strategic with who we accept in our friend community – meaning who matches our target market profile and those of like minds (you are building the right audience for your marketing and networking), we will have intelligent, caring, interesting posts to interact with. However, let’s take it a step further to address the time and overwhelm issue, which is the motivation for this question. You may have seen it but have no idea what they are and how they work to your advantage; custom and smart lists.

Creating lists is the core of your time saving and savvy strategy on Facebook. Here are tips in how to create them and how to use them. Hang in there – this is kind of techy so I will try to make it easy to follow.

1. First compose a list of categories for your lists. Name them on a word doc. Maybe your lists could be clients, networking event on Feb 10, vendors, mastermind group (name), potential clients, etc. You create the name.

2. Now you are ready to create time saving lists! You can add certain friends to lists by hovering over the Friends button at the top of their profile (Timeline) and selecting from the list names that appear in the drop down list. If you don't see the name of the list you're looking for, click the option to show all of your lists or choose in just starting choose” +new list” to create one. A check mark will appear next to the list you add the friend to.

3. You can also choose the list (or create a new one) you want a friend to be in as you accept a friend (This is assuming you know where friend requests are on your profile account) After you click “confirm” when accepting a friend, hover over “friend” button that replaced the “confirm” button and the same lists (or +new list) will appear for you to add them to a list.

4. The same process is available when you send a friend request from a profile. FB will give you the option to add them to a list as you send the request so it’s ready to be added once they accept.

5. Now you should have a host of lists you make as you grow your community. Keep adding friends to lists. You also have the option of the smart lists that are already made by FB. Those are close friends, acquaintances, family. When you add an important person to the close friends smart list you will receive a notification each time they post so you can stay on top of their conversations. Be selective who those will be. This is one of several ways to save time and follow those most important to you.

Here’s more how you save time following people and staying on top of what they post so you can engage:

Once your custom and smart lists are set up you can use them to read only their posts in the newsfeed (home) by clicking on a list on the left side of your home page (newsfeed). All your lists should be listed. This allows you to “filter” the newsfeed to see only their posts. I recommend you do this 2x a day for a few minutes to stay in touch with your most important people. It’s a discipline that helps build your business; it’s not idle time.

This is the time saving strategy. Since FB is a networking/marketing tool and relationship building tool – time invested is revenue producing time – not wasted time. The only time is a waste when you have no strategy or system to who and what you are doing.

If you can’t find your lists on the left side of the home page – try this: go to http://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/lists and then click on each one you want add to your favorites section on left column. This will initiate the lists section too to be added to home page.

Make sense? I hope so! By creating a new discipline for your marketing – you will save time and begin seeing your community grow with quality people who you can serve and they can serve you, too.

What do you post as a persona brand? That’s another article! Happy posting and building relationships!

For more advanced personal branding and Social Media strategies, go for my free subscription to my STEP INTO THE SPOTLIGHT ezine at www.eCreativebiz.com featuring innovative branding and social media marketing strategies, creative inspiration, and success mindset tips for the savvy entrepreneur. Plus receive Marla's high content article,"7 Benefits to Having a Clear, Compelling Personal Brand Positioning You as Client Attractive."