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Covering a “team of one” social media manager on leave — how did you do it?

  • April 23, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 29 views
briana.rabiola
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I’m a team of one leading social, and I’ll be going on a 12-week leave this summer. We’re currently planning coverage, and it’s becoming clear it’ll likely take 3–4 people to support different parts of the role.

For those of you who’ve been through something similar (either going on leave or covering for someone who did), I’d really appreciate your insight:

• How did you divide responsibilities across multiple people? What worked / didn’t?
• What did the handoff look like? Any must-have docs, templates, or systems?
• What tools, resources, or processes made things smoother?
• Anything you wish you had documented before you left?
• Anything you wish leadership/team understood better about the role before stepping in?
• Biggest surprises or challenges during the coverage period?

I’m especially interested in advice for social teams of one handing things off to non-social specialists.

 

    3 replies

    Max Pete
    Community Manager
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    • Max Pete
    • Community Manager
    • April 24, 2026

    Such a great question ​@briana.rabiola! Tagging some folks here who might be able to share their own experience! 

    ​@lisa.rodrigo, ​@katie.hogan, ​@Nycole, ​@derek.roessler, and ​@alyssa.greve 

    Marketing Manager, Community Programs
      briana.rabiola
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      • briana.rabiola
      • Author
      • Tagged Tendril
      • April 27, 2026

      Such a great question ​@briana.rabiola! Tagging some folks here who might be able to share their own experience! 

      ​@lisa.rodrigo, ​@katie.hogan, ​@Nycole, ​@derek.roessler, and ​@alyssa.greve 

      Appreciate it, ​@Max Pete! :)

        melissa.macgregor
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        ​@briana.rabiola coverage during leave definitely gets creative! 

        During my first maternity leave, we hired a temp. Hiring someone whose sole focus was keeping social running and not just another thing added to the plate was key. She joined us about a month before my leave and actually ended up hiring in a different marketing role once my leave was complete. [We won’t talk about my second maternity leave in 2020 😆 except that my boss realized how much I was doing and a third social hire was pushed up 6 months in the timeline]

        Here’s some top hits:

        PROCESS DOCUMENTS. Start documenting each flow now. I went through my calendar and reviewed my meetings and time blocks. 

        PAID MEDIA. Make sure someone has access to your financials. This is totally separate “role” within Meta Business Manager and TikTok Ads Manager. Even if someone is an admin, they still need access to financials. [see screenshot for Meta]

        ORGANIC. Don’t be afraid to schedule out (or have the team member repost) old content. Reusing your top 20 posts from 2025 (as long as it’s still relevant) is a great way to keep the load lighter during leaves. 

        CAMPAIGNS. If you have a campaign calendar, be sure your requests are documented in advance.

         

        Hope this helps :) 

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