Via Flickr
Via Flickr

Using social media can lead to a love/hate relationship.

We love social media for its ability to connect us with others with like minds and interests.

We hate social media when its allure mesmerizes us into wasting time better used for something else.

Time spent on social media can be made more efficient through the use of shortcuts, or keyboard shortcuts, or as some call them hot keys. Whatever their name, they can increase your efficiency while you try to make the most of your social media connections.

The first step in using these magical shortcuts is finding out what they are for each social media outlet or software you’re using.

Yesterday I spent some time researching these little secrets, and although some of you may have found them already, there are those of us who may be a bit behind the curve or who need a refresher.

Let’s start with social media shortcuts:

The following infographic was created by Quintly, a professional social media analytics service. This infographic includes only Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+ shortcuts, so I will follow the infographic with links for social media outlets.

Via Quintly
Via Quintly

Following are links to shortcuts for the social media outlets listed:

If you know of other social media keyboard shortcuts, please mention them in the comments below so others can benefit from using them.

Now a quick look at other keyboard shortcuts that will make using your computer more efficient:

Once again, if you know of other software keyboard shortcuts, please mention them in the comments below so others can benefit from using them.

Without experience using Apple’s Mac systems, I did not delve into researching keyboard shortcuts for social media or software.

Hoping this information will help you cut down the time you spend on social media, offering you an opportunity to spend more time writing.