Social Media Usage Tips

Limiting social media usage when you’re a social media manager is a bit difficult. But when I realized that my personal habits were negatively impacting my well-being, I got creative and I took a step back.

Here’s why I’m telling you: I want to help you utilize social media and all its wonderful capability, for good! It’s not the enemy! We just need to learn how to handle it in a healthy way. Need some tips? Here’s what I’ve learned.

If You’re a Casual User

• Take stock of how much your actually using social media each day.
• For 3-7 days, pay special attention to why and when you go to social media. Jot it down. Pray about it. See what God reveals to you about your habits. Ask Him how He might have you change them.
• Before posting anything, ask: Why am I posting this (and be honest)?
• Make a point to explicitly encourage someone in a genuine way every time you log on to social media (Things that don’t count: “You’re so cute!” or “I’m jealous you’re at the beach right now!” Things that do count: “I love your heart for adventure” or “This pic reminded me how thankful I am to have you as a friend.”)

If You’re Way in Over Your Head

• Thank the Lord! It’s only through divine intervention that any of us realizes how sinful and broken we are.
• For 3-7 days, pay special attention to why and when you go to social media. Jot it down. Pray about it. See what God reveals to you about your habits. Ask Him how He might have you change them.
• Get an accountability partner–someone you’re truly willing to be real with, fess up to, and (if they are willing) support in the same way.
• Pray diligently about how God would have you make changes. You might need to delete apps entirely, go off-line for a few weeks, or limit yourself on the internal app restrictions.

If Social Media Is Your Job

Congrats! I’m biased, but I think social media management is one of the most fun and rewarding jobs. You get to interact with others, encourage them, and promote a business or organization you believe in. Lest your job become a scapegoat for increased personal usage, here are a few tips:

• Delete the Facebook app. Just keep the Facebook Manager app on your phone, which handles all the work responsibilities you have.
• Stay logged into your work accounts by default on your apps. If you see your own feed every time you try to check something for work, you’ll be much more tempted to scroll for “just a second.”
• Refresh yourself on your company’s vision for social. Having that goal in the forefront of your mind will also influence your personal usage. You don’t solely vie for “likes” on your company social media. The goal is to create a digital extension of your company that connects people with each other, with you, and with things they care about. So is your personal account all about likes? No, it’s about expressing yourself, encouraging others, and/or connecting with them.
• Take regular breaks from personal social media.
• Turn off notifications if possible. I leave Facebook Manager notifications but I turn off Instagram and Twitters notifications. This is because I check these accounts frequently and we are not an organization that typically has urgent needs or messages on those platforms. Your needs may differ.
• Go screen free as much as possible, recognizing that you’ll need to put more effort into it than others.