There is no denying that social media is a valuable tool to use in your marketing activities. However, the key to success for business owners is sensibly planning the time they spend on social media.

You will need to consider the types of social networks you will be using, what might be advertised, and how often to post. The pace of activities on social media prevents excessive market saturation.

Keeping content up to date can also be a challenge. Ask yourself: Is there a way to run a fundraiser for a good cause? Is your office willing to collect items for the food bank? Maybe you’ve decided to set up recycling bins for items like batteries and light bulbs and returnable drink containers that your customers can use, too. Or maybe your office can host a contest. Perhaps your workplace has had some improvements or a new mural was painted in the building. Maybe you can make a project happen with your contacts. Maybe you can post an announcement of upcoming sales or discounts.

Social media offers a great opportunity for your business to celebrate causes, fundraisers, and community events that you are a part of. It’s a great way to support those you associate with, as you can also celebrate their successes and contributions to the world. And of course, you can use it to invite networking opportunities to have conversations with your contacts. In addition to this, supporting community and charitable events tells your staff, vendors, and customers that you care about making a difference.

Very often you come up with an idea for a social media campaign or a topic you’d like to cover, but you don’t have time to follow it up yet. Write that idea down so you can come back to it later. This way you don’t miss any opportunity.

Before you rush in with random posts, it’s important to decide how you plan to build excitement about each event and what you expect as a result.

Here’s another tip: Have a couple of handouts on your desk with social media ads that you and your staff have created during brainstorming sessions. It will keep your social media effort well organized and easy to post during peak hours of the day.

So what are the best times of the day to post? That really depends on who you’re targeting: their age, their interests, etc. For businesses, the best days to post on Facebook are Thursdays and Fridays between 11 am and 1 pm (Pacific). 11am will get more shares, while closer to 1pm you will get more likes and link clicks. For Twitter, posting between 11 am and 1 pm, during lunch hours, is the best time. However, on weekends it shows 30% more activity on Twitter. Due to typical business activities throughout the week, the best days to post on LinkedIn are Tuesdays and Thursdays. The best time frames to schedule LinkedIn posts are between 5 and 6:30 am and 3 and 5 pm (Pacific Time). If you’re using Google+, scheduled posts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, between 7 and 9 am, are the most effective.

No matter what time frame you’ve decided to work with, and no matter how many social media outlets you want to try, being on social media is rewarding. If you’re in a lot of different outlets and find the idea of ​​managing them all within an overwhelming time frame, there are a couple of options for you. Assign a staff member (or pay your child) to do this for you. Alternatively, set alarms on your cell phone to remind you to post on specific days. When you’re really busy, there are numerous online services that let you schedule posts for auto-publishing well in advance.

How you use social media will vary depending on the medium (Instagram, etc.) and the type of product, service, or campaign you’re currently working on, and the type of person you’re trying to reach. Consider what time your target audience is online, how old they are, what they are doing when online, how long they are online, and when they are most interested or curious. Perhaps a customer survey can help you determine this.

By doing these suggested activities, you will notice that you spend less time on social media and your activities are much more effective. For more business advice, check out Brummets’ book: Purple Snowflake Marketing, which provides valuable business advice for any service, product, or book she writes.