Exercise, Social Media, and Failed New Year’s Resolutions

I’m not much for “working out”. My past is littered with a trail of exercise bikes, treadmills, and other workout paraphernalia that were purchased in well-meaning moments of, “I’m gonna get in shape,” only to be abandoned within weeks and sold to friends espousing similar well-meaning moments. I’ve never been good at sticking to that sort of regimen, though I do walk around two miles every morning thanks to my dog.

Now that we’ve hit mid-January, it’s just about the time that many of us begin to falter on our New Year Resolutions. Of course many of those resolutions revolve around something related to health: lose weight, exercise, etc.

We begin as if we’re training for the Olympics, all gung-ho, and then one day you wake up…you’re a bit tired and sore…and you realize it’s cold outside. The last thing you want to do is get out from a warm bed, bundle up, and head out into the frigid weather. So you rationalize and say you’ll make up for it the next day.

Yeah, we’ve all been there in one way or another, and sadly it’s how many of us approach our Social Media presence online. We are all fired-up because, darn it, we’re gonna have a Facebook page, and Twitter, and a blog! And we’re gonna do it right!

But we need to remember, there is no finish line. Once you start, there is no stop. If you commit, you need to follow through. If you start, then stop, you might as well not have started at all.

Here are a few steps you can take to make sure that you follow through with your new found “commitment” to Social Media. (And this is just a broad brush stroke list; each of these could be broken up into much more detail).

1) Think carefully through your plans

2) Weigh your available resources (time, money, manpower)

3) Weigh your own level of commitment

4) Ask someone else to appraise steps 1 through 3 and be honest with you

5) Set realistic goals

6) Sit on them on a few days and think again

7) And then, and only then, get started.

I speak to a lot of groups, and invariably the question comes up, “If I create a Facebook page, how often do I have to update?” There’s no easy answer for this, and certainly no formula. If you are monitoring the page and responding to your “fans”, you’ll just know; you’ll fall into a pattern. But as a guide, I tell them that they are only as good as their last update. I tell them that at minimum they should post at least one type of update each day, but ideally, perhaps 3 or 4 spaced throughout the day. And the moment I say that, I invariably get this question: “So what you’re saying is that I need to hire someone to do this for me full-time, right?”

Wrong.

I’m not sure how several updates and frequent monitoring translates to a full-time job, but for many it seems daunting. Trust me, it is very manageable, and if you make the commitment, the learning curve is fast. It will become a part of your regular routine. Don’t think of it as a nuisance or extra task; think of it as being just as crucial as any other task you take on during the day, from responding to e-mails to waiting on customers.

Take it slow and pace yourself. It’s not a sprint. But commit to being present and active every day. I promise it won’t kill you. It might even make your business healthier!

Tagged as: facebook, New Year, New Year's resolution, Physical exercise, Social Media, Twitter