Social media is an industry that never shuts off. It is constantly changing and evolving, even at 2 am on Saturday morning. A position in social media can sometimes be overwhelming. During the holiday season, everyone’s stress level goes up. but in this business you have to always be on top of things.
November and December are some of the busiest times of the year in social media considering all of the holiday content marketing that is done. According to America’s National Retail Federation, holiday sales in 2012 represented 19.3% of total industry retails sales. 54% of shoppers use social media while shopping and 65% of shoppers use social media to find gifts. These shoppers are looking for digital coupons, holiday contests, holiday sales, product reviews and more, which means that your social media campaign must be ramped up into overdrive!
Here are some simple things you can do as a social media manager each day to prevent burning out over the holidays:
- Working through lunch might seem like a good way to get ahead, but this is a great time to step away from the monitor and recharge your batteries. Go outside and get some fresh air or enjoy a new restaurant. Time away from your work can give you a new perspective on a project you are working on.
- One of the healthiest ways to relieve stress and prevent burnout is a great workout. An hour in the gym will make you focus on something other than work. Your health is just as important as your career, so schedule a gym session like you would a meeting. And don’t be late or cancel!
- The most important word in social media is ‘social’ so don’t forget to have at least one account that you use for your personal life. Have fun with it! If you make social media all about work, it will become unenjoyable and will affect your work. Follow some light-hearted social media profiles.
- It’s a fact that social media never sleeps, but you need to sleep. Every day, schedule a time where you unplug from work at night and stick to it.
- Another big hurdle is to not feel guilty about stepping away from social media. It doesn’t help if you stop working only to stress about not working.
- Use tools like Sprout Social or HootSuite to schedule posts. That way, you know going into the day you have content going out so you can focus on other tasks.
- Having a clear plan each week and sticking to it will help you focus on your immediate tasks. It will also keep you from spending time bouncing around each social media platform without a goal.’
Following these simple steps will allow you to continue enjoying work and the holidays. There is nothing wrong with being passionate about you do, but you need to know when to separate from work, especially within the social media industry. What have you done to bounce back from social media burnout? Tweet at me @Cbyron11.
