Weekend (Social Media) Warriors

When it comes to social media, consistency is key. It keeps you in your follower's limelight which, in turn, increases the likelihood they'll become comfortable and interact.

Consistency is relatively easy to maintain during week days. Each day's schedule is the same, and many spend their regular breaks using social media. When the weekend comes around, however, schedules are rarely followed.

If you tend (or want) to avoid social media on the weekends, follow these tips:

1. Spend Friday scheduling a few posts over the weekend. You can use your social network's scheduling feature, or you can use services like Hootsuite or Sprout Social. Make sure to schedule these posts when the majority of your users will see it. In other words, don't post anything early in the morning. No one is up by then, and if they are, they're probably not on Facebook.
2. Setup notifications on your phone whenever you receive a comment or a mention. It's important to respond to this in a timely fashion. Avoid starting a conversation you won't have time to finish.
3. Focus on posting instead of browsing. It only takes seconds to post a quick update or thought. It's the browsing that really takes up time.

If you love to use social media on the weekends, follow these tips:

1. Brainstorm posts for the following week. You can even schedule a few posts if you know you'll be busy. 
2. Avoid mindless browsing. If you're using social media, you might as well use it wisely. Interact if it sparks your interest. Post something that's on your mind. Don't waste a second of your time.
3. Consider taking a break. If you use social media for pleasure too often, you may burn out, and the work you used to enjoy will become monotonous. Plus, you may find that a break will inspire your next posting idea. It's a win-win.

Do you have any tips to maintain constant activity, especially on the weekend? Comment below—we'd love to share it.

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—Kirk Cunningham, principal consultant at Cunning Relations 

& head publicist at Jolly Fish Press.

Quick Tip: How to Develop a Social Networking Schedule (Without Losing Your Mind)

As important as it is, social networking can be overwhelming and time consuming. Once it becomes a necessary task, as it should be for all authors and businesses, it can easily develop into a black hole of unproductivity. Here are a few steps to ensure that doesn't happen or, rather, fix it if it already has:

1. Sign up with a social media assistant like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, or Buffer. This will make posting and scheduling easier and will add an extra step between productive networking and mindless browsing.
2. Subscribe to various e-newsletters with your preferred sharing content like Galley Cat or Publishers Weekly. You can even setup a separate email account just to receive e-newsletters to keep them organized.
3. Set a time, or group of times, each day where you will setup and schedule your posts. Mornings are the best time to schedule your posts throughout the rest of the day.
4. Set a time, or group of times, each day where you will interact (like, share, retweet) with others. This should either be separate or directly after step 3. Afternoon is usually the best time for interaction.
5. Most importantly, give yourself a time limit on everything. Everything! Social networking is too distracting if you don't. Whether you use the clock, a kitchen timer, a smartphone, or the angle of the sun in the sky, it doesn't matter: time it.

Social networking can become a bad habit if you don't keep track of it. Follow these simple steps and you may find yourself at least a little bit more productive.

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—Kirk Cunningham, principal consultant at Cunning Relations 

& head publicist at Jolly Fish Press.