More Biz Mum Life Hacks!
We want to be successful, but we need to keep things simple, right ladies?
The last thing we want is to be over-complicating things.
Realising you haven’t posted anything to your Facebook Biz Page in 5 days so desperately trying to think of something to post as you rush out the door for the school run and coming up blank… isn’t fun.
Trying to compose a tweet with one hand and spoon feed a small child with the other… isn’t fun.
Considering posting a selfie of you in bed for no other reason than it’s 11.30pm and you need to post to Instagram but you have no photos of yourself on your phone, only the kids and the dog… isn’t ideal.
When you’re not rushed and multitasking, it is soooo much easier to…
… compose a pithy little caption
… think about the intention behind your post before you write it
… position things on your table just-so and get a great shot
… spend a couple of minutes making an eye-catching graphic in Canva
This is why, if you can, get ahead of the game and make time in your week to batch some content and schedule it to go out.
But then last week…(continues after the jump)
FACEBOOK WENT AND CHANGED THEIR ALGORITHM (again)
[cue dramatic music]
Maybe you didn’t even notice the mild hysteria going on around some parts of the web. People acting like their hair is on fire.
What Changed and Why You Should Care
I’m not going to spend your precious time waffling on about the algorithm (unless you want me to, in which case send me a DM!).
So here are the distilled facts:
The algorithm has changed (news is out, friends and community are in)
The organic reach of things you post to your Facebook Business page will dip even further
Facebook doesn’t want you using schedulers any more
Wait – what? I thought this post is all about scheduling for social media success
It is, hang in there, we’re getting to that bit.
Where you CAN and SHOULD be scheduling content:
Pinterest
Instagram
Twitter
Your FB Group
Where you should avoid it
Your FB biz page – BUT you can still use their own in-house scheduler
So actually, not all that much has changed from a scheduling perspective. Just don’t use a third party scheduler to send stuff to your biz page anymore. Do that inside FB.
I’m glad we cleared that up.
So back to scheduling for success.
How does scheduling lead to success?
Consistency is something I talk about a lot.
Consistency is SO important to success.
Why?
Because consistency builds momentum.
Momentum on social media is what is going to help you…
… start getting noticed (hello visibility and brand awareness!)
… to get approached for podcasts/guest blogs
… accumulate a decent back catalogue of content (hello established presence!)
… people start to get to know YOU (know, like & trust!)
… clients starting seeking YOU out, rather than vice versa
… build relationships (and we know that sales ARE relationships)
—> SUCCESS
All sounding marvellous so far, right?
The small problem is, it can be HARD to be consistent, can’t it?
There’s no avoiding it: it requires effort.
And consistency can be a bit of a challenge, especially for those of us who are doing the daily family and business juggle.
Biz Mum Life Hack: Scheduling
If you haven’t been scheduling your social media content, then Mama, now is that time to get going.
If you haven’t been scheduling, let me ask you something: have you been consistent?
Probably not massively consistent, right?
So let’s get to it…
Here’s a quick guide to scheduling for SUCCESS
1. Create content in bulk
One of the best ways to get ahead of the game, I’ve found, is by creating my content (or the vast majority) in one sitting.
I write what I need to write. I make any graphics I need. I decide which photos I’m going to use.
When you get on a roll, this doesn’t have to take hours. Which is why doing it in one sitting can be particularly productive.
2. Get ahead of the game
I learned this one the hard way. I was previously creating content AND scheduling it on a Monday. But one sick-child-on-a-Monday-curve-ball and I was on the back foot for the rest of the week.
So now, I create content on a Friday and sit down to do my scheduling on a Monday morning.
This means that if something gets in the way of my usual Friday content creating session, that I can still potentially make time before Monday to catch up.
3. Time to schedule
In the same way that it’s a good idea have a dedicated content creation time each week, the same goes for sitting down to schedule.
Scheduling is WAY quicker if the content is already created, curated, gathered, waiting to just be copied and pasted or uploaded in the right place.
So set out time in your calendar each week to have a scheduling session. Wine and music optional.
4. Make time to engage
Yes, scheduling is your friend… BUT!
Do not forget to make time every day – if you can – to engage with your social media tribe. This is so critical and will hamper your growth efforts if you neglect it too much.
Social media is supposed to be, well, social. Which means getting online and liking and commenting on your ideal clients’ posts.
And replying to and liking the comments that your followers have left on your posts.
Not only does this make relationship-building sense, but it is an algorithm friendly activity too.
5. Leave space for creative whims
Although I’m all for getting ahead of the game and scheduling your social media, I do think you can make room for a bit of creativity on the fly.
If you’re suddenly gripped with the urge to say something your audience needs to hear, or you happen to be somewhere very Insta-worthy but you’ve scheduled all your posts for the week, there are two options:
1. Squeeze an extra post in
2. Write it down somewhere and use it next week.
There we have it, ladies: your guide to using scheduling… which aids consistency…. which helps gain momentum… which leads to success.
As always I’d love to hear how YOU are going to start using social media scheduling for success – head over to my Facebook Group – Self Made Mothers – and let me know.
Do you know what can REALLY help drive momentum in your business?
A mentor.
If you like the idea of having someone cheering you on, a sounding board for ideas, someone who is several steps in front in the business game and can help show you the way to the success that YOU desire… then click here to book a FREE Discovery Call with me to discuss the possibility of working together.
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