My weekly update came from LinkedIn today. Nowhere on the internet is a profile I more readily let languish. I’m not the only one.
Most of us are begrudgingly committed to LinkedIn because of the ongoing buzz as a job seach tool. Following the advice of the Internet, I need to spend that 45 minutes and update my LinkedIn profile. Afterall, not much looks worse these days than an out of date profile.
And, then what?
I find it hard to invest time in a social media tool that makes me feel like I need a tie and my interview face to use it. Not to mention, where do I find the time for it amongst my professional and personal responsibilities.
I’m not a full-time social media guru, after all. Like a lot of information professional, social media is important, but only one part of my professional reality. So, I’ve been thinking about a social media strategy that could work for me (and maybe you, too).
Every recent (and already out of date) map of social media platforms makes me shudder. There’s a lot out there that I never get around to. I’m a mid-adopter, meaning I try things after all the early adopters have settled in. (I basically follow this pattern.) This means I’m always caught between rising stars and bright new start-ups.
New arrivals to the social media field leave me frustrated at the conflicting need to stay current and the desire to continue building my presences on established sites.
Social media fatigue is a real thing, such as it something we can experience. If you consider the amount of information you’re expected to push out, pull in, etc., coping with change and building a solid, sustainable online campaign can leave you eventually unable to do either.
I therefore propose a Social Media Rule of Three. It’s simple. Pick three platforms that work for your target audience (be it t-shirt fans, potential employers, librarians, library users, whatever) and focus on those.
If you want to adopt something new, choose one of the first three, stabilize your profile ( i.e set it up so it requires the least amount of maintenance and will stay feeling current for a long time). Once you’ve don that, you’re ready to build up your presence on the new site.
This way, you give yourself flexibility and room for growth, without feeling like you’re abandonning past efforts or overwhelming yourself.
In my case it means I’m going to (eventually) tie off my LinkedIn profile and then focus on Facebook, Twitter, and my blogs.
Success here, like anywhere, is in planning and practical expectations. There are plenty of tips out there for building in fatigue buffers.
With so many new and established social media outlets, it has to be ok to let a few pitches go by. That is, as long as you put your effort behind the ones you do swing at.
So, why not try out my Rule of Three?
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