ADITLO: Social Media Manager // Finding balance in our job

There is so much happening in the digital world daily and a question that gets asked the most is, how do you manage and find balance in your day?

Well, I would say the key is to get organised and find your daily routine.

A daily routine for a social media manager can get seriously busy, especially when working with a landscape that is constantly changing and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon. That’s the excitement of working in this industry; It calls for the ability to adapt and be on the ball.

So what does it actually mean to be a social media manager?

The role of a social media manager is constantly evolving and requires the resilient to evolve and adapt with the changes. You are both on the front line as well as getting all the ducks in a row on the back end and are the driving force to create connections – connection between the brand and the audience and vice versa, making sure the audience is also heard.

Here is a list of tasks that a social media manager may have to do during the day:

• Customer service
• PR
• Curate & create content for social media
• Write blogs
• Take & edit photos
• Source UGC
• Design graphics (banners, memes, etc.)
• Follow news and trends
• Influencer engagement
• Create presentations
• Weekly reports
• Content marketing
• Build campaigns
• Promote content
• Account management

Is there really a formula to successfully tackle the role of a social media manager?

There are key tasks involved for all social media managers but the truth is, we are also individuals of which we should embrace and what works for some, may not work for all. The important thing is to find your own groove in getting things done.

Here’s a little insight into how I find balance in my day and make the most of the day as a social media manager. Can you use this template for your own tasks?

Morning:

• 6:30am : Wake up and immediately drink a full glass of water to kick start the day.
• 7:00am : Make myself a cup of lemon water & check what’s happening in the world with the news from national to international.
• 7:30am : 30-minute exercise & 15 minute meditation before a shower
• 8:45am : I like to put on some music to get the day going and write an action list for the day to get organised.
• 9:00am : Make a Kalita pour over coffee & some breakfast (usually avocado or scrambled eggs on toast)
• 9:30am : Check & respond emails and voicemail messages
• 10:00am : Connect with clients to see how they are getting on.
• 10:30am : Check in on all social media platforms.
• 11:00am : Connect with the community and see what’s been happening. It’s so important to stay connected and present.
• 11:15am : Have another coffee and get set up for some creative writing as words seem to flow more fluidly before lunchtime.

Afternoon:

• 1:00pm : Time to refuel with a nice lunch & a stroll to come back refreshed.

• 1:30pm : Coming back from lunch, I like to have a look at analytics to help with creating new content
• 2:00pm : Read & learn. Doing some research really helps me to think about what content can be useful and shared to the audience.
• 3:00pm : Create & schedule content across all platforms. It really helps to have scheduling programs to manage your time. Here are a few:
  • Twitter – TweetDeck
  • Instagram – Sked Social, Planoly
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn – Hootsuite
• 4:00pm : Respond to emails
• 5:00pm : Check all upcoming content has been scheduled and approved.
• 5:15pm : Spend a moment to source high quality visual content for inspiration &/or for future content.

Evening:

• 5:30pm : Go for a run or a walk (let’s be honest, some days there is just not enough energy left for a run but a nice long walk will definitely do the trick)
• 6:00pm : Dinner
• 7:00pm : Get creative. I like to get hands on with some creative crafting to get those creative juices flowing.
• 8:30pm : Check in and see what’s happening in the world.
• 9:00pm : Relax and watch TV
• 10:00pm : Sleep, repeat!

Here is Buffer’s Brian Peters sharing his tips and tricks as a Digital Marketing and Social Media Manager.

Want to read more? Check out our ADILTO from 2018.