The 1 Social Media Tip a Writer Ever Needs. Also Rumpelstiltskin.

There is so much said everywhere about how to use social media. And by so much I mean SOOOOOOOOOO much. In terms of how to use it and what to use it for, the advice is endless and can't really be taken as more than opinion. Everyone has different personalities, goals, and strategies, and all that comes in to play when using social media. It's point is to be personal, and while taking other peoples tips and ideas can definitely help, it really comes down to what you want.

How to manage social media, however, is a different can of worms.

Whatever you do, however you do it, social media can get complicated. There's so much out there, so many possibilities it easily becomes overwhelming. I mean, sure we all want to take advantage of as many social media opportunities as possible, and sure we may have some creative ideas, but how do we put it all in to play without going crazy and putting the rest of our life in jeopardy?

The answer is extremely and ridiculously simple. And believe it or not, it can truly be boiled down to five minutes a day.

Make a spreadsheet. Along the top, list all your social media accounts. Get the big ones in there first, like Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Then down the side list the days of the week. On mine I've included a "Daily" section for things I want to do every day. Then you schedule out your social media strategy for each site, each day. For sites like Twitter, where daily posting is appropriate, I've listed a sort of category or topic for each daily Tweet. I have planned what days I'm going to post on Facebook and Google+, and what type of thing I'm going to post.

My list of things is pretty broad: stuff like music videos, funny videos, cool pictures, quotes, links to other cool blogs, stuff like that. It cuts down on sitting-trying-to-think-of-something-to-post time, and scheduling helps so it actually gets done. And even with as many sites as I use, when you break it down it comes to a couple comments, a link and a quote or something like that everyday, spread across a few sites, and that, my friends, can be done in only five minutes.

(Blogging is slightly different. Obviously it does take more than five minutes a day, and even more time commenting and reading other blogs is good too. This other stuff is a way supplementing your blog, really, though keeping track of what you want to do blog wise on the chart is a good idea too.)

Hope that all makes sense. On a completely different but equally important note, is anyone else watching Once Upon a Time? Freak, guys. I have a damaged-man complex or something. I kind of flipped out a little bit. Tell me it broke your hearts too. He's going to save Belle and she's going to save him right back and it will be beautiful, and this show has finally paid off. Mr. Gold has officially been added to my Snape, Ben Linus, Mr. Rochester, Men who shouldn't have a love interest and do and I love them list. *Sigh*. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing. Anyone else as crazy as I am?

Sarah Allen