As a business owner, you probably already know that social media marketing is essential to growing your online presence. But here’s the thing. Just like any other activity, you have to be smart about your social media. You need a system. Otherwise, you could easily find yourself wasting time and money, both of which are probably at a premium. To make the most out of your efforts and ensure that your time and budget are optimized, here are a few expert tips.

Put it on the calendar.

First and foremost, you want to set aside dedicated time for your social media activities. The goal is to get into a routine so that you don’t end up either putting it off or spending too much of your precious time. Figure out what works best for you, whether it’s a half hour each morning, an hour every other day, or whatever. Then pencil it into your calendar and stick with it.

Use a scheduling tool.

The beauty of today’s technology is that you don’t have to sit down and schedule every single social media post manually. In fact, there are multiple tools that enable you to schedule out your content in advance to be published at a date and time of your choosing. Take advantage of this modern convenience to save yourself time and energy. Some of our favorite scheduling tools include Buffer, Hootsuite and DrumUp.

Republish.

One of the downsides to social media is that content only appears in front of your audience for a brief period of time, if at all. As such, it can be wise to share the same piece of content more than once. Be strategic about it, though. Change up the days and times that you are publishing. Modify the title of the blog or message you are sharing. This will add variety and also expand your visibility. And since you’re not constantly creating new pieces of content, you’ll save time.

Leverage curation.

Content curation is another great strategy for getting your material in front of a larger audience without much extra effort on your part. Simply choose a content curation site, like BizSugar or ScoopIt, and then share content that is relevant for your brand. That content will then be syndicated and shared with the site’s much larger audience, saving you time and increasing your reach.

Measure results and pivot as needed.

Most of the major social platforms offer detailed analytics that will help you determine what’s working and what isn’t. Set aside time to regularly track your progress accordingly. Figure out what you’d like to accomplish with your social media activities (i.e. more traffic to your site, higher engagement, more likes, etc.) and then start measuring results. Replicate the things that are producing and ditch the activities that don’t. This will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run.

Finally, if you’re really finding that social media is too much for you to handle or it’s eating up too much of your precious time, consider delegating it to an employee or outsourcing it altogether. Remember, there isn’t a magic formula for being successful at social media. As long as you’re making an effort and are strategic about it, you should see positive results over time.