With social media sites booming it’s hard to keep track, let alone keep up with posting! It’s easy to get lost when you sit down and log in. Who is tweeting what, who is commenting on your status, who is tagging you in pictures…and what the heck? A POKE? Okay…this is just getting to be too much!

Don’t give up yet! Social media may be overwhelming at first but once you get a system down, it will be to your benefit. Insurance internet marketing is a great tactic to show your business to the world…the whole wide internet world! The key: simplicity. Here are a few ways to de- clutter your social media-driven life:

#1: Tackle one site at a time. If you are new to social media, you most certainly should not sign up on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google+ ALL in one day. In order to effectively use each social media website, you must get to know it! So start small—tackle Twitter first. Read and watch tutorials and figure out what things are. How do you RT and what the heck is a hash tag? These are the little things that are going to help you! After you get the hang of one site, go onto the next. It’s important to know the functions of each site you use or else it will all seem like a jumbled mess and clients will see your disorganization.

#2: Or tackle them all on one screen. After mastering the first tip, you are officially social-media savvy. But NOW you have about a zillion windows open on your laptop and start to lose track of which site you post on and whose talking to you on which screen. Have no fear! Applications such as Seismic, HootSuite, and Tweetdeck are there to organize all of your accounts in one (yes ONE) window! Free to download, these applications allow you to send out mass posts to all of your social media accounts at the same time. Everything all of a sudden seems a lot more manageable huh?

#3: Limit your time. It’s very easy to become a social media addict. You could be reading through someone’s blog and then something catches your eye from there and you start looking at photos and then you are looking at someone’s page who you think you may know and this is exactly how you waste time. You need time for yourself and time to live your life away from your social sites. Set time slots. Maybe you want to go on for an hour in the morning and then another hour at lunch and maybe before you settle home for the night. Whatever your plan, make sure you do not live on the internet.

#4: Take breaks. You may be one of the lucky people whose job is literally to work on social media sites all day. If this is the case, it’s important to take breaks! Get up and walk around for a few minutes, grab a snack, have a drink or just look away from the screen. Walking around or eating will not only rejuvenate you, but will free your mind. So when you go to sit back down, you will feel productive all over again.

#5: Make it fun. Don’t just use these sites for strictly business. Sure, you will mostly be dealing with clients and other companies but feel free to have fun! It doesn’t hurt to throw up an interesting quote or funny status in the mix of the blog and business links. The more fun you have, the less of a chore it will be to work on your social media marketing.

It’s time to grab hold of social media and take control of it. Following these few tips are sure to reduce your stress and allow you to embrace these social sites. You are well on your way to being a social media rock star!