As you know by now, I have been challenging myself to learn as much as I can about social media. Currently, I am officially training a new Social Media Admin on my day job, so I shouldn’t need to be doing this any longer. However, I am also marketing my first book with several in the works and my second book halfway to completion. So, for me to keep learning about social media is definitely to my advantage.

First, I think we need to realize that anyone can do social media. If you don’t know anything about technology, it won’t keep you from learning how to set up social media accounts, make posts, or gain followings. All you need to do, really, is three things:

• Develop an understanding of what social media is;
• Decide why you want to be on social media and which platforms (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, etc.) you want to use to fulfill your goals; AND,
• Write down your user names and passwords somewhere safe — that will be easy for you to update on your busiest of days.

No kidding, this is what I have discovered in the past week during this unexpected and amazing snow storm. In my most intense moments of figuring out whether I would be able to make it to work or not, and trying to keep the social media updated for my day job and for my own personal platforms, I realized that I am not as organized as I used to be. When in a hurry, I write my new passwords down on a piece of paper. Later, I tell myself, I’ll update my spreadsheet, or my booklet, later.

But later, apparently, never came in several instances. It was difficult to be efficient when my work passwords were so elusive. And, later, even for my own personal social media accounts, when there was no Internet. Being efficient in a social media world during a snow storm tested and challenged who I am to the core. Who am I? Well, I used to be a perfectionist. But in my effort to be more laidback, I have gone too far in the opposite direction. This is a problem I need to fix. And I will. Life will be much better with passwords that are easy to find and accurately updated.

So, how do we become more efficient in and on social media? By understanding what social media is, deciding what you want to use social media for, and keeping track of the important things – like passwords to your social media accounts. With those three things in mind, you can take the pressure off of having to know a whole lot about technology such as HTML code. Okay, it will be helpful to have social media etiquette, but that is a topic for a later blog post.

So what is social media, you ask. Social media is a mixture of websites and applications, or platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, that allow us to interact with one another by sharing content in the form of photos, videos, links and text. It is a way of communicating digitally rather than face-to-face. This may sound overwhelming; but if you break it down into bite-sized pieces, it is easier to grasp. Keep in mind, you do not have to go to college to open an Instagram or TikTok account. All you need to do is have an email account and write down your password so that you do not get locked out.

Now that we know a little more about what social media is, we can decide if it is for us or not. If it is, great; if it is not, great. That’s right. We get to choose if we want to be on social media or not. No one can force us to be a part of something we are not comfortable with or feel there is no need for in our life. Be free to say ‘no’ to social media. If you are up for surfing the world wide web, then decide how it will benefit you. Are you doing it for personal reasons? A hobby? Small business? Other? Which applications or platforms do you think will serve you best? How do you find out?

These are all questions we can discuss in future blog posts. For now, know that you are on the right path to being more efficient on social media. Often, a person opens an account and doesn’t know what to do with it. Sometimes, knowing what to share can be an agonizing ordeal. Again, the key is to research the application or the topic of your concern. The more knowledge we gain, the more we will be efficient at not only getting around on social media, but also in making good decisions for ourselves when it comes to what we post.

I hope this blog has been helpful to you. I know the more I learn the more confident I feel about all the platforms which I currently use. And it is my goal to share with you as much as I learn. If you have any questions you would like to ask me about, please ask away. If I don’t know, I will certainly find out and post in a future blog. The more we learn the more capable we feel about ourselves and the more efficient on social media we will be.

See you next month for a basic overview about how to get familiar with your favorite social media application or platform.

In the meantime, please let me know if this post was helpful to you or not. Or, just simply say HI 🙂

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Just a quick reminder that my book, “HONOR ONE ANOTHER: The ABCs of Embracing Our Spirit Within” is still available on Amazon in e-book and soft cover formats. Also, I am in the process of expanding to Barnes & Noble within the coming weeks.

 “HONOR ONE ANOTHER: The ABCs of Embracing Our Spirit Within” was written for those searching for their purpose in life, that something more, or their higher calling. Each letter, A – Z, offers a one-page thought-provoking reflection to inspire you, encourage you, motivate you or that someone else you may know who is looking to know themselves better.

Follow the link in my book title, visit my books page on this website, or visit me at amazon.com/author/virginia.alice.crawford.

Thank you and have a blessed week.