While social networking may cost little to no money out of pocket, it certainly can suck up a lot of time – which can take you away from other important aspects of your business. To avoid this, learn how to maximize your time spent while using social networks, evaluate your results regularly and make changes by refocusing your efforts if necessary.
*IMPORTANT* Not only can social networking take up a large chunk of time in a given day, it’s something that needs to be given time to develop and grow. You can’t join a network today and expect immediate and never ending results. Just like with building relationship in the “real world”, you should be prepared to allow things to develop and grow over time.
Maximizing Your Time
One of the biggest potential drawbacks of social networking is getting caught in the time suck. If you wanted to, you could social network all day and get very little accomplished. You might have fun, but in order to reap business benefits, you need to stay focused on all the important aspects of your business.
In order to make the most of your time:
1. Limit the actual time you actively spend in your networks. If you have trouble getting away once you’re in, set a time limit for yourself. In addition, force yourself to complete the other (less fun) to-do items on your list before embarking on the fun stuff like networking.
2. Limit the number of networks you’re involved with. The opportunities and places to network online are numerous and even overwhelming. There is no need, nor is it possible, for you to touch on all of them. Pick the best and leave the rest. Besides, you’ll find as you network hop, you’ll tend to see the same people over and over again. Why spread yourself thin to duplicate your efforts when you can concentrate your efforts in just a handful of places?
3. Do you personally need to be doing all the networking? As the head of your business, you may feel that you are the face that your social contacts should be connecting, but this may not always be the case. Consider other people in your organization that might bring valuable results to the table.
For example, if you have an affiliate manager, they might establish themselves in social networks and develop relationships with potential affiliates. Or if you sell a product that often requires technical support, having a support staff person available on networks can have tremendous benefit. Or if you have a content manager that is responsible for adding content to your site, they might use social networks to share that content.
4. Outsource specific social networking tasks. There are plenty of tasks involved with the planning and execution of a social networking plan. You can break down the tasks and outsource many of them including:
- Hire someone to regularly scan relevant blogs, forums and networks that might be appropriate for you to post on or become involved with. Having someone do all of this for you can give you unadulterated insight into your industry and your specific target market. It keeps you focused.
The problem with doing the research yourself is that each activity offers a lot more content than is relevant to your business. It would be so easy to get caught up in interesting blogs, threads in forums you’d like to participate in and conversations in chat rooms that have nothing to do with your business.
- Hire someone to build your profile pages. The advantages of the hiring someone to design your profile pages on a networking site are numerous, but the main one is that you can save time. If you hire a professional designer to build your profile page, you take the guesswork out of doing it yourself. Investing in a professional design ensures that you’ll have the job done right and relatively quickly.
- Hire someone to ghost post. Instead of logging in every day, you can hire someone to post your updates to your networks. Obviously, you’ll want to guide this person in what you’d like posted, but it can be a timesaver and keep you from getting distracted. You can give your helper photos, videos and even text to post. It’s up to you.
Need help? Just call me to discuss the ways Best eMarketing Solutions can help.
This article is based on an article written by Mindtools named Successful Delegation Using the Power of Other People’s Help. MindTools.com is one of the Internet’s most-visited career skills resources. Click here to see analysis.
We are getting closer to finishing this series on Delegating. To build on the first (4) posts about Delegating, The Number One Reason To Delegate, Why Don’t People Delegate, When To Delegate, and To Whom should you Delegate. Today, we take a closer look at the How in delegating.
How Should You Delegate?
Use the following principles to delegate successfully:
Clearly articulate the desired outcome. Begin with the end in mind and specify the desired results.
Clearly identify constraints and boundaries. Where are the lines of authority, responsibility and accountability? Should the person:
- Wait to be told what to do?
- Ask what to do?
- Recommend what should be done, and then act?
- Act, and then report results immediately?
- Initiate action, and then report periodically?
Where possible, include people in the delegation process. Empower them to decide what tasks are to be delegated to them and when.
Match the amount of responsibility with the amount of authority. Understand that you can delegate some responsibility, however you can’t delegate away ultimate accountability. The buck stops with you!
Delegate to the lowest possible organizational level. The people who are closest to the work are best suited for the task, because they have the most intimate knowledge of the detail of everyday work. This also increases workplace efficiency, and helps to develop people.
Provide adequate support, and be available to answer questions. Ensure the project’s success through ongoing communication and monitoring as well as provision of resources and credit.
Focus on results. Concern yourself with what is accomplished, rather than detailing how the work should be done: Your way is not necessarily the only or even the best way! Allow the person to control his or her own methods and processes. This facilitates success and trust.
Avoid “upward delegation”. If there is a problem, don’t allow the person to shift responsibility for the task back to you: ask for recommended solutions; and don’t simply provide an answer.
Build motivation and commitment. Discuss how success will impact financial rewards, future opportunities, informal recognition, and other desirable consequences. Provide recognition where deserved.
Establish and maintain control.
- Discuss time lines and deadlines.
- Agree on a schedule of checkpoints at which you’ll review project progress.
- Make adjustments as necessary.
- Take time to review all submitted work.
In thoroughly considering these key points prior to and during the delegation process you will find that you delegate more successfully.
Keeping Control
Now, once you have worked through the above steps, make sure you brief your team member appropriately. Take time to explain why they were chosen for the job, what’s expected from them during the project, the goals you have for the project, all time lines and deadlines and the resources on which they can draw. And agree a schedule for checking-in with progress updates.
Lastly, make sure that the team member knows that you want to know if any problems occur, and that you are available for any questions or guidance needed as the work progresses.
We all know that as managers, we shouldn’t micro-manage. However, this doesn’t mean we must abdicate control altogether: In delegating effectively, we have to find the sometimes-difficult balance between giving enough space for people to use their abilities to best effect, while still monitoring and supporting closely enough to ensure that the job is done correctly and effectively.
The Importance of Full Acceptance
When delegated work is delivered back to you, set aside enough time to review it thoroughly. If possible, only accept good quality, fully-complete work. If you accept work you are not satisfied with, your team member does not learn to do the job properly. Worse than this, you accept a whole new tranche of work that you will probably need to complete yourself. Not only does this overload you, it means that you don’t have the time to do your own job properly. Of course, when good work is returned to you, make sure to both recognize and reward the effort. As a leader, you should get in the practice of complimenting members of your team every time you are impressed by what they have done. This effort on your part will go a long way toward building team member’s self-confidence and efficiency, both of which will be improved on the next delegated task; hence, you both win.
Have you been considering delegating the tasks that are holding you back?
While social networking may cost little to no money out of pocket, it certainly can suck up a lot of time – which can take you away from other important aspects of your business. To avoid this, learn how to maximize your time spent while using social networks, evaluate your results regularly and make changes by refocusing your efforts if necessary.
