And here’s what to do about it.
You want more from social media in less time. Everybody does.
But the big social engine doesn’t care how much you want this. Or need this. Or how long you’ve waited.
Success only comes to those who commit to:
- Learn how to get results, and
- Take action
Yes, this is the one thing that keeps most people from succeeding.
But here’s the good news…
It’s not nearly as hard as you think – IF you know where to look.
That’s why (over several years) I’ve assembled this collection of the very best ideas about social media productivity ever published.
The ones that flat out work.
No matter whether you’re a veteran or a newbie. Whether you’re a big, rich corporation or you’re a struggling parent working out of your basement apartment.
Tested and proven… helping people from unknown to famous, from poor to highly paid social media mavens.
Any doubt about this? Check out how Kim Garst or Gary Vaynerchuk got to where they are.
Study and apply what you learn here.
And the result? You’ll spend far less time on social. And you’ll become a bonafide social expert in record time.
“Determine your WHY and be disciplined.” – Kim Garst
You’re at point A. Why do you want to get to point B? Write down your reasons.
As Peter Voogd says, “Reasons come first, results come second.”
Why is this? Well, it takes effort to get to point B. And effort means patience.
“If there’s one thing I would tell entrepreneurs about social media it would be: patience.” – Gary Vaynerchuk
All along the way, your reasons will motivate you to stay patient and keep working. Your reasons will push you along the road to success.
What are YOUR reasons you can write down? Take a moment to answer these questions:
- Exactly what pain – what emotions – do you feel because your social media isn’t working?
- Exactly how would you feel if social media worked like you wanted it to?
Be descriptive here. Write something that will get you out of bed in the morning and keep you working on this.
Now that you’ve taken the time to really write down your REAL reasons… (you did this, right?) …let’s talk about your goals.
After all, every successful person makes the effort to design their future.
“A genius without a road map will get lost in any country. But an average person with a road map will find their way to any destination.” – Brian Tracy
How do you begin crafting your own road map?
“Start with one or two social media platforms.” – Kim Garst
Which one or two?
This depends on you.
Can you easily crank out visual content? You could start with Pinterest or Instagram.
Do you have video equipment (a good camera plus mic, or an iPhone)? Do you love to be in front of the camera? YouTube, Periscope, SnapChat or Facebook Live could be your starting place.
Do you want to talk to business people? Do you like writing articles? But you don’t already have your own blog? LinkedIn Pulse is a great way to start.
Or maybe you want to talk to business people. But you don’t have a ton of content already published under your name? Then Twitter is ideal.
In fact, I started with Twitter.
What if you’re already on several social channels but looking to expand? Just pick one more.
The next step? Set some expectations for your chosen social platform.
“If I had to pick one habit that has really changed everything for me, I would have to say it is this: being able to reverse-engineer the finish line.” – Gary Vaynerchuk
Write down today’s date and then mark 6 months from now on the calendar. This is your success date.
If you could do absolutely anything with social media… what would make the next 6 months your best ever?
Write this down. Keep this with your reasons you wrote earlier.
You’ll absolutely want to look at these reasons every single day. That is, if you really want to succeed.
Next, look at the halfway point. Think of 1-3 social media goals you’d like to reach in the next 90 days.
Why only three?
“If you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any.” – Jim Collins
Let’s say your goal is new followers. That’s a great first goal. After all, you can’t convert, sell or sign up anyone unless you work on building an audience.
What about other goals?
I have no idea who you are. And I don’t really know what’s possible for you. (You might be twice as good as I am.)
So I’m not going to set your goals for you.
If you have no idea where to start, then do some Google searches, like… {your goal} followers in 3 months with {your social platform}.
As you look through the search results, try to use your baloney detector.
Is their claim outrageous? Or is it a doable goal?
But whatever you do… just don’t skip this step!
You NEED a 90-day goal.
“People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.” – Earl Nightingale
Now, let’s break down your 90-day goals into monthly goals.
And since building your audience (social media followers) is so important, let’s just use this for an example.
With building followers, a rough rule of thumb is… your first month, you can expect to accomplish 1/6 of your 90 day goals.
The other 2 months? Split the remainder of your goal in half.
Now we’ll focus on each week of your first month. Write down what you’re going to do each week.
Set a reward for when you reach your weekly goals.
Don’t skip this step either. A reward can be such a powerful motivator!
Next – and this is critical too – you must create a content mission statement.
A what? And why?
Let’s start with why you need one.
This thing – a content mission statement – makes everything you say on social media… unbelievably easier to say!
What is it? Well, here it is…
“[Our company] is the place where [our audience] gets [what information] that offers [what benefit].” – Andy Crestodina
Look at the About page for Inc.com. Here’s how it starts out…
“Welcome to Inc.com, where you can find everything you need to know to start and grow your business now.”
See how they put the company, the audience (you – if you’re reading it), the info and the benefit…all together here?
Write your own sentence.
This is your compass. Your guide.
Wondering whether to publish something? Well, does it fit with your statement here? Is it focused on your audience? And these benefits?
If you don’t see how easy this will make things for you… you will later. If you don’t skip this step!
And the next thing?
Discipline. Ah, yes, discipline.
“Discipline creates lifestyle.” – Peter Voogd
Each day, you need to show up. Energized. Ready to reach your daily goals.
So you can hit your weekly goal. Your monthly goal. Your 90-day goal. And your 6-month goal!
How do you do it?
Well, you need a morning routine. That means some time to look at those reasons you wrote down.
Sell yourself each day on why you’re doing what you do.
Without that, you can’t focus.
You see, your mind is your most powerful tool for overcoming procrastination and skyrocketing your productivity.
“Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job.
If you work hard on your job you can make a living…
…but if you work hard on yourself you’ll make a fortune.” – Jim Rohn
Every minute you spend in planning (and visualizing) your day… saves as many as 10 minutes in action.
It only takes 10-15 minutes to plan out your day.
And it’s amazing how many people don’t do this!
But that, my friend, is why you will dominate – because now you KNOW the power behind this exercise!
If you falter, get right back up again.
Get your discipline (your routine) going again – and that’s consistency.
“The single discipline that gave me the advantage to beat anybody at almost anything – consistency.” – Peter Voogd
Yes, you need consistency with your social media time each day.
Set a specific time of day to start (and finish) your social media work.
Then check yourself every 10 minutes if you have to. (Or if you’re obsessed like I am.)
You know why.
It’s so easy to click a link that catches your attention. It leads you somewhere else. Then somewhere else.
Before you know it, it’s been 2 hours …and you’ve got nothing done with your social media.
Sound familiar?
Distractions are a drug. Just say no.
Zero interruptions. Pure focus. Massive results.
Focus is often more powerful than intelligence. You get far more done with 20 minutes of focus than 3 hours of distraction!
Just sign in. Get the necessary things done. Sign out.
One more thing about social media productivity…
“It’s All In The Tools!” – Kim Garst
This is so true – and it’s the great thing about social media.
People have invented all kinds of ways to save time with it.
And every one of the tools you need is free (or dirt cheap.)
These tools can rocket you from a painful crawl to blistering speed.
If you’d like to see what tools I use, I have a quick cheat sheet to help you.
And if you’re hungry to learn more, I definitely have more in the works. Things you just might be interested in seeing.
Meanwhile, try not to use your newfound social media productivity to lord it over your social underlings too much.
Nobody likes a know-it-all. (Wink.)
Amar kumar says
Hey John,
Willing to read your excellent post,
Yes, one can achieve success by learning how to get results and how to take action. Oh you have presented great quote of Brian Tracy in your post it has vast meaning regarding your post. Today we know very well, how social media is important for us, in simple sentence we can say social networking sites are most responsible to generate traffic and productivity of online marketing.
They also offers us to establish good relationship with our audience for enhancement of our online business. You have used best quotes to support this post, its really worth praising work.
Eventually, thanks for sharing your valuable post.
With best regards,
Amar kumar
John Martin says
Thanks for commenting, Amar!
So true, success comes from action, and with the bewildering array of interruptions and info overload, most people today need help taking action.
Glad you liked my use of quotes, Amar. Quotes from widely known people help one’s credibility and make the point stronger.
Best,
John
Ryan Biddulph says
Hi John,
It’s stunning: 10-15 minutes daily, over months and years, creates an avalanche of positive results. I just attracted my 45,000 th Twitter follower. Started at 1 follower, some 8 years ago. But persistent, dogged tweeting, being consistent with engagement, made all the difference in the world. Keep at it. Keep at it. Fall in love with the process. Detach a bit more from outcomes. Your returns will be immense. Awesome post 🙂
Ryan
John Martin says
Hey Ryan,
Couldn’t agree with you more – wise words to live by for Twitter! Thank you so much for commenting!
-John
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