We all know that each of these platforms can be extremely valuable to business. However, many businesses do not allow their employees to use them due to a lack of productivity. For this reason, WebProNews would like to extend a challenge to you to see how long you can go without Facebook, Twitter, and Instant Messaging.

We are, by no means, suggesting that you drop these platforms entirely. Instead, we would like to see if you notice any changes to your personal well-being, your business, and your level of productivity.

For starters, you could try going without the 3 mentioned platforms, or any other technologies that consume vast amounts of your time, for 1-2 hours each day. When you turn everything off for the first time, it will probably seem way too quiet. In addition, you will likely struggle with the urge to share something.

Once these instincts pass, chances are, you will develop a stronger focus. Not only could you dedicate more time and energy toward one project, but you could also generate a greater appreciation for what you do. What’s more, you may find yourself developing new ideas and strategies that could take your business to the next level.

So, are you up for the challenge? How long can you go without Facebook, Twitter, and Instant Messaging? And, are you more productive for doing so?

As she explains, ObjectiveMarketer is a centralized campaign management system that helps businesses operate their marketing efforts across multiple social media channels. It includes a robust analytics program that lets businesses know how their social strategies are performing.

Paul is aware that time and relevance are both critical factors in social media. She says, “If you do not reach your customers with the right content at the right time, you have lost them.”

As a result of this awareness, ObjectiveMarketer allows users to test messages during campaigns, which helps users identify what does and does not work.

To learn more about this tool, visit its site.

For starters, the growing use of sock puppets is one area of concern. In this trend, people post promotions or positive comments about a particular company or brand but do not disclose that they are directly affiliated with it. As a result, the company or brand loses its credibility and trust.

A second trend is the act of forcing people to use all tools and communities in the same way. When this occurs, the tools or the social platforms cannot grow or further develop.

Tune into this video to learn more about what Patrick O’Keefe had to say about these problems as well as tips he gives from his book, Managing Online Forums.

Amanda Watlington presided over one of those sessions and as she explains in this video, told the attendees how to manage their search efforts strategically. Approximately half of all online marketing spending is being used on search. As a result, Amanda says that conferences within the SEO industry are seeing more attendance from C-level executives and entrepreneurs.

Amanda began her session by differentiating between SEO and SEM. SEO is search engine optimization and is a long-term effort. SEM is search engine marketing and usually refers to short-term campaign efforts. Also, SEM is sometimes used in reference to the industry as a whole.

As if executives and managers didn’t have enough on their plate already, the advent of universal/blended search complicated matters even more. Also, since the search industry is expected to grow even in the down economy, it is more important now than ever for executives to understand how to manage their search efforts.

Just as she mentioned in our interview from PubCon South regarding universal search, Amanda says that SEO must be the visibility manager and not a soloist. It requires that companies broaden their online efforts and embrace video, images, news, maps, local, and mobile.

SEO managers must collaborate with videographers, the public relations team, and content creators to ensure that their SEO efforts are achieving the best results. They need to be aware of current trends and make sure they are capitalizing in those areas.

Some businesses are hesitant to incorporate social media into their business structure because of the negativity that could come with it. Lisa says that transparency is part of the game of social media and just like social, it’s not going away. She also points out that businesses simply need to treat their social efforts the same way that they would treat any other business strategy.

After businesses realize their need to utilize social media, the next step is finding where it fits. Social media has to match your own business. What works for one business may not work for yours. Lisa recommends going back to your business plan and looking at your goals and objectives. From there, decide where social is the best fit.

Once you have implemented your social media strategy, don’t get too comfortable because your job is nowhere near over. You have to closely manage your social campaign because there can be a downside to it.

Lisa’s own company got hit with this type of situation when an employee made negative comments about an influential media personality. The business received negative publicity and the employee had to be terminated. According to Lisa, problems such as this one occur because employees not only represent themselves, but also their employer.

Because social is becoming a customary part of the overall business strategy, Lisa encourages employers to take proactive steps and create social media policies so that employees know what their boundaries are. Social media offers too many advantages to not use it, but you do have to remember that it requires diligent management.

David suggests having a routine. Before you write a routine off completely since you travel frequently or have timely projects, understand that sometimes a routine has to be altered or modified and that it is okay. Overall, a routine helps to keep order of the responsibilities.

Because email can be a bear, David recommends putting it at the beginning of your routine. Get rid of spam first, and then answer emails that only require short responses. Keep only the pending emails and refer to them at a later time.

Categories are very important for email. Be efficient when setting them up. If you write news-related items, categories could help you determine what story is time-sensitive and what is not.

Twitter management comes next. David says to look for direct messages first and take care of them. Don’t try to follow everyone because not only would that be impossible, but it would also greatly reduce your productivity level.

So, is social media beneficial or a time waster? It can be both. You obviously want to strive to benefit from your social media efforts. The biggest time issue with social media is finding which sites work best for your content. Once you find that “fit,” the benefits will start pouring in.

Lastly, David introduces us to a concept he has been implementing at SearchRank for the past several months. The idea is to have all work completed by a certain day each month. The time remaining is reserved for internal projects, planning, development, and anything else you need to catch up on. Sounds like a great plan, huh?

Now get back to whatever you were doing because I would hate to prevent your productivity!

Ultimately, everyone’s goal is to make more money. Depending on what you do, that goal could be met by selling more products, obtaining more subscribers to your newsletter, gaining more advertisers, or any number of reasons. The irony of the issue is that in many cases, you could actually exceed your goal if your plan is properly executed.

Todd points out that 99 percent of the time, internal implementation is the problem since marketers do not calculate the time it takes for the IT department to carry out the campaign. If you are using an agency, a pay-per-click campaign is easier to execute because the client is only responsible for their landing page.

Once your campaign is in proper motion, another issue you cannot leave out is the measurement. Todd says, “The only real measure of success is dollars in the bank.”

You are not showing yourself any favors if you go to the trouble of executing a plan and then fail to measure your progress. How will you know if you’re successful and if you’ve met your goals? How will you know what to change next time to make it work better? The bottom line is that you will not know these answers unless you measure.