Social media suck. They suck time I mean, although one certainly can have an opinion on cat memes, food pics, and “X has become Mayor of Y” statuses, as well. Twitter, Pinterest, Google+—they’re fun and often useful, but also can cost you dearly in your productivity. What starts as a quick check-in easily can turn into hours of wasted time you’ll never get back.
Even those for whom Internet addiction is still a way off can experience stress or guilt for not keeping up with their friends’ statuses (and by friends I mean the 600 acquaintances to whom you’re connected via the Internet) or not having seen the latest viral videos. Then there’s the constant overload of stimuli social media offers that can be hard to resist. You just want to read this blog post that has gotten so many likes, see a YouTube video that’s supposedly hilarious and then you’ll…oh wait, Jon Acuff just pinned some brilliant new Lord of the Rings memes, and another hour’s gone.
That’s why some youth workers have decided to quit social media completely, not wanting to get sucked into this time vortex, which is understandable but not an option for everyone. Many of our students are on social media, making it a logical place for us to meet and connect with them. Also, you can discover tons of great resources, encouragement, support and valuable advice by networking with other youth workers.
The question then isn’t why youth workers would want to be on social media sites, but how they can make social media work for them. Is it possible to have an active social media presence and still get your work done (in so far as it is humanly possible to work through your never-ending to do list anyway!)? Yes, it is; but it requires discipline and the skill to focus on what’s important amid the information overload. This all starts with the question: What do you want to accomplish?
Define a Goal
My husband, who is a research engineer, isn’t active on social media. He has a passive LinkedIn account, is not on Facebook, possesses a passing knowledge of Twitter, and the only medium he likes is YouTube for watching funny or interesting videos. His lack of interest in social media is completely logical: He has no reason to spend time there. None of the goals he wants to accomplish personally or professionally require him to have a social media presence.
How about you? Why are you on social media, and what do you want or expect to accomplish there? Take some time to ponder this question. If you don’t know, if you cannot formulate a clear goal for being active on social media, that begs the question of what you’re doing on Twitter or Facebook.
Let’s look at a few possible goals for using social media:
• Connect with your small group students
• Connect with parents or church/ministry contacts
• Network with other youth workers in your area
• Promote your blog/book/self
• Find tips and ideas for youth ministry
• Share mutual encourage with other youth workers
The more specific you make your goals, the more efficient and effective you can become in using social media, because you’ll have a clear vision of what you’re trying to accomplish. Your social media strategy then will reflect your goals and available time investment accurately.
Your social media goals should be related closely to your youth ministry’s mission statement and vision. If they’re not, either your mission needs an update or your goals do, because you shouldn’t spend time on goals that are not your priority.
When you’ve formulated your goals, do a reality check first: Are social media outlets really the best way to realize them? This may seem to be an easy question, but spend some time thinking about it. Even if you limit the time you spend on social networks, it will still cost you. If there are other means toward achieving your goals that require less time (and provide fewer distractions!), be sure to consider them first.
It’s a realistic possibility that you conclude there are more effective ways of working toward your goals than social media. Good for you! There’s no rule that says youth workers have to be on Facebook or Twitter, no matter how cool others may make it look. By all means, go forth and spend your time on things that actually make a difference in your ministry.
Choose the Right Medium
There are many social media venues, and more are coming on a regular basis. Take Pinterest for example—few people had heard of this digital social pinboard two years ago, and now it’s one of the fastest growing networks (and a great one to find ideas for youth ministry activities by the way).
That doesn’t mean you have to be present on every single social media site; however, you just need to do a little homework to find out which medium works best for you, considering your goals. Two things are important: Is the group you’re trying to reach on this network; and does using the network make sense for you?
The first is logical: You have to choose the medium that the people you want to connect with are using. If your main goal is to connect with your students, your medium of choice probably will be Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram, but make sure to check which your students prefer. Recent statistics indicate YouTube to be the most popular (though this is a tough medium to use effectively for building relationships); Tumblr is drawing big numbers of teens, as well.
Second, whatever medium you choose has to make sense for you to be there. Take Instagram—I’m not on there for the simple reason that I am the proud owner of an old-fashioned cell phone that I use to call and text—nothing else. It’s futile for me to become active on a medium where the main goal is to upload photos taken with your (smart) phone.
Be Efficient, Yet Social
The single best method to prevent social media from becoming a time waster is discipline: Simply limit the time you spend there. How much time can you afford on a daily or weekly basis for social media? If you can spare 30 minutes a day, then set a timer and quit when the time you’ve allotted yourself has passed. Not only has research shown we are way more productive and focused when we have deadlines, but you also will prevent getting sucked into other time wasting endeavors.
Efficiency, meaning maximum productivity with minimal input, is also achieved by knowing all the ins and outs of your chosen social medium. Shortcuts to read others’ updates and post your own statuses can help you manage your activities with as little a time investment as possible.
My favorite time savers include Hootsuite and Tweetdeck, two apps that allow you to read and post from multiple social media sites and that have mobile versions, as well. Another handy app is IFTTT (If This Then That), which automatically triggers actions you can define, for instance automatic retweets of favorited tweets or uploading Instagram pics to your Dropbox account.
Last but not least, there’s Buffer, which helps you post easily on multiple social media and spreads your activity throughout the day. That’s a very social thing to do if you are active for only 30 minutes a day and don’t want to load people’s timelines with several messages, tweets or pictures one right after another.
A second trick for efficiency is to focus on what’s important first and filter the constant stream of information. Groups and lists of must-follow people work very well here. On Twitter, I’ve created several lists that help me focus on those tweets I don’t want to miss—for instance friends, youth workers I know, and people who tweet great stuff. On Facebook, I’ve done the same by designating some people as close friends, meaning I see all their updates and not just the updates Facebook selects for me based on my online use habits.
Efficiency does not mean losing the social aspect of social media. Social means you give more than you receive, that you are generous in reacting to others instead of only asking for attention for your own contributions. Being social is creating value for whomever you’re connected with through encouragement; likes; retweets; (re)posting interesting links, challenging quotes, ideas, funny sayings; etc.
Especially if you are pressed for time, it’s tempting to post your own updates and leave instead of taking time to comment on others’ posts. That’s perfectly acceptable on occasion, but do this too often and you’ll lose credit, which will be hard to win back.
Be Effective, Yet Social
Aside from efficiency, effectiveness is also important. Effectiveness means you are successful in producing a desired or intended result. For instance, connecting with youth workers in your area could mean you spend hours on social media and still not come closer to your goals if you don’t focus on the right actions.
Do those things first that actually help you achieve your goals. If your main goal is to connect with youth workers you’ve met at a conference, read their updates first (which is easy if you make them part of an online group, as I explained above). That way if you have time left, you can read others’ posts, but you’ll already have contributed toward your goal.
Another example: If your aim is to build a platform and get known as a speaker in order to win more speaking engagements, you’ll need to come up with a strategy to help you do so. It’s nice to connect with other youth workers via Twitter for instance, but if they’re from different denominations or are based too far away, it may not be the most effective use of your time.
Try to discover what actions work on the social media of your choice. A little Googling will go a long way toward finding effective methods. It’s proven, for instance, that pictures score better on Facebook than written status updates and that the time you post is of importance for your reach, as well. It will pay off to find the best tactics and strategies, but be warned: Never lose sight of the social aspect. You can be very goal-driven and effective, yet still be social, which is what you want to strive for.
Discipline and Focus
Discipline and focus on what makes a difference in achieving your goals; making social media work for you isn’t rocket science. It requires a deliberate approach, however, and that’s something that may take some getting used to. It’s worth the effort though, because when put in their right place, social media are wonderful. How else could a Dutch youth worker living in Germany connect with, befriend and learn from youth workers all over the world?
