Social media is, my opinion, one of the best and worst things created this century yet it has become a necessary tool for every entrepreneur. However it can be a distracting, time consuming, productivity thief! 

I dare anyone to tell me that they haven't gone on Instagram or Facebook with the intention of posting something or checking in and an hour (or two) later you're pages deep into an abyss of status updates!  And don't get me started on the latest blogger/entrepreneur obsession: PERISCOPE!

We tell ourselves that it's not a waste of time because we're gathering all of this information to actually help our businesses grow but guess what. . . .at the rate you're going you'll never have time to implement all these tips or research the countless resources being shared. Why? Because you're watching Scopes all day or on Facebook forums getting said information! It's truly a vicious cycle!

I've started a social media regime that has really been beneficial to me with regards to productivity:

1.  Schedule. Schedule. Schedule.- This one is the oldest trick in the book but I swear by it. I schedule Facebook posts and blog posts everyday (or every other day) this is a big time saver. I actually schedule my Facebook posts directly from the Facebook Pages app. I typically do all my scheduling for the week on Sunday evening. 

2.  3, 5, 7 Rule- I use this when scrolling through social media. I scroll through at least 7 posts on my feeds, like at least 5 and comment on at least 3. If there is something that really catches my eye I might adjust these numbers. I usually do this during lunch, or while waiting in line somewhere, or at the doctors office etc. I also try and do it a couple of times a day, so I don't miss too much but once I hit my quota, I log out.

3.  Team #IDontFollowBackEverybody- I'm sorry but I just cannot do this. You miss out on notifications from people you really want to connect with or events you really want to know about when you're following 1,000 people! 

4.  Screenshot for Later- If I see an event or website or quote or book I want to read, I screenshot it on my phone for later. This works for me because I take a lot of pictures and I'm constantly being warned about space on my phone, so I have no choice but to go in and transfer those screenshots to my Evernote resources list or bookmark the websites.

What are some of your tried and true social media tips?

I love to read.  I love to read books. Books are lengthy and they are often lengthy because there is a plot, background, characterizations, dialogue, etc.

But if it's not bound or stitched in a book, I don't like reading anything thing else that's lengthy . Long blog posts bore me to death. I always find myself skipping over paragraphs to GET TO THE POINT. I think we feel using a bunch of superfluous words or anecdotes makes us sound smarter or deep when it's really unnecessary. . .see what I did there?  

Unfortunately we're living in a 140 character or less society and you can often lose people (and their attention span) in details that don't add anything to your post. Tell us what we need to know, why we need to know it and how it will benefit us.  Thank you and good night!