ROCKVILLE, Md.—Social media is a thing to share and be shared. It is acceptable to share content you create, or content which you find brings value to your audience.

Sharing adds value on many levels. It draws people to your efforts and causes them, in many cases, to connect with you. It helps define who you are and what subjects are of interest to you, which shapes some of how Google decides to elevate you when people search for the topics you are involved in on social media.

Many people who would consider using social media to market their businesses shy away because of the notion that this type of sharing takes too much time and effort.

Social media management tools can help. I've started to use Buffer. It's a social media sharing tool that simplifies efforts, allowing you to grow your social media efforts with minimal effort.

Buffer makes your life easier with a smarter way to schedule the great content you find. With Buffer, you connect to blogs and social media sites that publish the content you are interested in sharing and the dashboard "collects" the article titles and links. When you select the content you want to share, Buffer automatically posts them for you across your social media sites throughout the day. If you want to keep an active, vibrant social media presence, keep your buffer full of selected links and buffer will spread the sharing around throughout the day.

Buffer also offers other features such as custom scheduling or multiple accounts, so you can share business and personal info separately. It also features detailed analytics so you can see the effect your sharing is having on your efforts.

I use Buffer every week. Usually on Sunday or Monday night, I select a handful of articles, and Buffer shares them throughout the week. Here is an example of something I shared on my practice Facebook page (shown at top of article), my Twitter and LinkedIn using Buffer.

 
 

 

Alan Glazier, OD, FAAO is founder of Shady Grove Eye and Vision Care, located in the Rockville, MD suburbs of Washington, DC. Dr. Glazier is a frequent lecturer and author on eye care marketing and clinical topics. The founder of ODs on Facebook, the industries most engaged social media group, Glazier is also a VM/ROB Optometric Business Innovator and VM D.A.R.E. award winner. He is co-founder of the virtual conferences SEEingIsBelieving and CEingIsBelieving and founder of Eyegregator.com, a free industry dashboard connecting users to the major eye care websites, blogs and social media sites they might want to visit from one bookmarkable homepage. Connect with Dr. Glazier on Facebook, on Twitter @EyeInfo or by email at aglazier@youreyesite.com.