Time management is something that most of us struggled with long before social media. As we become more involved in the world of social media and the see the importance of building personal business relationships, managing your time both inside the social media space and outside as a business professional and human being becomes ever more important.

Once a month I host a free teleseminar where I discuss a topic related to social media. This month, I discussed “How to Manage Your Social Media in 30 Min. a Day.” A very important topic for those of us who have too much to do and not enough time to do it. The session went extremely well. If you are interested in listening to the playback of the entire session, you are free to call (712) 432-1085.

Please note that all these tools with the exception of a special feature within SocialOomph which I have noted, are all free of charge. While there are millions of social media management tools out there and will continue to be, here are 6 social media time management tools that have my attention.

1. Tweetdeck. This is my favorite third party application. I can now see Youtube videos, Flickr, in additon to viewing my FaceBook and Twitter accounts. I spend a great deal of time categorizing those that I am following so that I do not miss a tweet from my closest friends while also staying up to date on local happenings. My Tweetdeck is divided into columns including HR Peeps, Oklahoma, and hash tags that like #HRHappyHour or #TRULondon. I can stay up to date on events very quickly engaging others in real time.
2. Ping.fm. An old favorite. This allows me to ping multiple social media accounts and transmit the same data or message. I also have the ability to control which accounts I wish my message to be sent to. Seesmic just recently purchased Ping and I’m eager with anticipation to see how this acquisition will improve both applications.
3. SocialOomph. SocialOomph was formerly TweetLater. I am able to schedule messages on both Twitter and FaceBook Fan pages allowing me to target my message to a specific audience while saving time and stress. This is especially handy when I am promoting an event or making an announcement. The Twitter scheduling feature is free while the FaceBook scheduling costs $29.95 a month and might be a wise investment for someone who is time conscious. Another fantastic new option is an Opt-Out Auto DM feature. You can log on to SocialOomph and opt out of spammy auto DMs like a Do Not Call List for Twitter Spam. (I like it!)
4. Gist. This is a new tool I’ve been playing with. It’s currently in beta and seeks to intergrate and upload all your contacts to one location from Salesforce, Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, and your email. I’m excited to dive into this tool and give it a thorough test drive.
5. Tungle. My friend, Chris Hoyt turned me on to this new tool that allows my friends to view my calendar and schedule meetings. I control the settings and who can view my calendar. It uploads your Outlook contacts and auto updates from Outlook to Tungle as well. So, Tungle me and let’s connect!
6. NutshellMail. Once again another tool that I am just experimenting with. This allows you to receive one email updating you on multiple social media accounts–FaceBook and Twitter saving you the time and stress of clogging up your email box. I see this as a good tool for someone who wants to stay connected but isn’t a power user.

Photo Credit The Studio Blog.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is an author, new mother, and human resources professional with a passion for recruiting and all things social media. She has over 10 years of experience in human resources & recruiting.

Her company, Xceptional HR provides businesses with social media, recruitment, and human resources strategy and consulting. Jessica’s book, Tweet This! Twitter for Business was released January 2010. Follow Jessica on Twitter, LinkedIn, & FaceBook.