There’s no denying social media plays a massive role in our everyday lives. It’s a never-ending source of amusement and entertainment, a bottomless pit of information, research and knowledge. You can keep in touch with almost anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time of the day or night.
Having an active social media presence for your business is almost as expected as your business having a website, email address and telephone number. Rather than contacting you by traditional methods, people want to find things out for themselves. It’s quicker for them and saves you time answering common questions if they can get what they want online. You may have already noticed that your telephone rings less and your mobile beeps more.
This leads into one of the common problems with social media. The notifications. The pings and beeps. The red dots next to your apps with numbers letting you know how many messages you need to look at. The noise and the numbers are designed to grab your attention. Even the bright red colour is psychologically designed to make you stop and look.
Recent research indicates many of us spend up to 12 hours using our devices for social media, messages, responding to emails, gaming, streaming TV, films or radio, looking at articles, posts and status changes, every day!
Why the notifications work so well
Once the red dot with the number flashes on your phone or browser, it sets off a reaction in your brain to let you know something has happened, that something needs your attention. However, if you stop each time a notification arrives, you may find you’re losing hours each day simply from the distraction and the micro decisions you make whether you need to stop and respond, to delete it or deal with it later.
It can be easy to fall into the trap of using social media to boost your self-esteem and self-worth. The reaction from social connections and sharing news is physically and psychologically addictive. Excessive social media is said to give you a high, similar to taking an addictive substance, and the comedown can be devastating causing depression, negative body image, paranoia and loneliness.
How to make changes to be more productive
Making small changes does make a big difference. I work with clients to help distance themselves from the volume of notifications on their social media accounts. I can help analyse the time spent on social media and make suggestions for managing the incoming notifications to improve wellbeing and productivity. The results have been amazing.
“Rachael showed me how to turn off notifications on some of my Facebook groups and set up a timer so I can check how much time I spend online. It feels more manageable now. I’m less anxious and I don’t feel like I’ve missed anything.” – Alison Stead, Spiritual Medium and Copywriter.
My top tips for managing social media
- Look at the groups you have joined – do you gain anything from being in them? If not, simply turn off the notifications or leave the group altogether.
- Use a timer to measure how long you are on social media. It’s easy for “just a quick look” to turn into half an hour or longer. Ask yourself, “has this been a productive use of my time?”.
- Aeroplane mode is your friend – I spoke to a client about this, she removed all shortcuts to social media from her phone and used areoplane mode when going to bed. She texted me the next day
“So grateful for your flight mode tip. I actually slept last night and haven’t even looked at social media today! Fx”
When working with clients I always ask, “what do you hope to achieve from your social media platforms?”. I can help clear the online clutter and enable you to make the best use of your time to achieve your goals.
If you want to interact with more clients or prospective clients, I can help.
If you want to stop using your time unproductively, I can help.
If you have FOMO or are addicted to checking your phone and friends and family have commented, I can help.
Please get in touch on 07756 772950 or visit getfocus.guru.