Ever been driving and suddenly realize that you have no idea how you got there? No recollection of the last 10 minutes?

That usually happens when your muscle memory has taken over, driving you to the office, your children’s school, or some other route that you take all the time.  Then, something breaks the spell, like a bicycle crossing your path or another car honking (hopefully not with a three-finger salute included).

This same type of lulling can happen to your social media strategy.  A tweet here, a blog post there, pumped out during your second cup of coffee is not going to cut the muster in the long term.  It’s going to soak up precious time that you don’t have and might lead to a crash if you’re not careful.

Bust out different muscles

I walk five miles almost every morning.  Sounds pretty good, right?  But I can’t even keep my “Spin Gym” going for 5 minutes!  Leg muscles – check.  Arm muscles – missing in action.  That’s why I’ve decided to try a mini-triathlon.  It’ll kick all kinds of different muscles into gear.  You can do the same thing with social media…

5 key ideas to slap you upside the head and break your social media rut

  1. Introduce a new voice; invite someone else from the team to contribute. If you’re the one constantly cranking out the corporate blog posts, try letting someone else take the wheel one week.
  2. Test out a new social tool, preferably one your customers use.  Have you ever looked at Quora?
  3. Create a different type of content.  If you always do Facebook updates, try making a video.  If you always do podcasting, write an in-depth blog post.
  4. Have you ever aspired to reach out to a particular influencer in your niche? You know, the one you think is too Internet-famous to approach? Maybe your 5 minute mentor? Stop screwing around, take a risk and do it. Today. Now. Stop reading and do it.
  5. Take it offline.  Find someone that you can eyeball or phone call today and make a personal connection. Exercise your face-to-face muscle.

Doing something different generates interest.  It might shake your readers up and get their attention. It might even inspire you to stretch your creativity muscles. Who knows what new ideas you might come up with!

What repetitive or non-productive social junk are you doing every day like a zombie?  Does this get your creative juices flowing to try something new? Tell us what you’ve decided to try today.