Setting Boundaries As a Social Media Manager

How to set boundaries on the job to reduce burnout and fatigue

Social media fatigue and burnout has become a reality for many locals. Especially social media managers and operational professionals within our industry. Working in social media can be an exciting and challenging job, it also requires one person to manage a lot of responsibilities. Social media managers create content, handle customer services on the platforms, analyze data, schedule content and maintain the brand’s image all on a daily basis.

All of these factors plus the need to meet goals can lead to burnout, however, there are a few practices social media managers and other digital professionals can do to reduce the stress of the job.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Establish Working Hours

Social media managers that freelance have to be strict about their working hours and make that clear to their clients. That time will vary from person to person, however, it is important to organize and stick to the times that are dedicated to work and leisure.

However, this also goes for social media managers that work for companies that have set working hours. It is important to organize your time efficiently and be realistic about the responsibilities that take longer to complete.

For example, setting aside an hour per day solely dedicated to replying to the company’s DMs.

2. Use Scheduling Tools

Scheduling tools are an amazing way for social media managers to organize their time and content in an effective manner. However, they also help social media managers spend less time on social media as they can do all the backend work on these platforms and solely use the apps for inspiration or to verify that the content looks appealing. These apps help social media managers with their overall time management on the job.

3. Curate Your Feed

Saying you will not use Instagram anymore is not a very realistic approach. Instead, you should create healthy boundaries with the app. This includes limited time but it also means controlling the type of content that enters your feed. For example, social media managers should have a separate page dedicated to researching competitors and finding inspiration. Their personal page can then be where they can catch up on friends, follow content they enjoy and not see anything related to work.

4. Set Procedures in Place

Putting certain procedures and policies in place can save you a lot of time on the job. It will also establish a certain level of consistency. For example,

- Having a standard response time for customers and letting them know when they can expect a reply when they write to the page

- A response protocol for various types of negative comments

- Or a general response protocol sheet for common FAQs that the page receives.

Procedures like this help reduce stress when things come up and can save time when dealing with these issues in the future.

5. Replace Social Media with Other Activities

Using social media less is not the only factor that should be put in place. That time should be replaced with something you enjoy doing. Whether it’s hobbies like gardening, colouring or joining groups. It is vital that you fill your time with activities outside your job that bring you joy.

For many people during COVID-19, their jobs became their main activity, however, that isn’t a sustainable way to live. It is important to find other activities that bring value to your life in some way or form.

Do you work in social media? How do you find ways to set boundaries between you and the job?

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