Why Social Media Activity Makes You More Productive

There was an article published recently by Inc. which looked at a study to determine how social media activity affected workplace performance. The study looked at 100,000 responses from call-center employees. The final results of this study revealed that those employees who were active members on 5 or more social media sites were the most efficient at work.

The Inc. article didn’t attempt to discuss why these people were more efficient and other studies performed in other environments may very well produce different results. The more I thought about it though, the more I could see the reasoning behind these results.

Here are the reasons why I think these so-called “social network butterflies” are more productive:

Multi-Taskers

If you can manage 5 or more social media sites, you can certainly multi-task. You remember different conversations with different people on different platforms. You’re also probably pretty efficient at uploading and posting as quickly as possible. You’ve learned short cuts and tricks to make it easier to do more things in less time. All of these skills are directly translated into efficient work habits.

Social People

If you’re actively engaging on 5 or more social media sites, I highly doubt you’re a hermit. Chances are you are an outgoing and social person who genuinely enjoys engaging with others in conversation. You’re not one to hang up the phone (or log off the computer) until you’ve finished your conversation. Especially in terms of the call center study, this social interaction likely plays a key role in workplace success. When you’re engaging those around you and being friendly, your chances of closing deals and impressing supervisors is greatly increased.

Over Achievers

Let’s face it, the average person uses 1-2 social media sites actively. If you’re using 5 or more, you’re probably an over achiever. You don’t settle for average. You want to be the first to know new things, the first to share new information, you like to verify and research new claims, and ensure that you have all your bases covered. If you’re this much of an achiever in your personal engagement on social media, I would be willing to bet that you’re also going to go above and beyond your normal job description duties at work.

So, if you find yourself using multiple social media sites on a regular basis, congratulations! You’re probably also doing very well in your workplace. If you aren’t using multiple social media sites, that’s ok too. You probably just harness your workplace skills in a different context.

Can you think of any other reasons that using multiple social media sites would make you more efficient at work? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!