8 Tips for Fitting Social Media into Your Already Busy Day

Many of my coworkers have asked me how I manage to fit all the things I do in social media into my workday. Sometimes I wonder myself.

But I've been doing this for a while now, and so have learned to streamline my social media work. I thought I'd take a few minutes to give you some tips for working social media into your workday. It's really not as difficult as you might think.

First please keep in mind that I use social media for work, not for personal stuff. That distinction makes a difference.

#1  Lay the groundwork first

When I first started using social media, I spent a lot of time on Twitter and Facebook. I was trying to build a base to work from, building Twitter lists and Facebook friends and fans.

If you're starting out, you'll need to do the same. No getting around it, just dig in and do it. Believe me, it'll pay off.

For great info on getting started on social media, check out this Quickstarter series.

Rome. Get it?

#2  When in Rome, check out Rome

During a typical workday, I'll check Facebook (FB) and Google+ (G+), my two main sites, first thing in the morning to see what has been posted overnight. The rest of the day I check those sites mostly when I'm already online for something else.

In a way I'm lucky that way, because my job requires me to do quite a bit of online research. So when I'm there I'll quickly check updates on FB and G+. If I find something I think my followers would like, I'll repost it. It doesn't take much time once you get the hang of it.

#3  Stay focused on your core goal

When you use social media for work, you need to develop and stick to a clear, compelling goal.

Take my friend Lorry Schoenly's blog at correctionalnurse.net. Her goal is simple and straightforward: "To make visible the challenging profession of nursing in a correctional environment." Her blog posts, Twitter tweets, and FB updates consistently fit that goal.

When you focus on one goal, you can skim updates more efficiently and make better use of the limited time you can spend on social media.

#4  Make use of the tools available to you

I rarely tweet directly on Twitter. Instead, I use a website called Iffft. Weird name, but great site. It allows users to set up rules (they're like macros in Word, but online), to initiate a set of functions.

For instance, I use one Iffft rule to send all my FB updates to my Twitter feed. Easy. There are thousands of these rules already created, so all you have to do is find the ones you need and go through Iffft's easy configuration steps.

Lots of people rely on social media managers like HootSuite to aggregate tweets, FB updates, LinkedIn posts, and so forth, into a single interface. I'd suggest that you try one to see if it works for you.

Basically the more social media sites you're on, the more tools you'll need to keep track of them.

#5  Use FB's scheduling function

Not long ago Facebook instituted functionality to allow users to schedule updates. Yes, it's ridiculously clunky, but it works.

Use it.

If you've got a few minutes free, make a few updates and schedule them sporadically over the next day or so. Your friends will think you're a wizard at posting great info all day long, but actually you'll be in class at the white board.

I'd very much like to see Google provide similar functionality on Google+, and I suspect at some point it will.

3 final tips

1. A little at a time.
2. In and out quickly.
3. Scan, don't read.

Now, go forth and social mediate!

5 Time Management Tips for Authors

Too busy to write? Your schedule so packed that there just isn't enough time?

I hear you. When you work full-time and write part-time, as so many textbook authors do, finding time to write can be difficult. I find, though, that it's not so much the lack of time as it is the misuse of existing time.

I mean, if there's always room for Jello, there's always time for writing.

Here are a few ideas to help you find that missing time to do what you love doing.

1. 60-Minute No Social Session. Give yourself a period of 1 hour when you're not checking Facebook, Twitter, Google+, e-mails, texts, or any other form of electronically enhanced social contact and spend it at the computer, writing.
2. Tap on the Timer. When you decide you're going to spend the next hour writing, set a timer. Use the one on your stove or microwave, if you're near the kitchen, or your phone, computer, or even — go figure — an actual alarm clock. Set it for 60 minutes, and don't stop working until the buzzer goes off.
3. "Sign" Into My Writing Time. Announce to your friends and family that if you don't answer your phone or respond to texts right away, it's because you're having a My Writing Time session. Tell your children, spouse, or anyone else in earshot that, hey, don't bug me, I'm having My Writing Time for the next hour. Then put up a sign that says My Writing Time: Go Away!
4. DVR That 'Downton Abbey.' If you simply cannot miss the latest episode of "Downton Abbey," "Family Guy," or "Dancing with the Stars," tape it. Record it on your DVR or TiVo. If you don't have one, make recording arrangements with a friend who does.
5. Win a Writing Prize. Make an agreement with your spouse, partner, children, or someone really important to you that if you actually do writing work for an hour at least five days a week, you'll go somewhere or do something nice as a "prize." Maybe you'll order takeout and eat it in front of the television. Maybe you'll go to a restaurant for dinner. Maybe you'll take a day off from cooking. It's like being on a diet. You can't do it 24/7/365, you've got to take some time off once in awhile.

The real key, though, is to make writing an actual, living priority. If you're looking for ways to stay on track, if you're reading this blog, even, to find the right tip for you to keep writing, it's really because you haven't made writing a priority.

When you can do that, when you make writing a true priority, you won't need any of these tips and tricks. You'll just need a computer and a place to write, and that's a lovely place to be.

Happy writing!

Three Interesting Trends in Facebook Postings

Over the last, I would say, two years I've noted a marked change in the kinds of individual postings I typically see on my Facebook page and profile. I'm not talking posts from businesses, well-known bloggers, or celebrities; I'm talking purely about posts from everyday people.

My follower list is quite varied but consists primarily of entry-level through graduate-level healthcare faculty, students, and practitioners. It's not a universal sampling, for sure, but the consistency of the changes and the many other Facebook profiles I visit everyday lead me to think the changes are probably more widespread than just on my twiddly little accounts.

I used to see many more posts about news-related events, but now I'm seeing posts that fall into one of three categories. Let's take them one at a time.

Trend #1: More fractional updates

Mostly I see what I'm going to call fractional updates, little details about what someone is doing or thinking about at that moment. I'm talking about these kinds of posts (actual posts taken from my profile):

• "I feel so blah"


• "well we have moved on from THAT movie to the Wiggles..Idk which is worse! gonna go scrub the carpets, that 'grounds guy' got some great stuff and it got out some mystery stains...but it smells really bad"


• "I got this at an estate sale this past weekend. It's a French Provincial Chiffarobe. Love it!"

Fractional updates were once Twitter's domain, not Facebook's. But I'm seeing a reversal of that trend, where Facebook has become the preferred means of distributing information about the details of everyday life.

Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that kind of post, they serve a distinct purpose for the poster and, sometimes, I think, for the postee. (I'm not sure those are actual terms, but I think you get the idea.)

QUERY: Is Facebook the best place for fractional updates? Are there too many of these tidbits showing up on your wall?

Trend #2: More spiritual declarations

I'm seeing many more wall posts lately from people declaring their love of God, asking for prayers for friends or loved ones, or reciting psalms or other religious quotations. Examples include:

• "I thank god everyday for all the wonderful people that I have In my life ! God is good"


• "fear not my child I'm with you always I feel every pain and every tear I see I know how to care for what belongs to me ~ God"


• "I personally believe in Jesus Christ. One Facebooker has challenged all believers to put this on their wall. The bible says, if you deny Me in front of your peers, I will deny you in front of My Father. This is a simple test. If you are not afraid to show it, re-post this. I'm proud I did."

Not a thing wrong with these kinds of posts either, but it seems more and more people are declaring their spiritual inclincations [sic] more outwardly than ever. I'm not entirely sure Facebook is the best medium for them, but it's being used that way nonetheless.

QUERY: What do you think about using Facebook for spiritual declarations?

Trend #3: More private messages

More and more I see Facebook posts, open to the world, that really should be messages. I find this trend rather alarming. People have become so comfortable posting to Facebook from wherever they are that they seem to have forgotten that everyone sees wall posts, not just a single, targeted person.

Here are some actual posts from my wall that fall into the Private Message category:

• "NAME, you have been in my thoughts all week, but most especially this hardest of days for you. For whatever small measure of comfort this can bring you, please know that we love you, and treasure you as a member of our family."


• "Ok, so wanna meet up this week? Or next weekend? Let me know what days are good for you. I can either visit you or you can visit me :D"


• "NAME, I have a doctor's appointment in the hospital tonight at 8. Is it okay to stop by for a couple minutes? I have some books for you. :)"

This is the most interesting trend, and to me it's a bit disturbing. First, I'm guessing that many people don't know that if they post something on someone else's wall, that any mutual friends can also see the posting. Second, it strikes me that people have (unknowingly?) expanded their comfort zone to include a medium open to, essentially, the world, and I'm not at all sure that's a good thing.

QUERY: Have people become so comfortable with Facebook that they don't even notice that they're posting such messages on their wall for everyone to see? Or do they not care?

I would truly love your thoughts on these observations and queries, so comment away!

Five Reasons Why Allied Health Faculty Should Use Social Media

For the longest time I put off doing anything with Twitter. In fact, I opened an account only after a co-worker, the wonderful and prescient Kirk Pedrick, kept bugging me about it. And I hated it. Thought it was stupid. Boy, was I wrong. Not only is Twitter enormously useful—if it's used properly—so are many other social media, particularly Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogs of people in your field. (I haven't done anything with wikis yet, so I left them off my list.)

Turned out that I was using Twitter improperly. I didn't understand it and didn't give it a good enough try. Same thing with Facebook, which I initially found was fine, not bad, okay for maintaining contact with old friends, but that's about it. I saw little value for my business interests.

Wrong again. I think Facebook and Twitter both have enormous potential, not just for me, as an acquisitions editor, but the more I use them, for allied health faculty and students as well. Here are my top five reasons why.

1. Collates news you're interested in. It doesn't take much time on Twitter to realize that news pertinent to you gets to you fast, without you having to rummage through tons of newspapers, magazines, and the like. Here's an example from today. I noticed a post on Twitter about a study in England that caught my eye, a study about kids who blog, text, or use social networking websites being more confident about their writing skills. The article came from the BBC, which I never watch. But the study is interesting and directly applicable to schools everywhere, and not just for children. I believe that our college students can improve their writing skills using social media as well.


2. Now, I doubt I would have seen that article if it hadn't been for Twitter. I doubt you would have seen it either if it wasn't for this blog entry. But I saw immediately its potential impact on how we teach allied health students in our community and career colleges, and I'll bet you can see it too. Twitter. didn't keep this news to myself, of course. I "retweeted," so people who follow my tweets (those poor buggers) would see it too. And I posted the link on my business Facebook page so my friends—allied health faculty, practitioners, authors, and colleagues—could learn about it too.


3. Opens new avenues of thought. I've begun to think a bit differently now that I'm using social media. It's hard to define but I think mostly I've become more creative in my job. I've always been creative, a trait my superiors have consistent lauded, but after so many years in the publishing business I think perhaps I had begun to get stale. I kept track of trends but mostly after the trend had gained solid ground. Now I'm following trends as they happen. I'm also finding and learning things I never would have found and learned before purely as a result of being exposed to the thoughts and news posts of so many people I never would have encountered in any other setting. I think the same thing would have to ring true for other professions, particularly teaching in allied health care.


4. I'm writing again. That may not seem like much to you but it's huge for me. As an acquisitions editor I write constantly. Constantly. But I'm writing e-mails, mostly, or contract notes, a formal document we prepare for our decision-making group when we have a new book we want to publish. Contract notes are rather formulaic and require little creativity. But this blog, which I'm hoping will grow into something my authors and potential authors will find useful, helps feed my desire to write. Facebook and Twitter help feed that desire as well, while also serving what I hope will be an ever-growing circle of followers, some of whom might choose to write for me and F.A. Davis over a competitor because they've come to know me a bit and trust what I have to say.


5. It makes good business sense. I use Facebook and Twitter and write this blog to attract potential authors, find new authors and reviewers, and keep in touch with the markets I serve. Pretty straightforward, don't you think? Wouldn't it stand to reason that, say, medical assisting program directors who tweet and maintain a Facebook site or blog might attract potential new students and faculty members simply or even largely because of their presence in social media? I think it does, and I think with these media only growing in popularity, now is the time to get on the bandwagon. Give yourself time to work out the kinks, to get used to using social media, to build a content base, and to build up your cadre of friends and followers. It just makes sense.


6. It makes good pedagogical sense. According to the National School Boards' Association, social media should be adapted for use in the classroom because:

96% of students with access to the Internet build social networks.

50% of teens say they talk to their peers about schoolwork online (IM, blog or social networking sites) or via text messages.

60% indicate that they discuss education-related topics, such as college and career planning.

Your students use social media constantly. Why? Because they find it engaging, interesting, informative, and just plain fun. So why not implement the same media for pedagogical purposes? It makes absolutely NO SENSE not to.

Next blog: The Drawbacks of Social Media in Schools and How to Deal with Them