Do you ever think about cloning yourself?  Every Friday I look at my schedule and think…”if there were only 2 of me I could finish more blog posts, update my podcasts on my Facebook page and tackle those things on my to-do wish list”.  In this new communication era how are you finding the time?

Here are a couple of things that I’ve found useful:

1.   Carve out a bit of time each day to focus on your social networking conversations for your business.

2.   Eventually you’ll be able to scan your social media sites, respond to messages and build new content in about 2-3 hours per week.  This is the average most users in our industry spend on social media.  Granted, at the start you’ll spend more time learning and getting used to the new systems.

3.   Develop a media calendar and plan it out 4-6 weeks in advance.  Consider what destinations you’re selling, what product seminars you’ll attend and then plot out your social networking conversations around these focal points.

4.  Use a management tool like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to preschedule your posts.  This way you can load pre-scheduled content in advance and mix it with live posts.

As tourism professionals, can we afford not to be a part of these conversations?  These conversations are already taking place and when we’re involved we’re adding value for our clients and discovering opportunities.

What helps you find the time for social media marketing?

Join the conversation….. Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Tags: blogging, Facebook, Facebookmarketing, LinkedIn, marketing, salestips, Social Media, travelagent, travelindustry, Twitter

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 at 6:55 pm and is filed under blogging, Facebook Marketing, marketing, NACTA, sales, Social Media Marketing, strategy, Travel Consultant, travel industry, Twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.