A Day in the Life of a Social Media Manager

One of my most frequently asked questions all revolve around one thing – work! Do you have a job? Do you go to an office? Is blogging your full-time job? What do you do? etc. etc. etc. I get it! A day in the life of a social media manager probably just looks like a fancy way to say I spend my day scrolling through social media but it’s actually a lot more than that!

I have to preface this post by saying I never, ever, ever want you to think I’m complaining in this post. I absolutely LOVE what I do. I swear I still cannot believe this is my job and I some days just cry because I’m so happy, in such awe. Still, it is work and some aspects just aren’t as glamorous as others. Today I’m giving you the good, the (kinda) bad and (not so) ugly of a Day in the Life of a Social Media Manager. 

Let’s start at the beginning. Yes, I have a job! I actually own my own company (which is where the pinch-me moment comes in!!). I own a boutique digital marketing agency called Yes, Please Digital. YPD was born about 3 years ago when I was in a weird transition of leaving pharmaceutical sales, loving my blog life but unsure where I was going. I knew I belonged in this crazy digital/social media world but didn’t know exactly how. I took a leap of faith and began working for a local salon doing their social media and working the front desk one day a week.

It was scary. I took a HUGE pay cut and was so lucky to have RJ to help where I fell short. I never took out any loans and lived on the bare minimum for a while. I was making around $1200 a month and still unsure where I was going, what my plan was or what my long term path looked like. About 6 months into doing that, I connected with a national company located in Knoxville, Tennessee. They were looking for a digital and social media manager. I was a pro at social media marketing, so digital marketing should be a breeze right?

I chatted with them and began working with them both remote and on location. This meant me driving in two times a week to meet with their marketing team, oversee projects and be in executive meetings. All while still working the salon front desk and managing their social media.  I still wasn’t sure what I was doing but I figured what did I have to lose. In fact, the first day I went to Knoxville (which is two hours from my house if you’re not familiar) I almost turned around because I thought this was just too crazy. Thank GOD I didn’t.

I don’t want to dwell on my journey too much because I want to share what my day looks like now and this is already getting long! While working in Knoxville, I learned so much and for the most part, it was self-taught. There was so much googling, research, and trial and error. I cannot express how important it is to be curious, go after what you want, and try to figure it out on your own before asking for help! Long story short, I began reaching out to new clients, getting new clients and now work with about ~14 brands throughout the country. Yes, Please Digital was officially born in 2017 and I’m so thankful!

So, now that you know that I do have a job and how I got here, I’m sure you’re still wondering what I actually do. I am going to break down my most common tasks and then give you an overview of what my day to day looks like.

Digital & Social Media Manager Tasks: 

• Plan social media content //this basically means I analyze the brand, market, goals, and trends to create a plan of action for the company’s social and/or digital media marketing. I do this by visiting locations, studying the community, brainstorming ideas, etc. I use a content calendar to schedule and distribute this information to the brands and correspond that all marketing schedules are approved. 
• Social Media Management //This includes active posting on social media accounts, responsive actions like replying to messages, DMs and comments, studying upcoming trends and updates to keep brands current, and more!
• Producing Content // Once I have everything planned, I find and capture the content. This can include styled shoots, working with food and beverage teams to shoot menus, finding content for reposting and getting correct approval, etc. 
• Email Marketing //This can include creating email lists, managing current lists or finding/creating strategies for list creation and then producing and distributing content for the emails. 
• Facebook/Instagram Advertising // Creating campaigns on social media for advertisements with strategically targeted audiences and following up with reports. 
• Blogger/Influencer Coordination // Finding bloggers and influencers for brands to partner with, coordinating contracts, details, and requirements. This part is fun because I get to include so many of my blogger friends I’ve made over the years. 
• Websites // Websites! We build them, we maintain them, we analyze them. This year this has been one of our most requested tasks and we are feeling like website superstars living in WordPress. 

I’m sure there are other things we do, but overall this is the main tasks that YPD can help with. I don’t do all of this every day but I do most of them daily! This is a little bit of what my day as a digital + social media manager looks like:

I try to keep my days grouped together, for example, I like my Mondays to be at my house all day. I do desk work answering emails, reviewing contracts, planning content, editing photos, etc. Every other Friday, I have marketing meetings with one of my clients and spend most of the afternoon with them. I use those Friday mornings to schedule meetings with other clients, visit clients, scout locations, etc. My biggest advice for anyone who works from home is to batch your work together! If you’re interested in hearing more about this, let me know and I can do a whole post.

TYPICAL DAY OF A DIGITAL + SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER:

6 am: wake up, check all social media accounts to make sure nothing crazy happened while I was sleeping. Workout, have coffee, start my day. 

8-10ish am: I usually post for some of my clients during this time. I have what I call the ‘Magic Hour’ that varies from client to client but a bunch of them fall within this time. I do not schedule any of their posts through an app or program, so I spend about 30 minutes actively posting, hashtagging, engaging on relevant accounts, etc. I also use this time to check/answer any emails that need to be taken care in the morning.

Midmorning: If I have meetings I usually try not to schedule them before 10:30. This gives me time to take care of everything I need to do on my phone and not be rushed. If I don’t have meetings, I usually use this time to build email campaigns for customers, find/edit photos, or any other desk work that needs to be done. 

Afternoon: Similar to in the morning, if I’m not meeting clients or on location shooting content, I am doing desk work. 

7:30-9ish: This is another ‘Magic Hour’ for my clients and I usually spend about an hour or so on my phone each night. This is definitely one of the ‘cons’ of my job but it’s definitely not the end of the world.

It’s hard to describe the typical day because everyday looks so different. That’s one reason why I love my job so much. I am a creative person and doing the same thing day after day stifles that. I love having a very loose schedule, interacting with so many amazing brands and people and getting to use my creativity in a fun way. Like I mentioned above, I don’t follow traditional business hours. This is both great and not so great. I’m very lucky to be able to travel often, but I am working the entire time. There’s actually only one trip a year that I truly ‘take off’ and that’s RJ & I’s annual Fall vacation. Like I said, not complaining just telling how it is. I am working on weekends and nights, posting and responding to comments etc. but also feel so lucky to be able to do what I truly love makes up for it a million times over.

There is the generaly gist of my life as a digital + social media manager. What do you think!? Any questions I missed? Drop them below!

Be sure to check out more Behind the Blog posts for similar topics. XO 

| Top (Vintage) | Levi Jeans | Quay Sunnies | Tortoise Heels | Pearl Earrings |

 

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