The fun we have hanging out on the social media sites can be hard to beat at times. Meeting up with so many friends, family and new acquaintances is just so enjoyable that we forget about social media time management.
It is all a part of the wonderful online life and the sharing of common interests. But man, what a time killer this can be.
Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Linkedin and many others are highly valuable services that, while very user friendly, are absolutely tremendous consumers of time that will leave you wondering where the day (or night) has gone.
You login to a place like the BlogEngage Forum to submit a post and the next thing you know, you have voted on and visited at least a half dozen other blogs. What started out to be a quick visit has now run you way past bedtime. 
Minutes become hours and… you know the rest.
As bloggers we simply cannot afford unlimited periods of time hanging out, as our main focus must be on content production and other blog related activities. It’s a ton of work staying on top of what needs to be done on the daily.
So with this in mind, we have to be cognizant of just how much time we spend networking because it is so easy to get caught up in the flow.
You may consider establishing a policy that does not provide for social site visits during periods that your blog has not been updated, thereby ensuring that you handle your business issues first.
When I am social networking I make a concerted effort to be productive by checking in with my blogging friends and associates, techies and geeks. These are all folks like me, who love technology and have a common goal, so this has a bit of a built in reminder to not get too far off course.
Social networking is not without a price. Time, which is more precious than money, just accelerates like crazy online. The fact of the matter is this; cyberspace is truly another time zone.
Here are a few social media time management tips to help keep this activity from becoming overwhelming.
Remember your goals
Goals should always be broken down into tasks that will add up to the desired result when completed one by one. If you are behind on your tasks, then you probably don’t have a lot of time to invest socializing online.
If your goal is to write 5 articles each week to post to your blog and you’ve only written 2, then you already know that Facebook may have to wait.
Schedule your networking activity
Most busy people (me included) use some sort of time management tool to stay on top of the many things that must be accomplished during the course of each day. Make social networking one of these tasks and schedule a slot of time for this activity. When the time has expired, it’s time to move on to your next item.
Maintain a focused strategy
Each time you log in to one of these sites, you should know your intent in advance. If you plan to exchange some information with a particular group of contacts, be certain to accomplish this first.
It is so easy to get distracted and end up doing something you had no intention of getting involved with during that online session.
Identify your best times to be productive
Some of us are more productive at certain times of the day (morning vs evening) and we should take advantage of that. Once identified, use the time wisely by being productive and creating some time for social activities later.
Avoid these sites during work hours if employed by others
If you work for a corporation or small business, be certain to check your employer’s policy with regard to accessing social networking sites. Many companies have forbidden this activity altogether for the very reasons that we’ve already identified, they are huge killers of time.
Utilize an overall strategy for building you brand
Engage in only the number of social network sites that you can consistently update. Spreading yourself too thin around the internet can be counter-productive as you will end up with several sites that are outdated, giving a less than glowing impression.
If you only have time for 1 site, that’s fine. Identify a core group of contacts and friends and regularly provide updates and interact with them.
Create some boundaries
You do not need to establish a relationship with every person that comes your way. Like real life, surround yourself with like-minded individuals who can lend something to your overall development and growth.
If you are a CSS programmer you may find little in common with the do-it-yourself home improvement types, other than performing some tech work for them.
The bottom line is that staying organized and productive is imperative to growth, so spend your social networking time with those who can share in the experience and provide you with something of value as well.
Watch out for the “shiny objects” that the internet has to offer, as many of them serve as little more than distractions that will keep you from your overall goals.
Conclusion
You know what your goals are but we all need a little bit of a reminder at times to stay on point. Reading an article like this and taking no action will do little to advance the cause.
Now after talking about how important it is to observe some social media time management, I shamelessly ask you to keep in touch.
You can find me on Twitter, Facebook and FriendFeed, to name a few.
How do you interact with social networking sites and what strategies do you employ to manage this activity?
Keep Blogging!
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