20 Business-Building Alternatives to Trolling Social Media Disengaging from social media can foster a new habit of creative connection.
By Mike Loomis Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Am I the only one who needs some social media detox?
Instead of taking those daily 20-minute excursions, why not invest this time building your business? Our business is rewarded when we focus and create value. And small bursts of creative connection will go a long way.
Related: Grow Your Online Business Without Depending Exclusively on Google
With that in mind, here are 20 business building alternatives which will make a dramatic difference in just 20 days. Print this out and try one when you catch yourself staying too long in the social swampland. Each one only takes 20 minutes.
20 alternatives to time on social media.
- List your top business question in each of these categories: your brand, marketing and sales.
- List three people you'd like to ask for advice. (At least one of them must be local)
- List three questions you'd like to ask them.
- Write one handwritten thank you note to a current/former client.
- Ask your questions to one of those three people you listed in #2. (via email)
- Brainstorm five new tagline ideas.
- Brainstorm three new blog topics.
- Ask three people what they think of your tagline ideas.
- Ask your questions to a local contact you listed in #2. (Invite them for coffee or lunch.)
- Take some new bio photos. (One that fits your brand goals)
- Review your "About" page. Is it telling your story and positioning you correctly?
- Make a list of three publications you'd like to guest-post for.
- List three clients you'd like to land, and the process you'll take to make contact.
- Offer to donate your services/expertise to one person/organization
- Write a rough draft of one of your blogs. (Keep it to 400 words)
- Ask your questions to the third of those three people.
- Buy a book on an area that interests you. (Make it a print book.)
- Update the call-to-action on your email list subscribe button. (And test your "Subscribe" and "Contact" forms to make sure they work!)
- Offer to help promote a colleague's business.
- Submit your blog as a guest post.
Related: This Startup Offers Publicists a Better Alternative to Clogging Journalists' Inboxes
What did I miss?
Can't yet resist the urge to hit Facebook? Your penalty is to leave at least one group. (Seriously. Why are you in 78 groups?)
Related: 3 Content Aggregation Tools for Social Media Marketing
Once you've made progress on these areas, you'll enjoy the feeling, and love the results. Best of all, as the allure of social media fades, you'll enjoy the new habit of creative connection.
