Social media is one of those things that small business owners know they need to do, but a vast number of agents and resellers are not quite sure how to find the time to do it. Social media can be an effective outlet to network and generate leads, but it is important to effectively manage your time. Below are ten social media time management tips to help you spend your time wisely to generate conversations and leads.

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<li>Have a plan. Find out where your customers and prospects are having conversations and where your business can add value. Google alerts can be used effectively for this purpose.
<li>Don’t worry about perfection. Start by listening and learning from others. Humility is something that is always exhibited on social media. Don’t be afraid to be a newbie!
<li>Focus on one tool at a time. It is much better to be effective using one social media tool than to use five of them poorly. Choose the tool based on where most of your customers and prospects are.
<li>Show up consistently. If you can only spend one hour a week, be there consistently for that period of time. This is a much better strategy than spending three hours one day and then 15 minutes the next week.
<li>Use your own voice online. This should reflect you and your company brand. All consumers now value the human voice.
<li>Set a time limit. Every marketing activity needs to have a time limit. It is easy to get distracted especially with social media and begin to drift. Get on and get off the social media tool according to your plan.
<li>Turn off notifications. These are time interrupters and will decrease your overall productivity when you are not working on social media.
<li>Schedule new content posts. Optimally, this would be on a weekly basis to start.
<li>Review analytics. Every marketing activity needs to have a result. This is no different. Check out this free tool, Google analytics.
<li>Set an expected return on your investment. What does your business hope to gain from social media over what period of time?
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#h2In Conclusion

Information overload is real, but it’s something that’s in your control. Managing your time in social media is first and foremost about deciding where to spend your time and why, and that requires a little bit of organization to start with.

Know what you want to get out of social media, know how much time you can put into it, and then make your decisions wisely.