How to run your Business’ social media without being on a computer (much!)

Good afternoon, Social Rabbit here with your guide to the world of social media.

Yesterday I did a talk for a group of landscape architects on social media, afterwards I was asked how when you are not in front of a computer all day can you actually keep on top of it?  I thought this was a great blog topic as there must be 0000s of people who run or work in a business, but don’t sit at a desk – in fact apparently there are 800,000 tradies (that’s trades people to non-Aussies) in Australia alone.

First up, unfortunately you can’t get away with never sitting in front of your computer, but you can minimize it.

Before you start

• Know what the purpose is for why you are using that particular social media
• You will have to set up whatever you are using on a computer

Top Tips

1. Think of themes for your posts for each week or month and write them on the calendar, then as you are out and about and you see something that relates to a theme
   1. take a photo of it, eg your theme might be native Australian flowers
   2. write a note on your phone/notepad/in your phone email and then put it in a pile for future posts  or email it to yourself when you get back
2. If you are using a phone that has app’s, eg an iPhone, Blackberry, Android then get the app for the social media you are using so that you can post or respond to comments on the go
3. If you have a phone that is a bit more old school, check out the facilities that the social media offers, eg Facebook has an sms alert system that tells you when someone posts on your page.  You then know when you get home to jump online and respond
4. Schedule your posts, sit down once a week or month write all your posts at once and then schedule them to come out at certain times on certain days.  This will take you about 2 hours if you do it monthly, but then it’s done for the month!
5. Use voice recognition software to record your posts, the software will translate your voice into words, then all you need to do when you get home is copy and paste!  You can get iphone and ipad app’s (and probably other phones and tablets have them) for a couple of dollars
6. If you have video on your phone take advantage of it – you could give a tour round your place of work, or prop it up and make a video of you talking.  You can often then upload it straight to YouTube so easy!
7. Set up notifications on the social media you are using so that you know when someone has commented and you need to go in and respond, rather than having to check every day
8. Start small, don’t start on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and a blog, you will go nuts pretty quickly, instead do one really well and then add in more

So in Bob the Builder’s words “can you build it? Yes you can”, you can make your social media portable, and not use the fact that you aren’t sitting at a computer all day as an excuse.  You just need to have the right technology, and be organised.  If you plan your activity and organize your technology you can really easily get this happening.

Are any of my Rabbit readers in businesses where you are out and about for most of the day?  I’d love to know any tips you have to manage your social media – please share them in the comments below….