Career Advice

Hello everyone! I’m hoping to speak at more webinars, conferences, and podcasts in the upcoming year. I usually do about 6 a year, and am hoping to ramp it up a little (I loooooove getting to educate folks on social media).What are your favorites that I should check out?Bonus if you have a contact you’d be willing to set me up with, or if you are the contact!

The discussion is active and ongoing about the pros and cons about social media’s impact on various demographics. There’s so many stories about how to manage time, and energy and focus if you’re a social media end user, but how do you manage as a social media pro? There’s a risk of burnout. work/life balance, device or content fatigue  I feel more stories, tips, and best practices could be shared!I like to device detox from time to time, for set times when I’m “touching grass,” focusing on other hobbies or pursuits. (I try to minimize using smartphones to check accounts at 3AM, but there are times when that’s not so easy). Making time to read a good book or even an audio book forces me to slow down at times, which is grounding.How do you reset and wind down?

I’ve been doing social media management for nearly 15 years now and have worked my way up to a senior digital comms role, but I’m not seeing a clear next step for me. There are so few social media director roles, comms director roles are always too PR focused, and I’m not up for going freelance.What is your next step? How are you preparing for it?

Hi everyone! I am looking to budget for a conference in 2025 around social media, digital marketing, and employee advocacy to expand my knowledge and connect with others in the industry. I work for a B2B company selling environmental engineering services and have been managing our social media for 5 years. I have been to The Social Shake-Up and the Ragan Social Media conferences in the past. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Hi there - I manage a 5 person team that supports our digital customer communities and organic social strategy. We have 60 plus handles plus a digital community. I have an open role - and am thinking that instead of replacing the social media strategist generalist - we actually need someone who is really great at design and video. Does anyone have a JD that supports this type of role? Thanks! Heather P.S. Hiring in Miami if you know of anyone. ,

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One thing we’ve found super helpful is setting up tags for common types of responses while monitoring the inbox. These can be broad, like “Negative - Low” or “Post Response,” or more specific, like tagging different product types our client offers.It’s been a total lifesaver! When a client asks for all comments about a specific topic, we can quickly sort by tag, export the data, and send it over—easy peasy.If you’re looking for ways to stay organized and save time, this is definitely something to think about for the new year!

Freelance social media tends to be an all in one type job (even though it shouldn’t be). So I find myself being an amateur photog, videographer, copywriter etc all to be an expert social media practitioner.  And it seems there are two levels to go about dealing with this, charge more so this can be outsourced to the experts, or be constantly context switch to work with the clients who can’t afford this.  I would love brain cells or other ways to accomplish a balance without having to be all things. Or is this just the nature of the beast? 

So many time I find myself finally getting into a project, only to get a call or Teams message that pulls me away from my work. Hitting the Do Not Disturb button is an absolute life saver when your working on a project with a deadline and need some space to breathe.

This sounds super simple, but something that helps me stay on top of everything is super detailed to do lists. I do this using One Note, but there’s tons of apps (bonus if you can access on your computer and phone, like slack).  This helps me by writing down something I need to remember or something I need to do later, and would otherwise forget. This also helps me start my day as I can quickly remember exactly where I left off and what I need to do next! 

I do social media for our school I keep things simple by just using a simple Excel spread sheet to lay out my ideas for each day of the upcoming months. I like to try to keep 1-2 months ahead with that simple plan and get posts scheduled out as far in advance so when extra requests come up I can have time to deal with them on the fly.

As a social media manager, it can be difficult to avoid doom scrolling on your phone during work. Often times, I visit Instagram or TikTok to post something to a brand account or look for ideas, then I realize an hour has gone by scrolling.My top productivity hack to avoid doom scrolling is batching my tasks that require me to actually be on my phone/social media. I also utilize Sprout’s Smart Inbox for replying to comments/messages so I can avoid being on my phone.Curious if anyone else has tips or ways they avoid being on their phone during work hours (or even after work hours!)

Hey all - I’m Katy and I lead Riskonnect’s (B2B SaaS) Global Social Media program. My best productivity tip is: Schedule time to get specific tasks done on your calendar.  Scheduling a specific time to get work for Social done is so helpful - especially for folks like me who work with global colleagues, that may lean towards scheduling a meeting first thing in the morning (when a social post is set to go out, or to be checked on once live).  This can mean either time-blocking so that you always have time in the day to get work for Social done, or it can mean adding mandatory time into your day for both on and off the clock time. 

I love to "parallel play"—working alongside someone else on Facetime or in person without direct collaboration. It helps keep me off my phone and from doom scrolling. Similar to an accountability partner! Especially since I work remotely, it also feels like I’m working alongside a co-worker even though it’s usually just a friend in a completely different industry.

Here's how it works:Choose a task: Pick one specific task to focus on. Set a timer: Work on that task with intense focus for a set time (e.g., 25 minutes). Take a short break: Step away from your work completely for 5 minutes. Stretch, grab a coffee, or do something non-work related.   Repeat: Continue this cycle throughout your workday.Why it works for me:Improved focus: Knowing I have a limited time to work on a task helps me avoid distractions and stay laser-focused.   Increased energy: The short breaks prevent burnout and keep my energy levels up throughout the day. Reduced procrastination: Breaking down tasks into smaller chunks makes them feel less daunting and easier to start.   Enhanced creativity: Stepping away from my work allows my

Use automation tools to save time, especially since they can help a pro to focus more on their creative side and leaving the hashtag creations, data analytics, and other important but time-consuming tasks to the right kinds of tools

This sounds super simple, but something that helps me stay on top of everything is super detailed to do lists. I do this using One Note, but there’s tons of apps (bonus if you can access on your computer and phone, like slack).  This helps me by writing down something I need to remember or something I need to do later, and would otherwise forget. This also helps me start my day as I can quickly remember exactly where I left off and what I need to do next! 

My favorite hack for being more productive is using a pomodoro timer. As someone who can be easily distracted, working in social media can be especially challenging (anyone ever suddenly scrolling through a page about starting a hobby farm when you started out doing market research? lol).I like to use an app called Be Focused. It lets you create your to-do list for the day and to set how long you want your working sessions and breaks to be. I like to do 25 minutes of work, followed by a 3 minute break, 3x. On the third round, I get a longer 10 minute break. My rule is no phone during the short breaks, only during the long one!This process has helped me be so much more productive and focused over the past year!

Making your bed in the morning goes beyond just shuffling around your sheets to make things look a little less messy. It may be a small task, but it sets the tone for having a productive day. This action encourages you to tackle other items throughout the day and helps start the day with a sense of accomplishment and order 😀