Procrastinating on social media? Yep, we’re all guilty of it. You open up Facebook with all the intention of sussing out the competition, seeing what’s trending and firing out that hot new post, only to find yourself checking out who’s hot, what your mates have been up to and watching endless fail videos. Before you know it, an hour has evaporated and your productivity levels have gone through the floor.
Being productive on social media is hard enough in ordinary times. During lockdown, it’s worse. We get sucked into the scroll and dragged down the feed as if it’s a whirlpool. That, however, is precisely why now is not the time to get side-tracked – because if this is the effect social media is having on you right now, it’s happening to your followers too.
The World Is Not The Same – And Neither Is Social Media
Since last March, almost every social media channel has seen an increase in usage – both in the numbers of people using the various channels and the time that they spend on them. For those businesses that promote themselves on social media, this is an opportunity not to be missed – especially as it coincides with a significant shift towards online purchases. According to the ONS, online sales as a percentage of all sales have seen unprecedented increases in 2020, rising from 21.6% in 2019 to 36.2% at Christmas.
To take advantage of the increased potential of social media, not only do we need to ditch procrastination; we also need to take a look at the shift in people’s behaviour. Since the first lockdown, people have been using social media for different reasons. For many, particularly Gen-Zers, it’s become both a source of entertainment and somewhere to unleash their own creativity – which partially explains the trend for all things TiK-Tok. Social distancing and uncertainty over the future mean many are using their favourite channels to find comfort and reassurance during the crappier moments.
Those businesses that have managed to keep both hands firmly gripped around the social media rudder have benefitted from this, posting content that is entertaining, engaging, positive in its outlook and authentic in its voice. But you can’t do that while mindlessly thumbing through images of other people’s smug kids, ugly dogs and dodgy dinners.
Time To Pull Your Finger Out
Easier said than done? We know! However, if your social media output has become a tad constipated recently, there are things you can do to get it moving. Firstly, put the phone away while you are working on your social media posts. This’ll remove those pesky distractions that drain the brain of creativity. You’ll find you get more done, and quicker, without those Pavlovian responses making you salivate every time you get a notification.
With that temptation out of reach, the next step to productivity (someone should really find a more endearing word for it) is to establish a daily routine. We’ve got young children at home, so know there has to be flexibility built into this during the lockdown. However, pencilling in time and making sure you stick to it will help establish more productive working patterns that help you get your content created and posted. And don’t leave it until the end of the day, when it’s easy to say you’ll do it tomorrow. You won’t. You know you won’t.
The third ingredient is a little bit of self-discipline. Posting on social media means visiting the sites, but you have to withstand the temptation to read your own feed until the work is finished. The easiest way to build up resilience is to develop a social media split personality. One half of you works on social media, the other half consumes it. It’s a bit like serving behind a bar or working in a sweet shop. Approaching the task in this way can prove to be very effective and the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
Too Tempted To Scroll?
If the temptation of the feed is too irresistible and your productivity is compounded by other remote working distractions – cooking, cleaning, kids, wine, endless Amazon deliveries, etc., there is, of course, another solution for social media procrastination. You can let us handle it for you.
We can help you navigate the latest trends and shifting behaviours taking place on the social landscape, ensure your content and brand image is consistent across the channels and help you meet your objectives. What’s more, we’ll manage your social media activity, posting on schedule and using the metrics generated to help inform strategies going forward. And we can do this with both paid and organic campaigns.
If that sounds good to you, get in touch. We’d be happy to help you out.
