Do you remember when you were in elementary school and they taught you the order of operations to do math? I am still amazed how wonderful little memorization techniques like this still stick in our old brains. (“Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” for those of you that are coming up blank stands for: parenthesis, exponentials, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.) Well, today I, Amanda Vega, was asked if there was an order of operations in social media. Giving it some thought, I came up with the following based on what I personally do on a daily basis.

Never Ever Forget To Chat Loyally

N = news: The first thing you should do in the morning is consume some news. Whether you watch TV while getting ready, or breeze through a printed newspaper, you can only become a better conversationalist (and more interesting person overall) if you know something about the current world around you. Intake some news, even if it’s just a clip or two from your favorite celebrity gossip site.

E = email: Let’s face it, you have to read your email. In your email, you are beginning your social interaction for the day. You are actively communicating in a two way format. Remember that news you read? Well, go ahead and shoot a note to an editor or producer to round that out for the day. (This will be easy for those of us that have RSS sent to email with some topics we actively participate in.) Your email likely contains some interesting newsletters, updates, and the like that give you fodder for the day, even if it’s generating a casual “OMG my day is looking horrible” tweet.

F = facebook (or social network of choice:) It’s wise to check in on Facebook in the AM in order to send some “happy birthday” love to your friends and those you want to build a deeper connection with. It’s also a good way to see what’s going on in other people’s lives (especially those in earlier time zones) so you can interact in an authentic way and build deeper connections.

T = twitter: It’s a good idea to do a quick check on Twitter in the morning to see what is going on in your circle of influence. A “good morning” isn’t necessary, but just so you know, in some European countries they find it rude not to bid your followers and good morning and goodnight. This will also give you a quick glance of any trending topics and may just give you some good fodder to share when you return your morning calls, etc.

C = comment marketing: This is the part of social media that most miss. (And the part that companies tend to pay us to manage for them.) Set up RSS feeds, or pick some favorite sites (news, blogs, thought leaders, etc.) and actually participate in the conversation. Leave your comments. Don’t steal the thunder of the author. And be social. If you have something to say, speak up.

L = linkedIn: I think it’s a good idea to check in (at some point during the day) at least once on LinkedIn. You should pay attention to any updates from those in your network, answer some questions (without pushing your wares too heavily,) and see if you maybe have a new connection to chat with.

So there you go. Not an exact science (or math,) but a good way to manage what seems to be a deluge of social interaction required on top of phone calls, blogposts, and text messages. Oh, and don’t forget: you also use your location based services (Gowalla, 4Square) and tweet on the fly all day long when you are stuck in a line, stuck in traffic, or stuck listening to something that is boring…Best of luck!

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