As most loan officers would agree, social media is a key tool when it comes to their marketing efforts. But it can be time consuming. On top of the actual work we’re putting in, social media can also be a major source of distraction that sabotages our productivity. This is why it’s essential for loan officers to have strategies in place when it comes to social-media marketing that help them to be as efficient as possible. If you’re looking to make your social-media work more productive, here are some of the most important time-management strategies you may want to test out:
Create a Calendar
A calendar is a great way to maximize your social-media efforts. Rather than posting when you think of it or when you have time, a calendar will allow you to determine how often you need to be posting and ensure that it’s on your radar. Maybe you decide to post once a week, for example. This can help you get into a rhythm of creating one piece of content per week. In this way, you’ll be less likely to procrastinate or drag out getting one article ready to publish.
Automate Postings
To take things up a notch, you could carve out a block of time the first week of each month to get all your posts together for the entire month. Then, you can schedule them to automatically post at your specified times. Many find that dedicating several hours to working on content helps them get into a better flow. So, not only are you more productive while creating your content, but you’re also saving yourself time throughout the month.
Batch Tasks
Even if you do automate certain postings, you’ll likely still need to log into your social media regularly to ensure that you’re getting back to any messages or comments and engaging with your audience. The best plan of action here to stay in charge of your time is to batch all your social-media-related tasks together into one window. Give yourself twenty minutes, or however much time you think you’ll need, to cross all your social-media tasks off the list at once. This way, you’ll be less likely to check in multiple times throughout the day, distracting yourself from other important tasks.
Laser Focus
When you do log in to check some things off your social-media to-do list, go in with laser focus. Write your to-do list out if it helps you. Go onto your social-media pages with clear goals so that the endless feed of distractions doesn’t suck you in. So often, what starts as a quick work task turns into ten, twenty, thirty or more wasted minutes scrolling or reading unrelated content. Be intentional with your social-media activity so that you don’t lose time to distractions.
Does social media take up a significant amount of your time? How much of that is work related and how much is distraction? What strategies do you use to keep this in check? I’d love to hear your thoughts! If you’d like to talk more about the ways loan officers can make their social-media marketing more efficient, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Don Riggs
VP – Retail Market Leader
NMLS 132702
303.249.8274
