If you work in social marketing like I do, you may have had to juggle the demands of managing your community and your home. Over the holidays, I gave myself a week and a half break from technology which included me shutting myself away from social media (for the most part) during that break. I removed my social apps from my phone and all notifications. But, how was I able to disengage from social media and enjoy my holiday with the family if I manage the face of the company? And how can I keep that balance on a daily basis without going insane? This is how...
- Plan Ahead
About a week before my vacation, I started strategically planning what I wanted to do. I used SproutSocial or Hootsuite to schedule my posts during the break making sure I didn't post too much. I also use an old trusty Content Calendar just so I can easily see what type of content I am posting Remember, it was the holiday so traffic on social media (B2B) would be historically lower. During this time, I repurposed content from our website to keep us top of mind.
- Turn Off Notifications
As a Community Manager, or social marketing profession, you most likely will have to, or want to, keep your social networks on your phone for easy access. That's all fine and dandy, but to keep that balance, turn the notifications off. Not every tweet or Facebook post needs your immediate attention, so you don't need to immediately need to see it until you check your networks. I remember last year there was a major company event that happened and waking up for a week with over 50 Twitter notifications in the morning. That instantly started my day off more stressful than normal.
- Time Management
One of the biggest things when it comes to Social Media Management is time management. It's really easy to get lost in conversations on Twitter or the Facebook Newsfeed, but it's even harder to limit it. One of the things that I do is add in my calendar the times when I will be creating content, the times when I will be approving content, and the times I will be posting. This way, I know nothing will get missed and I will not spend my day on things that are not important.
- The 72-Hour Rule
This is something that I started doing in 2014. Every quarter, I do a 72-hour social detox. This includes from my laptop, and the social media on my phone. For an entire weekend, or whatever three days you see fit, just remove yourself from your electronics. I know it will be hard, but once you get past the first few hours or day, it will be easier and that much more refreshing. Also, one of good things about it is I become more creative.
- Set The Standard
One of the biggest things you can do is start on the right foot and let your team know how you intent on managing social media. If the expectation is not to be available 24-7, then let them know. If you have certain hours of the day you plan to work on social media, let your team know. If you are going to be on vacation and will not be available for social media, let your team know.
All of these things together can give you that amazing work-life balance that is so great with Social Media Managers... which is one of the reasons I love my job so much.