Social media usage has grown as a result of the COVID-19 crisis with people and companies depending on social media to stay connected during a crisis. Imperfectly Empowering Women, Jenna Kutcher said, “this is not the season to be quiet, this is the season to communicate.”
So… How do you unplug as a Social Media Manager?
When social media management is your source of income, it can be hard to unhook and take #timeout. Whether you’re a team of one or 10, it’s just the nature of the job.
In order to stay creative and protect your mental health, you do need some time away from all the hashtags. “Always-on” can become burn-out very quickly.
4 #timeout Tips for Social Media Managers:
Social Media #TimeOut Tip 1: Commuincate
When you’re just a few days out from your scheduled time out, check-in with the rest of your team or clients and communicate that you’ll be ooo. Set clear boundaries you’ll be offline and confirm the date and time you’ll be back in action.
Social Media #TimeOut Tip 2: Schedule your Content
Schedule all content that needs to go live while you’re away plus two additional days of content on the backend.
This will give you time to manage any last-minute hiccups. If nothing goes wrong, it’s nice to return to work without having to worry about what you’re posting that day. Over the years I’ve made use of many scheduling tools. Here are a few I enjoy working on: Sprout Social, Planoly, and Sprinklr.
Social Media #TimeOut Tip 3:
Find Your Temporary “You”
With your social content all set and scheduled, it’s time to hand over to a team member who will handle any questions or emergencies while you’re out of the office. If you are a team of one, don’t stress – by this point, you’ve already done all of the heavy lifting! Reach out to a final year Communications or Public Relations student, they’ll love the work experience.
While you can schedule posts to automatically publish at your selected date and time, you’ll still need someone to keep an eye on comments, answer DM’s, etc.
Social Media #TimeOut Tip 4: Completely Unplug
It can be challenging to unplug altogether. Be that as it may, the benefit of putting in the extra effort will show, peculiarly if you’ve been feeling stressed or exhausted recently.
Tune off notifications on your phone for apps like Slack or Google Hangouts and sign out of Instagram.
Social media management often demands you to be answerable 24/7. This is precisely why you should take time off when you need it! It’s imperative for your creativity, peace of mind, and health.