I was at the Pentagon this morning, whiling away 90 minutes or so while waiting for my husband to cross the finish line the annual Army 10-Miler race. There is something about being surrounded by so many military personnel—from active duty soldiers screening spectators at the entry points to wounded war veterans running in the race with prosthetic limbs to ROTC volunteers manning the booths and tents—that makes me remember how well things can operate, and how good the results can be, with a little discipline.

Even the Army ROTC's balloon soldier was disciplined today.

There are many aspects of our lives that would certainly benefit from a renewed focus discipline—eating well and exercising are the obvious ones—but, yes, this even applies to managing social media efforts. Just like there is little to be gained from exercising only once a quarter, or eating vegetables only on Mondays, a scattershot approach to managing your social media initiatives will only get you so far.

How do you know if you might benefit from a little more discipline? Consider the following:

• Do you have good intentions but just can’t seem to update your social media sites with any regularity? Or have many good ideas but just don’t know where to start?
• Do you run out of time in your business day or your work week before you can even think about spending time on your social media efforts?
• Does social media feel more like a chore than a joy?
• Do you have the will, but not the way? In other words, do you have great ideas and intentions but find it too hard to get organized to actually put your ideas into motion?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, you would probably benefit from harnessing some discipline for your social media efforts by following these few simple tips:

• Be realistic. Determine the amount of time you are willing to spend on social media each week (writing content, responding to messages, making updates, performing technology maintenance) and then develop a strategy from there.  When it doubt, start small. It’s better to have one social media tool that is reliable and robust than many tools that are skimpy and ineffective.
• Have a “retreat” with yourself and commit your ideas to paper. It’s hard to be creative when the phone is ringing and you’re dealing with one fire drill after another. It sounds counterintuitive, but discipline yourself to find the time to be creative and to think big and boldly. To help you capture your ideas and dreams, set aside a couple hours on a designated day, go somewhere that ignites your creative spirit (such as a funky coffee house or the local library) and just brainstorm. (Note: Remember that in brainstorming, no idea is a bad idea. You can decide later what ideas to pursue and which ones to set aside.)
• Keep a calendar. Once you have decided what ideas you want to bring to your social media efforts, then commit these ideas to your calendar. Will you update your business’s blog daily? Once a week? Plot the deadlines into your calendar so you won’t forget. If you use Outlook, set the “Reminder” feature a few days in advance so you will receive a friendly reminder that the deadline is coming.
• Call in the pros. If the reality of your schedule is that you just can’t keep up with your social media plans, or if doing so is taking time away from the revenue-generating activities that are critical to your business, don’t hesitate to outsource to a reliable company. Be sure your vendor has done this kind of work before, and ask to see samples of their work so you know what you are getting.
• Re-evaluate. Periodically, schedule time to re-evaluate the success of your social media tools, your progress, and your system. Are your social media tools doing what you need them to do for you? Make any tweaks you deem necessary, and consider it a “continuous improvement” environment.

  — Jennifer Krempin Bridgman (c) 2009

For more information about bringing discipline to your social media efforts, or to discuss a project, contact Social Media 1-2-3 at Jennifer@socialmedia123.org or brian@socialmedia123.org, or visit us at www.socialmedia123.org.