I've previously shared my Ridiculously Efficient social media workflow, but until now, I haven't discussed how I use social media for content production. It's easy to get sucked into social media for hours on end, but doing so costs me money and free time, so efficiency is key.
Social Media for News Discovery
I mainly use Twitter for news discovery because it essentially blends an RSS reader with a news ticker. I follow my favorite blogs, pundits and tastemakers on Twitter and isolate my favorites in a Twitter list. This way, if I miss their most-recent updates in my main feed, I can quickly scan the list for articles to read.
I've been testing the waters with Google+ and Facebook, but for me, Twitter is the simplest to use and easiest to scan when it comes to high-volume news consumption. Your mileage may vary.
Social Media Workflow: From Twitter Feed to Blog Post
While scanning my Twitter feed, I open all compelling posts with links in new browser tabs. I'll then go tab by tab and scan each article, making one of three choices: 86, Timely or Instapaper.
These choices determine whether an article is read and discarded, scheduled as a Timely tweet, or saved for later in Instapaper as inspiration or research for a blog post. I keep my Instapaper feed as clear as possible; in fact, it gets cleared out entirely a couple times a week.
Do you use social media for content production? If so, how does your workflow differ from mine?
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