Being liked is so addictive for digital marketers. Here’s how to restore balance
We all know that social media can be addicting.
It’s easy to grab your phone during the day, itching to “quickly” check on your friend’s Facebook feed—and then an hour goes by and you are down a rabbit hole of articles about the latest Netflix show.
When digital marketing is part of your job, it is even harder to set the phone down.
Whether it’s first thing in the morning before you get out of bed or at the dinner table, your daily habits determine how much you pick up your phone or go on your tablet/desktop to check your social media sites.
On top of that, studies have shown that social networks can give an extra dopamine hit when you get a like or comment. According to a Harvard University blog post on the subject, “adults in the US spend an average of 2-4 hours per day tapping, typing, and swiping on their devices.”
If you want to create new and healthy habits in the next year, learning how to manage your time is a great place to start.
Time management impacts both your personal and professional life and can help you allocate more energy for productive habits, like deep-level work, cooking a healthy meal at dinner, or spending time with family.
Here are some actionable tips to create healthy social media habits:
1. Set a timer
Making your social media interactions more intentional is the key to avoiding that rabbit hole.
Setting a timer allows you to focus on the specific tasks you have for that time frame, and if you do find yourself mindlessly scrolling, the timer will remind you to stop. You can use your timer on your phone and set it for 15 minutes, or you can get a traditional kitchen timer and set it in a different room so you have to physically get up to turn it off. That's what I always do; it's too easy to simply hit snooze on my phone.
2. Give yourself daily tasks
Knowing what you want to get done each day makes it easier to cross off your daily social media tasks without getting distracted.
Use a free project management tool like Asana, or simply write down your weekly and daily tasks based on your work goals.
One other way of looking at your daily tasks is to create one creative goal and one analytical goal for each day, this way it isn’t just “boring” tasks all day every day. Getting into a creative headspace is important for all of us to feel fulfilled with our work.
3. Put your phone down, grab a camera, and get outside
When people feel trapped by their phones, sometimes it’s easy to lose focus on what else is going on outside. Inspiration comes from putting social media away and taking a break, perhaps a walk or a chat with customers to hear what they have to say (when it is safe to do so).
4. Pay more attention to quality than quantity
Before all of the algorithm changes, social media was about quantity, about getting your content out there as much as possible so people could see it. The new algorithms favor posts that people want to see, so make sure to focus on quality content and engagement with your community. Take a look at the statistical insight most platforms provide to see what type of content gets the best engagement, then brainstorm how to create more of it.
5. Focus on the digital marketing parts of the job beyond social media
We focus a lot on social media when it comes to the job of a digital marketer, but with social networks being so finicky, it's good to make sure to focus on other parts of the internet.
Continue to focus on SEO and updating your website, on customer review websites, and on digital advertising outside of social media.
6. Detangle bad habits
Some people need an extra push to get them to break bad habits. Taking social media apps off of your phone so you only visit them from your desktop in the office can take away the trigger that urges you to be on social media all the time. This helps to make sure you are focused on the task at hand when you are on social media.
7. Have an accountability buddy
Whether it’s someone you live with or a colleague at work, connect with someone with whom you can talk about goals and staying away from bad habits. There really is nothing like being able to talk through your struggles with another person, and the added support can reinforce your dedication to your goals.
Incorporating these tips into your daily life can create lasting healthy social media habits for anyone in marketing who works with social media.
