{"id":2578,"date":"2016-07-31T21:05:23","date_gmt":"2016-07-31T21:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/?p=2578"},"modified":"2017-11-13T00:24:27","modified_gmt":"2017-11-13T00:24:27","slug":"finding-balance-in-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/31\/finding-balance-in-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Balance in Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI am addicted to [Insert Social Media Network Here].\u201d<\/p>\n

Or\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like my phone is connected to my body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have you ever heard someone say this? Have you ever said this about yourself? It\u2019s okay, most people are.<\/p>\n

I will admit that I have a little bit of an addiction to my phone. In the too recent past, I actually started sending and responding to text messages in the middle of the night\u2014 with no recollection<\/i> of doing it. Sleep texting is a real thing, yo!<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t remember when this addiction started\u2026<\/h2>\n

Ever since smart phones have come out, they have become our everything<\/b>. Think about the last time you used a device that was meant for just one function\u2014\u00a0 <\/span>i.e. like an alarm to get up for work or school, a GPS for your car, a timer for that meal you\u2019re cooking, or even a grocery list to check off at the store.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare, right? Our phones can do pretty much anything we want them to, and their functionality is multiplying by the day as new apps and iterations of our various smart phones become available to the public. It\u2019s easy to use your phone for daily tasks because it\u2019s right there<\/b>, with you all of the time. I remember the days that I used a point and shoot camera for school events like homecoming with friends, or used a GPS watch for running to track my time and distance. Now, why would we bother, when we have all that and more in our pocket already?<\/p>\n

Falling Down the Rabbit Hole<\/h2>\n

The biggest times I fall into the \u201ctrap\u201d of social media are when I wake up, and when I go to bed. It\u2019s a time suck! The internet is like a giant black hole of information. The amount of content on the internet is dizzying<\/i>. It\u2019s easily to follow the rabbit hole from your Facebook feed, to one blog, to Pinterest, to another blog, and then back to their Instagram feed. Then you wonder, \u201cHow did I even get to this page?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Raise your hand if you\u2019ve ever done this.<\/p>\n

\"giphy\"<\/p>\n

(Source<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Using Social Media to Grow Personal Brands or Businesses<\/h2>\n

\"photo-1469384016477-880d0bb46a51\"<\/p>\n

As I grow my personal brand with my blog and photography business, I\u2019m quickly learning that social media is a major key to success in this industry. In order to be \u201ctop of mind\u201d for potential customers or readers, I have to stay current with marketing techniques. I also really enjoy the amount of engagement I get from these networks. It\u2019s nice to feel like I can connect to real people<\/b> in another city, state, or country with my content.<\/p>\n

In order to stay more active on Instagram, I\u2019ve decided to start using Later<\/a> for my Instagram scheduling, which saves a ton of time and headache on a daily basis. It\u2019s great because I can sit down for maybe 15-30 minutes once per week, create all my posts for the week, and schedule them to be posted whenever I\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

The only issue with this service is\u2026 I need to have my phone to confirm the post when I\u2019ve scheduled a photo. Then, one of three things happens:<\/p>\n

1) I ignore the notification on my phone and then forget to post what I\u2019ve scheduled, or<\/b><\/p>\n

2) I post it, and want to continue looking through my feed. (Ack, foiled again! Trapped again by the lure of the phone) or<\/b><\/p>\n

3) I post it, and I put my phone away to continue the rest of my day. (Yay for marketing success and not falling down the rabbit hole, all at the same time!)<\/p>\n

Today, I read a post from Two Drifters about quitting Snapchat<\/a>. Amy raises some valid points about privacy, living in the moment, pressure to deliver quality content, and not being right for her brand. It made me think about my own social media struggles right now.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no question that social media is a powerful marketing tool. I would argue that it\u2019s the most effective as well given the amount of time that people dedicate their daily activities to it. In a way, it\u2019s a necessary \u201cevil\u201d these days for various business and personal reasons.<\/p>\n