This has happened to everyone. You’re at Costco (I can see you nodding in agreement already) and you convinced yourself before you walked in the door that you were there to get blueberries – and nothing else! You don’t need a cart, because you’re just getting that one thing, and you can move through the store so much faster without a cart. Right?

But then you pass by the clothing. You realize they have some really nice golf shirts for you and your significant other that you need for the following weekend. Obviously the sight of the batteries reminds you that a couple of the Wii remotes are dead, so you pick up some of those. By the time you add a double pack of bagels, some smoked Gouda, and a 4,800 pack of toilet paper to the pile, there is NO WAY you are carrying those blueberries out by your own strength.

We all often feel this way with our jobs – like we’re balancing everything possible (in bulk, nonetheless), and if one more thing is added it’s ALL going down.  When we talk with clients and potential clients, we often hear that social media is like the blueberries that are going to make carrying that load impossible. So how do you do it all? And how do you make social media (super fruit!) fit into your marketing plan?

The most important initial step is to evaluate what you are currently carrying, in order to determine what you can get rid of. The toilet paper is probably important, but do you need the bagels? They’re just white sugar that will sit like a pool floatie around your midsection. It’s easy to get into autopilot – to just keep doing what you’ve been doing forever because it’s what you know and it appears to be working okay. This analysis can be a little uncomfortable, but so is carrying around too many groceries.

It’s true that social media requires an investment of time and resources. But there are far too many people who are being deterred by this. It’s a matter of prioritization. And if you believe that you need social media in your marketing plan, you need to find something to get rid of in order to make it fit. Whether it means cutting back on time spent doing print ads, cold calls, or press releases, ask yourself if you believe that social media can make your marketing dollars more effective, and then act on it.

And if this step turns out to be just too hard (you’ve been dreaming of a toasted bagel all day), there is help. Jibe can be your shopping cart to carry the load – to tote around what you just don’t have the ability to carry yourself.