e-Networking: Content Management

One other concern of most people when it comes to networking online is not their possible side-effects but how long it takes each day. Considering I've just spent the majority of the day updating a new site I think it may be apt to say how long it takes, or rather- how long it doesn't take.

When you consider having three or four (or more) sites, it would seem that to update them you would have to spend a great deal of time on them.
Initially, yes.
Setting up websites is a good example of what you put in is what you get out of it. If you don't put enough time in, rush them or push too much through too quickly then you're going to end up with low quality at the end of the process.
In comparison, once you have spent that initial chunk of time they don't take hardly any time at all to update.

This is for two reasons:

• You have already put a lot of time into a site that functions well, that you understand and that you know the capabilties of. Updating is easy as you have all the tools you need and the know-how.
• Updating social media isn't about walls of text and long drawn-out articles and such it's about small, digestable chunks of information that blend into the every day life of your viewers.

Where on your company website it may be preferable to upload a few pages of text in a new update, to inform and to cover all possible questions- in e-Networking it isn't necessary.

Services like Twitter are designed to explicitely make it possible for you to only be able to post bite-sized chunks of information.
And this is what you should be aiming for.
Even Facebook only has a limited 420 characters for you to share your information with. This helps more than hinders as it allows you tailor your updates and focus on which sites get what, without having to worry about how many hours this is taking.

Here's a few easy ways to break up your updating time:

1. Plan your posting- what? where? when? Knowing when you're supposed to have new content up (and where) helps remove a lot of lost-time guess work.
2. Use any information/limits to your advantage. If you know Twitter is only 140 characters and Facebook 420- then make the updates for those sites that size.
3. Be accurate and timely in your updates. Nothing shows rushed work like pushing for that 4pm deadline at 5pm!
4. Be casual, friendly and don't be afraid to change something that's no longer relevant- anything that makes your content more approachable is better. It also comes more naturally when you don't force content through, making it quicker to write.
5. Try to break bigger chunks of content down into a few updates which you post one after the other to help not only develop a series, but to help readers digest it.

Try these things if you find you're stuck in the parellel loop of spending ages working on e-Networking sites, also remember, it gets easier as you get more used to it.

 That's all for now!

 Thank you for reading and if you've got any tips to share- feel free to comment.

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