Tired yet? The challenges of social media fatigue

Are you getting tired? Tired of managing what seems like hundreds of different social media sites. Running out of motivation to engage and interact online on a daily basis? Has tweeting now become more work than fun? Is updating your Facebook status a chore? When’s the last time you logged in to LinkedIn or checked in via Foursquare? Was your initial reaction to Google+ something like “Wait, another one?”

You’re not alone

These feelings are very normal. In fact, there’s a name for it. Social networking fatigue is what you’re experiencing. This is the very common feeling of being overwhelmed by the vast number of social media sites out there today and the notion that we must consistently update and interact with each one on a daily basis.

Ever at a loss of what to share on social networking sites? You feel this fatigue when you become tired of having to think up even more content for yet another social media platform. Maybe the fatigue comes from the sense that you’re doing all this work, but not seeing any real results or not receiving the interaction you’re looking for.

Studies actually back the concept of social media fatigue. Gartner research has found that users who were among the first and early adopters of the social media have started to experience fatigue and are therefore visiting the social networking sites less often.

Is it relevant?

These social networking sites give us the opportunity to share something interesting and meaningful, but staying active on these sites is difficult. Look back on your recent tweets, Facebook status updates, blog posts. Do you find this material interesting and relevant? If you don’t, chances are others won’t either. If you find yourself posting just for the sake of posting, you may be experiencing this fatigue.

Combat the fatigue

Find ways to integrate all of your social media platforms on to one tool. Using Hootsuite is one way to do this. And, even if you were like me and initially neutral about its launch, Google+ could potentially make communicating online even easier. In fact, Google doesn’t call this a social networking site and instead is trying to dub Google+ a “social sharing” site. Google+ combines multiple features such as email and chat services, news feed and social networking (which includes video conferencing) so that things are all in one place. This consolidation may be able to help combat social networking fatigue.

It’s also important to keep track of where your time is being spent. Setting up a routine is something that may not sound like fun, but could be a way to fight fatigue. Set appointments with your social networking sites. Set aside two hours (or however long) in the morning for blogging, scheduling tweets and updating LinkedIn/Facebook/Google+. Later, pick a part of the day where you can cut loose and catch up on things. Pop into each network for five to 10 minutes to survey activity and reply to what you need to. If nothing needs your attention, don’t waste your time. Shut it down and move on to the next one. Getting into the habit of tracking your time on social media sites takes persistence before you see results.

Overcome the overload

Whether it’s because of overload or boredom, let’s face it: It’s sometimes challenging to create, respond to and track content over multiple social media platforms. Social media is, of course a powerful communication tool for personal and business reasons, but it is not something that has to control your every action and thought. Push yourself to be relevant on these sites and try to remind yourself why these tools were initially fun and exciting.

I think I’ll combat my fatigue by taking a nap!

Jodi Osmond recently graduated summa cum laude from UW-Milwaukee with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and media communication and certification in digital arts and culture. As a social media and community engagement intern at Allée, she is eager to continue growing professionally while embracing her passion for public relations and social media.