A Day in My Life as a Social Media Manager
For a social media manager, not every day looks the same but that’s part of the fun of the job. Here at Social Savvy, we manage the social media accounts for several clients across industries varying from online entrepreneurs (think podcasters and coaches), to photographers, boutiques, beauty brands, and more.
MAKING A SCHEDULE
Depending on what social media platforms you specialize in while determine your day.
My typical day is broken down into the following:
8am
Start my morning by cleaning out my inbox, reading social media trends, and looking over my to do list.
9am
Dive into every account that I manage personally. I’ll check comments, DMs, and make sure all content has been published.
12pm
Lunch break! I typically take an hour to eat lunch, listen to podcasts, or watch video trainings.
1pm
After my break, I dive into creating content that I need to for clients. I typically create content on one day only a week for my business, but I like to clear my head with a break before getting into the content creation process. I’ll write email copy, plan posts, design graphics, etc as needed.
4pm
I check my inbox one final time and respond to any emails that need my attention. I only “check” my inbox twice a day to avoid me getting consumed by it. I do however read the notifications for everything that comes in that way if there is something I need to respond to right away I can.
6pm
I typically end my day around 6pm. As a social media manager, it’s very hard to turn “off” so I keep notifications on in case anything happens and I need to respond to an email, comment, DM, etc. If it can wait, I put it off until the next morning to take care of.
SETTING BOUNDARIES
The one part about being a social media manager is that you have to be accessible. However, when working with clients you also have to set boundaries. When I work with clients, I let them know that they can contact me by email at any time but my “office hours” are 8-6pm EST. If there is something urgent that needs my attention I’ll still answer it because that’s part of the job.
For example, sometimes content can get messed up when publishing it and the formatting can be wrong. Or there could be a typo that needs to be fixed. Typos and mistakes happen, they just need to be addressed ASAP!
STAYING ON TOP OF TRENDS
I start every day reading up on the latest social media trends and news. My favorite sources are Techcrunch, Planoly’s blog, Later’s blog, and Social Media Today’s daily newsletter that gets sent to my inbox every morning.
Social media platforms are always changing, there are new updates and features being added daily and it’s important to stay on top of them for clients. I also check what’s trending on Twitter, in the news, and other current events in the world so content can follow those trends if needed.
As I’m writing this blog, we are in the midst of COVID-19 and in the United States shutdowns and stay at home orders left a few of our clients finding their doors being closed for weeks at a time. Immediately we had to update content to reflect the changes and the pandemic.
THE BEST SKILLS TO HAVE
The best skills a social media manager can have our time management, creativity, and organizational skills.
Additionally, customer service skills are vital especially since a lot of brands are using social media to interact with new customers and nurture current customers.
If you are an aspiring social media manager, or if you are a current social media manager, and you are looking to get clear on a few of your business or marketing processes - check out our community here!
