It’s Community Manager Appreciation Day! 👏👏👏 If you were thinking of buying yourself something nice to commemorate the day, I’m sorry to say that it’s too late to purchase Twitter’s bird statue. It recently sold at auction for $100,000, according to the BBC. In fact, quite a few other items have also been sold from Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, including a 6-foot tall planter in the shape of the “@” symbol. Oh well. It’s probably just best to just treat yourself to something from TikTok.
In today’s newsletter:
Four life hacks for social media managers
Get ready to start using Meta’s Account Center
TikTok turns up the heat (for some influencers and brands)
And social media managers get “main-character” vibes
SOCIAL MEDIA LIFE HACKS
In honour of Community Manager Appreciation Day, I thought I would pass along a few hacks I’ve learned after more than a decade of social media management. Here we go!
1/4 Find a supportive community
When you work in social media, you’ll likely be a team of one — or part of a very small team. Many organizations are starting to invest a bit more in social media, but that level of investment isn't where it should be just yet. So you may feel a bit isolated and alone.
I highly recommend finding a community of colleagues and mentors, either online and/or in person. Here are some fun accounts and groups you might want to check out:
Marketing Twitter - Business Casual Addition (LinkedIn Group started by Christina Garnett, who is also a good person to follow
Social Media Geekout (Facebook Group)
2/4 Educate others on what you do
I once had a higher up call Twitter “mindless finger pecking,” which I guess made me a “mindless finger pecker?” Anyway, I’m over it (mostly). But honestly, because you are probably the only person in the organization who does what you do, it will be hard for others to understand. The closest thing they have to compare it to is personal use, which is basically just for personal entertainment, which is far from the strategic, analytic and customer service elements of your role.
This is your chance to educate them on the importance of social media to the organization. One of the best ways to do this is to create and present monthly metrics reports to your managers and team members. Those reports should include two types of metrics:
The metrics that show how your social media efforts are supporting the goals of the organization, and
The metrics your managers find valuable (they don't always align and are part of the education process)
3/4 Find people you trust to learn from
Social media has only been around for a few decades (Facebook turns 19 on Feb. 4th). The platforms continue to evolve and grow, and are constantly launching new features as they battle for dominance and try to keep up with trends. Content creation and tools also evolve. And now we're seeing more laws and regulations. That means you’re always learning something new, and staying up to date.
Here are some of the experts I learn from:
Savannah Sanchez (TikTok Ads Expert)
Ann Handley (Marketing Expert)
Jenn’s Trends (Instagram Expert)
Rachel Pederson (TikTok and Social Media Expert)
Alexa Heinrich (Social Media Accessibility Expert)
4/4 Everyone needs a break
Early in my career, I really wanted to prove myself as a social media manager, so I never really logged off. I answered questions and replied to tweets at all hours. And was happy to post content when on holidays. I also let higher ups tell me I couldn’t have more resources, even in the midst of a public relations crisis that lasted 1.5 years. And I completely burnt out.
The thing is that most of us work in social media because we love what we do. So, we are willing to push ourselves and work a bit harder. But here’s the thing — nothing is going to fall apart if you don’t answer right away, or you take the weekend off to recharge. Set boundaries with your bosses, and your audience, and take care of yourself:
Never schedule content outside of your office hours so you don’t have to worry about looking at that content. And turn on auto replies for messages whenever possible. Note: Instagram has just launched Quiet Mode’ that will send an auto-reply when someone DMs you.
If your manager wants you to add another social media platform to your already-full posting schedule and isn’t ready to invest additional resources, educate them on the resource requirements of a platform (for example, the BBC is hiring four journalists to focus on building their TikTok account)
Most importantly, find things outside of social media that bring you joy. Engaging in hobbies you love will leave you refreshed for managing the online world.
And managers, it is your responsibility to understand the stresses of social media management. You don’t want to find out that your social media managers feel like this and are ready to leave.
What other advice/resources do you have for social media managers?
SOCIAL SNACKS
1/2 Thanks a bundle, Meta
Get ready to start using a new “Accounts Center” where you can choose to bundle your Facebook, Instagram and Messenger accounts. You can find the Accounts Center in the “Settings” for all three apps. “Things like Personal details, Passwords and security, and Ad preferences will now live in a centralized place, so it’ll be easier for people who use multiple apps to manage their settings,” Meta said in a recent blog post. However, you can still keep your accounts separate if you want to. This update will gradually roll out to all users in the coming months.
2/2 TikTok turns up the heat (for certain influencers and brands)
If you’re wondering why some TikTok videos end up on the For You Page and you can’t really understand why, it might be because of a practice at TikTok called “heating.” Basically, TikTok and ByteDance employees can choose to push a button to give a certain video extra visibility, according to Forbes. For the rest of us small fish, here is what TikTok says will make a video go viral.
ICYMI
Instagram launches ‘Quiet Mode’ [Instagram Blog]
Twitter’s Elon Musk teases ‘higher priced’ Twitter Blue subscription with no ads [The Verge]
Meta’s Oversight Board says Facebook and Instagram should update nude photo rules [NY Times]
YouTube will provide more context on policy violations with two coming updates [Social Media Today]
MAIN CHARACTER VIBES
I’ve always been more comfortable behind the scenes, so I found this article about a new social media manager trend really interesting.
“Social Media Managers Are Becoming the Main Character. Is That a Good Thing?” by Rachel Karten talks about brands — such as the luggage company Away — that are now inviting social media managers to step out from behind their accounts and be featured in videos and content. Basically, social media managers are no longer faceless, and in some cases are becoming the personality of a brand.
Visibility, clout, and just the fun of being invited to participate in this type of content are all pros in my opinion.
As for the question of whether this is a good thing, the articles list a few issues. Here are a few of my concerns: (some of which are also mentioned in the Substack)
If something goes wrong with the brand, social media managers will be personally asked to answer for the mistake. It’s already pretty stressful to manage a crisis behind the scenes; I can’t imagine having to personally answer for something that a brand did wrong
Social media managers are always better off building their own personal profiles, as the pay would theoretically be better when dealing directly with brands on sponsored deals; a workplace might just consider this part of the job
And social media managers already suffer from being branded as “only” social media managers. This will only make it harder to move away from this role if you choose to do so in the future.
What are your thoughts?
Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day! ❤️