If you work in social media and you’re anything like me, the ever-changing world of social media platforms can make you want to lay on the ground, blast some Zach Bryan in your air pods, and have a good, uninterrupted cry. (When will Mark Zuckerberg stop making useless Meta updates that don’t work? The world may never know.) Additionally, if you’re still hanging in here with me, you also feel guilty at the first sign of burnout and stress because let’s face it- you freaking love your job and you feel lucky to have it. (We’re all friends here, let’s be honest; you couldn’t catch me dead working in a job where I can’t be creative and have fun. I’d be the worst accountant ever.)
In recent years, social media platforms have become the go-to place for businesses to reach their target audiences. As a result, social media jobs have become some of the most demanding marketing jobs in the industry. Social media managers are responsible for creating and executing social media strategies, managing multiple social media accounts, analyzing data, and staying up-to-date with the latest trends. With social media platforms constantly evolving, social media managers must be adaptable and able to pivot quickly. These jobs often require long hours and the ability to work under pressure, making them some of the most challenging but rewarding marketing jobs available. This job keeps us on our toes, makes it hard to turn off our brains at night, and can truthfully make it difficult to put our phones down and relax.
So if your social media job is sucking the life out of you, I completely get it and I’ve been there. (Maybe one day I’ll share the story, but I’m going to leave you on a cliffhanger until then.)
Here are five tips that I use in my own, real life outside of the internet to find a consistent balance between life and work:
Top 5 Tips To Keep Your Social Media Job From Sucking The Life Out of You
1. Take Quittin’ Time Seriously
If you noticed the Zach Bryan song title in this tip, bonus points for you. Seriously though, if you work in Corporate America take 5:00 just as seriously as you do 8:00. If you set your own schedule and you work remotely, set a time for yourself to clock out and actually do it. I know that every once in a while there’s a trend that pops up in the afternoons that you want to jump on and that’s okay every once in a while, but you truly need to prioritize your on the clock and off the clock hours. Pro tip: turn off your notifications for all your work-related apps when you’re off the clock so that you aren’t getting Slack notifications at all hours of the night.
2. Do NOT Work on PTO days
You know the memes that circle around where a social media manager is manually scheduling stories on their wedding day, or they’re out in the ocean on a float scheduling posts? Don’t be that person. Surely your company can rely on one other person to do manual stories for one whole week while you perfect your tan and binge listen to true crime podcasts. This time away from work is your chance to relax, refresh, and enjoy life. Life is too short for you to be working on vacation!
3. Go Outside
Getting outside is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Go on a hike, climb a tree, full send it on the rope swing at the lake. You owe it to yourself to get outside and enjoy the world around you. The American Psychological Association states that nature can act as a balm for our busy brains and that interacting with nature has cognitive benefits surrounding mental health and stress reduction. After a long day of resizing graphics for Instagram, navigating Meta updates, and begging your coworkers to make TikToks with you- you owe it to yourself to put your face in the sun, look at a squirrel, or touch a tree. (Whatever floats your boat.)
4. Find Some Social Media Manager Besties
Get on LinkedIn or Instagram and find yourself some social media managing besties, or if you live in a place where you can go to in-person networking events start there! It makes all the difference when you have a network of friends who truly understand the same frustrations that you’re experiencing. For example, when I was working with a company earlier this year doing their social media marketing, I ended up finding someone on LinkedIn who had the same name as me (Cheers to my fellow Hannahs out there!) and she was doing social media marketing in the exact same industry as me.
I still to this day have never met her in person, but our LinkedIn messages were lit, and it was so nice to be able to send a message to someone who could directly relate to what I was doing each day. Also, I’ll be your social media manager bestie if you want to connect with me here on LinkedIn.
5. Treat Yo Self
If you don’t know this reference or if you just want to refresh yourself on one of the best Parks and Rec Episodes of all time.
Tom and Donna are the best at reminding us that it’s okay to treat yo self. It’s okay to take a day here and there to prioritize yourself, in fact, it’s definitely healthy. (Self care girlies unite.) All jobs have their own levels of stress, but as a social media manager it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and like you have to work 22 hours every single day. Our job is unique in the fact that it follows us everywhere. An accountant can leave all their really hard to understand documents in the office when they go home, but a social media manager has notifications from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, Google (I’m running out of metaphorical, internet breath here) popping up on their phones at all hours of the day.
Look here friend, at the end of the day it’s up to us to make sure we’re putting up healthy boundaries in our work lives so that we can go enjoy our real, non-internet lives out in the real world with nature and squirrels and what not. It’s important to set these boundaries, but it’s also important to look for jobs where your boss respects your boundaries and wants you to live your best life. To say I’m blessed here at Cube Creative Design is an understatement because I’m surrounded by a team of people who prioritize me enjoying life and not keeping me enslaved to a computer or phone 24/7.
So with all that to say, I’m definitely writing this on company time and not my own time (Tip #1 in action baby) so please excuse my shameless plug: If your company is looking to up their social media game and reach their target audience through organic social media or even targeted paid ads we’d love to help.
As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of the digital era, one thing remains certain: the pervasive impact of social media. Its ability to bridge distances, fuel trends, and reshape our culture is undeniable.
So, whether you're a small business striving to establish your presence or a marketer aiming to treat yo self, take a step back, and enjoy life a bit more, remember that behind every statistic lies an opportunity, and behind every trend lies the potential for growth.
If you're ready to harness the full potential of social media for your business, let's connect and explore how these insights can be translated into tailored strategies that propel your brand to brand new heights. Contact me today, and together, we'll embark on a journey of social media success that's as unique as your business itself.
