If you're a busy marketing executive and social media is also on your plate some days it's just not possible to carve out a 1-2 hour niche to really engage in the process. So we've developed some tips that work to make sure you stay in the loop while not spending a lot of time.

#1. (2 Minutes) Pre-write your weekly updates. Yes this takes longer on the front end but on these days when you don't have time to source new information and develop a witty comment for your page, having a pre-written list to go to is a big time saver and it only takes about an hour in advance to do; 1-2 minutes to use the day of.

#2. (3 Minutes) Take advantage of the many social media services that do the work for you. Using Google alerts to track who is talking about your brand and hootsuite.com to monitor who is tweeting about you. These indispensable tools put the research you would have spent 15-20 minutes doing all in one spot so you can scan through in under 3 minutes, react if necessary or save for later to add to your analytics tracking.

#3.  (1 Minute) Approve friend requests. Never let requests sit unanswered for more than 1-2 days. A speedy reaction when people want to access your page's information and dialogue is very important so make sure you take the time to click "confirm" on any new friend requests. It should only take a minute.

#4.  (2 Minutes) Centralize your searches with Google Reader. If your company is putting out new industry specific information then you are probably reading what your competitors are writing too. Monitor those blogs and social media pages with a reader so you don't miss something. Unless you find a fire to put out after reviewing these, this should only take 2 minutes.

#5.  (2 Minutes) Respond to your user comments. If someone takes the time to engage with your posts and comment it's critical to comment back. Ignoring users lessens your presence to them and discourages them from making repeat visits. If you only have a few; this should be a 2 minute process also.

On those hectic days when tweeting is at the bottom of the list, completing just these 5 simple tasks can help you maintain your social media edge.