Happy New Year! How's 2017 going for you??
Those new years resolutions faded off the radar yet? Mine faltered a bit today (Day 19 of the Whole30) but I'm hanging in there!
Was one of your resolutions around social media and mobile or laptop use? Perhaps in cutting down on aimless news feed scrolling? Mine was - though NOT going well so far.
I thought I would do some research to share with you around how you can get the most out of your social media usage.
You may think, “I’m not addicted, I can quit anytime!” Well if you have more Facebook friends than real friends, something must be done. If you spend more time on Twitter than in sunlight, it’s time for change. If you spend more time working on your LinkedIn profile than doing actual work, it’s time for an intervention. No excuses, this is not OK.
Here is what a study from the Daily Mail back in June 2016 tells us:
- A top 10% touch smartphones 5,427 times a day - 2 million times a year
- More than half of users check phone between midnight and 5 AM
- People have average 76 sessions with their phone - power users have 132
- Facebook is the most touched App, while Google has the most sessions
Did you know that the average person these days picks up their phone up to 85 times a day - half the time not even realising they are doing it? I would hate to have my own counted!
Here are some tips around lessening mindless scrolling:
- Delete the apps off your phone
- Stop procrastinating - allow yourself scrolling time, once a job is done
- Prioritise - Do you really need to be changing your profile photo, editing a photo of cow number 220 or stalking 'old friends'?
- Don't follow businesses or friends you don't actually want to hear from. The 'unfollow' tool can be used on both.
- Tidy up the Facebook groups you belong to. Remove yourself and unfollow some
- Get another hobby for your hands. Knit, garden, bake, sew, build, draw.
- Call someone instead of messaging!!
- Keep a dairy to consciously track the amount of times you pick up your phone or log into Facebook or Instagram - brace yourself.
So now that you are using social media mindfully, let's look at some technology that will streamline it further.
Zooooom
Essentially, Zoom is a video conference tool.
The reason I use it is to record the meeting I am having.
Downloading the Zoom app takes no time. From here you can schedule a meeting. One of the things I love is that it default opens up my gmail account once I set a meeting time and date and creates an event straight into my calendar. From there I type in the email address of people I want to invite and the programme sends them an email with the time, date and a link they need to click on to connect. They also have the open to call in by phone.
Really simple, really fast and with more and more people working from home these days, and in the future. This would be a great way to hold team meetings.
Once you are in the video call, simply pushing record then pausing or stopping as you go will automatically create a file once the call has ended that you then convert and it downloads as a video and video file.
Zoom is also a great way to hold a webinar. Do note though that any features past simple video calling, do have a fee attached - but not an unreasonable one. Find out more here.
Did you notice on your timeline when Facebook told you about the Supermoon?
What about when it asked you to check in that you were safe when the North Canterbury quake hit?
Facebook is becoming smarter by the week and adding functions to stay relevant all the time. With the Facebook demographic aging they need to be constantly thinking about how to attract and keep the 13 year olds.
I'll be sure to keep you up with new releases and clever functions across each social media channel all year long. Feel free to tag me in anything you would personally like to see featured too! Multiple eyes are better than one!
Chanelle O’Sullivan is Grass Roots Media's Social Media Specialist. She originally studied agriculture, before moving south onto a Station, followed by a stint dairy farming. After three years vet nursing, she is now a Mum to two kids and creator of Farming Mums NZ and ‘Just a Farmers Wife’ while also working part-time for the NZ Landcare Trust and Grass Roots Media.
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