Managing your own social media can become a second full-time job—but it doesn’t have to be that way.
By Jennifer Paulson
Many NRHA Professionals manage their own social media presence. This can be true for a variety of situations, from just starting out so paying a pro isn’t in the budget to that you just enjoy doing it so keep it on your plate. (Or maybe you’re a control freak, but that’s another topic of discussion!) In any case, social media can feel like it’s taking over your life and becoming an unhealthy part of your business.
It’s true: It takes a lot of creative energy, time, and commitment to consistently create content, post it, and monitor it for results. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Here are five tips for time management, streamlining, and setting boundaries to keep your social media marketing manageable with the many other tasks that need attention.
Tip 1: Set a Time
“Setting time boundaries for social media is one of the most challenging aspects of having your job revolve around social,” shares Kate Bradley of Kate B Creative. “I can’t tell you how often work bleeds into after 7 p.m. and through the weekend!”
If you make a set time to work on social media each week, and for the most part leave it at that, you protect the rest of your time for the core of your business, from training horses to giving lessons. The key is to protect this time slot in your schedule and keep it only for working on social media.
Easy tip: Limit your own scrolling time, too. The less time you spend scrolling, the less you’ll resent it when it’s time to create and post your own content.
Tip 2: Know Your Limits
“You don’t have to be on all the social media channels,” advises Megan Arszman, marketing and media consultant. “Pick a couple you enjoy or understand more, become deeply familiar with them, and focus there. Then you can consider adding another channel. Feeling like you need to do all the things on all the channels. That’ll only leave you feeling overwhelmed and cause burnout.”
Tip 3: Try a Scheduler
If you find that the Meta Business Suite doesn’t really meet your needs, a post scheduler such as Hootsuite or Sproutsocial can help you streamline your workload. These programs also offer great reporting tools if you’re interested in analytics and really diving into what’s working in your account.
Tip 4: Stay Up on New Tech
Social media platforms constantly evolve, many times with the intent to try to make your job easier.
“There are so many great resources online that can help you keep up with the everchanging social-media landscape,” Arszman shares. “I like to follow Social Media Examiner and Hootsuite’s blog.”
If you prefer podcasts, later.com had compiled a list of 11 informative social media marketing podcasts you can listen to for insight into each platform.
Tip 5: Stop Running the Hamster Wheel
Your social media strategy, as well as your creative energy and time spent on social, are uniquely yours. Don’t let yourself get on a hamster wheel of endlessly trying to keep up with someone else. Chasing likes and trying to mimic what someone else is doing isn’t true to who you are and will lead to burnout. By setting manageable goals (e.g., posting three times a week or creating one video a week) you have an attainable milestone to reach that won’t cause your energy and time to fizzle.
