5 cures for social media monotony: Social Media Tips

Posted on October 3, 2011

by Deltina Hay

Social Media Monotony: It was bound to happen.

Like all good things we do for our business every day – balance the books, pay the help, return emails, follow up with clients, floss – we know that networking and marketing are necessary to our business’ success.

My mantra is: If I am not working, I am marketing. If I am marketing, I will be working. And, like it or not, social media is now a necessary part of both networking and marketing.

Lately I have noticed a change in my enthusiasm for social media, and I have a feeling I am not alone. It isn’t that I believe it is less effective or that it is losing its appeal, it is just that I have been doing it long enough to have fallen into a rut.

While trying to think of tips this week, it occurred to me that this may be the best one to offer. Following are some time-honored cliches applied to social media marketing that may help relieve the monotony.

Cure #1: You can’t keep what you have without giving it away.

That is one of my favorite anonymous quotes. I believe that the most successful bloggers write from that place – where it is not about promotion or plugging a product, rather about the sharing of knowledge and expertise – freely, without any expectations.

I know the pessimists in the crowd are thinking that there is no such thing as true altruism, that everybody gets something (if only a way to feel better about themselves) from any seemingly selfless act. And, well, so be it. I get something, the readers get something – sounds like a win-win to me!

Cure #2: Change the circles you run in.

I like to think that my LinkedIn connections, Facebook fans, and Twitter followers are different groups of people. Accordingly, I am hoping that the “circles” I run in on Google Plus also come from a different group.

My strategy is to invite people outside of my usual circles, though, with the intention of widening my network. I try to apply this strategy to all my new profiles.

Cure #3: A change of scenery.

It is amazing how something as simple as rearranging the furniture can improve one’s outlook. Try changing up how you post or where you post from as a cure for your social media rut.

Some of my favorite tools are HootSuite, Ping.fm, and Posterous. Here is a recent post about social media apps that may help, too.

Cure #4: Do something out of character.

My Facebook page posts are pretty predictable. I write about the importance of staying on topic, and try to practice what I preach. However, now and again it may not hurt to mix things up.

Today, I placed a post on my social media book Facebook page that links to a Flickr set with photos from Bastrop State Park in Texas – before the fires – just to break the predictability.

Cure #5: Try something new.

If you have the time and resources, you might consider adding another tool to your social media strategy. I recently started some HubPages and a Winksite to this end. Since I don’t have a lot of time to maintain new profiles, my goal is to recycle my existing efforts into different platforms in hopes of widening my network.

Some other tools presently on my “to do” list include:

Hope you find a cure in this post if you are suffering. And we would love to hear what has worked for you!

Deltina Hay is the author of the critically acclaimed book, The Social Media Survival Guide, already in its second edition. She also teaches the online version of Drury University’s Social Media Certificate program. Learn more about Deltina and her availability for speaking engagements at Deltina.com. You may also enjoy listening to her video tutorial series on YouTube.

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