Beware the Single Deadliest Social Media Strategy Killer

What do you think the most dangerous impediment to a successful social media strategy is?

Lack of tracking?

Too many identical tweets?

Nope, not even close. The most detrimental habit possessed by people who don’t get their social media houses in order is lack of organization and purpose in the seemingly mundane day-to-day execution of their goals.

I call it ‘The Time Suck’.

Boring is Cool

When I was a kid I hated following directions. I had a wildly active imagination but I couldn’t stand sitting still long enough to listen to instructions. This habit lasted in some form or another until high school, when I joined the debate team. I couldn’t understand why I had such a mediocre win/loss record when the speeches (arguments) I delivered were so passionate and compelling.

One day my debate coach pulled me aside and said, “Joe, would you like to know why your arguments suck?”. I was shocked. “Hell yes,” I said. “The problem isn’t your speeches, it’s your preparation. You deliver compelling theories and capture the judges attention, but when it comes to backing them up, I notice you often have trouble finding the correct research documents.”

Anyone who’s participated in debate knows you need evidence to back up your arguments in order to score points. This realization was hard for me, but it made the difference between me being a mediocre debater, and becoming a pretty good one.

Here’s my point:

Use checklists and best practices to direct your everyday research and social media activity. I have to use processes in my daily online responsibilities because without them my mind wanders, and before I know it hours have passed without accomplishing my initial goal (I have a friend, Rachel, who is a huge role model for me because she can build processes like none other).

*Commando blog checklist example:

Blog Topic:
Subtopics:
Purpose of Blog Post:
Audience:
Call to Action:
Link Partners:

You can build checklists for blogging, tweeting, facebooking, and more. For example, I like to schedule a ‘Workplace Wednesday’ blog post that helps businesspeople run a tighter social networking ship, but it requires the use of a checklist to keep my writing concise. Building a checklist of people to reach out to online is a good call too!

Tagged as: Checklists