Social media managers wear many hats. Combine the many tasks a social media manager has with juggling multiple clients, whether as a freelancer or while working for an agency, it becomes imperative for any social media manager to take charge of their daily work schedule to increase productivity.
After all, how easy is it to go down the rabbit hole?
In this article, find seven ways social media managers like you can increase productivity.
Reasons To Increase Productivity
Even increasing your productivity just a little bit can yield huge results for the bottomline of your business or employment status.
If you increase productivity, you could
- take on more clients
- make more money
- work less
Do any of the above results of increased productivity sound desirable?
I bet they do!
So let's get to the point.
How do social media managers do it; how do social media managers increase productivity?
Ways Social Media Managers Increase Productivity
1) Drink Coffee
The following may sound funny!
However, as reported in our Social Media Managers Facebook group, social media managers often rely on caffeine to get them through the day.
Social media managers report that caffeine gets them moving when they are tired, stressed and pushed to work long hours.
The easiest way to consume caffeine?
Coffee and lots of it.
Did you know caffeine can boost mental focus and alertness?
We aren't saying you've got to become a coffee-junkie in order to do your job as a social media manager, but the occasional cup of Joe could give you the boost needed to finish a difficult task.
2) Carve Out Time To Find New Clients
What is that saying about the cobbler's children?
The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes
The idea is that someone with a specific skill is often too busy assisting others to the point that their own affairs go unattended.
In social media management that translates to marketers forgetting to market themselves!
To increase productivity, each week carve out time to spend on your own marketing. You could attend a local networking event, write a blog post for your website, reach out to industry peers, interview people for a Facebook Live show, produce a Podcast, write a newsletter to keep building your email list, learn a new skill to add to your resume and more.
Your productivity will go up if you schedule this time by adding it to your calendar as an “appointment with yourself”.
Doing it this way will guarantee that time is carved out each week.
Productivity will go up as a result, as you will be razor-focused on this task.
3) Use Organizational Tools
How much time do you spend recreating processes, procedures and explaining strategy to clients, interns and team members?
Instead, use tools so you do not have to ‘reinvent the wheel'!
Use tools to
- record meetings (Zoom)
- write up procedures (Google Doc)
- stay on task (Basecamp)
- manage projects (Slack)
We've written several articles on task management and tools.
Getting organized is quite possibly the most important piece of the puzzle to increasing productivity!
4) Set Up Routines
This includes
- daily routines
- weekly routines
- monthly tasks
For example, when asked about routines, several social media managers shared that they do not set meetings on Mondays. That is their ‘office time' to create and schedule content for the week. Others schedule one day each week for live videos, or client visits, video editing or content creation.
Whichever way you prefer to do it, do use a calendar and set up routines that work for you.
5) Batch Content Creation
Setting up a studio to create a video takes time. The same goes for driving to meet up with a client to create a video. Why not shoot several videos all at once – that will cut down on production time (and cost)!
Batching also works for tasks like these:
- keyword research
- writing ad copy
- creating quote graphics
- video editing
- and more!
Creating a workflow for recurring tasks and batching them, is a great way to become more productive.
6) Turn Off All Notifications
How many notifications does it take to distract a social media manager?
That sounds like the beginning of a good joke, doesn't it?
The answer is; only one. One notification is all it takes.
One ‘chime', one red notification on your phone, one retweet, one text message …and your concentration is gone.
Learn to turn off both mobile and desktop notifications for when you need to concentrate on a task, like replying to emails, writing an article or meeting with a client!
This goes back to setting a routine; check your notifications every hour on the hour, or 3 times per day, or every time you complete something on your to-do list. Whatever routine works for you great, but do not let notifications dictate how your day plays out or your productivity!
Take control of your time: turn off all distractions to get stuff done!
7) Schedule Time Off
Last but not least, no one can do a job well without time off.
As a social media manager, it can feel as if we are ‘on' 24/7 and that is just… wrong!
Instead, do all or some of the following:
- Schedule time off on weekends and evenings
- Use the ‘do not disturb' function on your phone and turn off notifications
- Take vacations
- Outsource recurrent tasks to free up time
- Go on a digital detox every so often
Social Media Manager; Work Hard and Smart!
We don't advocate giving up working hard, but working smart(er) is always a good idea.
How do you increase productivity?
Do you use a calendar to manage your time?
Have you used tools to stay on task?
We'd love to know how you do it; leave us a comment.
I am a Certified Social Media Manager, Strategist, International Keynote Speaker, Organic Specialist and Agile marketer! Blogging is my creative outlet. Running, hiking and skiing are how I recharge. You'll recognize me on stage and online by my always present orange glasses, a nod to my Dutch heritage.
