While social media has been around long enough to really be catching on, the main issue that many people have with it is time. If you ask the average person about Twitter, they will most likely say it’s great, but it takes up too much time. The same goes for other social media applications, such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

It’s easy to get sucked into conversations and quizzes, particularly if you tend toward procrastination anyway. Social media is the ideal place for people who put things off to hang out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it for the good of your business! In fact, all you need is a little time management.

Have a plan. It’s important to know exactly what your goals are and how you are going to achieve them. For example, your goal might be to get 100 visitors this month from Twitter. You can decide how you’re going to gain those visitors and then put the plan into action. This will help you cut the amount of time spent on social media.

Be professional. That’s not to say you should never be friendly while using social media, but remember that you are representing a business, so comments on how hung over you are might not be the best idea if you want people to respect you. You’re building a brand and it’s important to remember this when you are talking to people online.

Set limits for yourself. This could be a time limit or a number limit. For example, you might decide to respond to or connect with five people per day on LinkedIn or to spend 10 minutes a day on Twitter. You can use a stopwatch if necessary to remind yourself not to go over the time allotted for social media.

Get help. Why spend your day making connections and creating social media campaigns when you could just outsource? Often, a publicity professional will be far more efficient at turning your accounts into valuable resources by connecting with others in your field and keeping up a constant presence online. Remember, being authentic still does apply here. It is a good idea to have an assistant do the research and post content for you; however, it may be best to take the time to respond to comments and questions, so you can build those relationships the right way.

Social media can be a tremendous aid in boosting your business, but it’s maybe not a good idea to spend the whole day on it. With the right techniques or by outsourcing this part of your business, you can see amazing results without wasting too much of your time.