Exactly what a social media manager does
Meet Rach and Kristy, our social gurus
It's not all pretty pictures and long lunches for the ‘gram, we follow our social gurus Rach and Kristy to see exactly what they get up to. Spoiler alert: expect strategy, planning and execution with a side of hustle.
9am Clock on! Via the coffee machine for Rach, not Kristy, she’s not a coffee drinker (still blows our minds!).
9:05am Morning checklist, in detail:
Check client emails for any content or strategy updates that will need to be actioned during the day.
Check Slack team chat for updates on client workflow.
Check Slack messages from clients. We use Slack to share briefs, ask questions and give updates on campaign progress directly with clients. These messages are usually from clients who have been sent content to review (we work 2 - 4 weeks in advance, depending on the client), or clients sending through updated briefs.
Check our team Instagram group for any inspo updates anyone has sent through overnight. We’re always on the lookout for new ideas. Even when we should be sleeping.
10am Team meeting! We all come together to flag any urgent updates and talk through topline plans for the day. Rach and Kristy brief Indi, our graphic designer, on any content required for the day. This is also when Sammi gives an update on any major client info that’s in the pipeline. Exciting stuff. Today, we’re reviewing client hashtags and running through some data on several accounts. We really focus on our own account’s data and the KPI’s we’d set for it. We’ve been testing some boosting and advertising campaigns which have provided us with interesting insights that we discuss. We use these testing campaigns as a base for how we go about client work and create to-do lists for the day.
10:30am Start working through the to-do lists!
First up, accounts that need content written and graphics created so they can be flicked off to the client for approval.
11am Team sing-along to our favourite new track playing through the office speakers. We work out of The Loft’s coworking space so there is plenty happening around us. There’s always some occasion that we all get involved in, even if it’s just one big group chinwag about the latest Netflix obsession, or some crazy situation Sammi has got herself in.
11:05am Back to work. It’s time to schedule all approved work, posting and resharing tagged Story content, engaging on client’s accounts, gathering any user-generated content that could be used in upcoming posts and checking for any communication that might need to be handed on to the client’s customer service team.
12pm Today Kristy needs content for The Loft and Double Tap’s social media accounts, so she's convinced Rach to be the subject of a few shots. It’s a rare day when Sammi isn’t wearing a tracksuit, so she’s in some too. Wanting a little more personalisation on The Loft’s account, she sweet talks some of the other epic humans who work there to let her take some individual shots to feature on the account and promote their businesses.
1pm Lunch time! Fair to say a lot of the chat in this office is around food, all of us enjoy a good feed! On sunny days we head outside, but on busy or rainy days, like today, you'll find the team plugging away at their desk while they eat. People think Instagramming is easy, but doing it well is time consuming. These aren’t personal accounts full of cat memes and selfies! For each client account we gather content, plan content flow, brief-in graphic designs, write captions. So on any one day the girls may only get to two or three clients, meaning every second of the day counts. This is why we work 2-4 weeks in advance. That way no client is left without content and we can avoid too tight turnarounds. We’ve found this time allowance means we can produce the best, most engaging and effective content for our client’s accounts.
4pm Check back in with Slack to see if any clients have returned approvals on the morning’s approval requests, and action them.
5pm KNOCK OFF TIME! Most days we try to round it out at 5pm, but during Summer the team has the option to get in early and leave early. That way they can enjoy an afternoon at the beach, with their kids, family and friends or just spend solo for some relaxation. As we said, today’s a wet one, so 5pm and we’re out.
6pm-8pm A lot of our client’s content goes out during this time, and depending on what it is, it might need manual uploading, so Rach and Kristy login and get posting. Depending on the clients, there might be campaigns going live that require the team to be on standby or watched to check it all runs smoothly. Scheduling apps can only do so much, somethings still require a human touch. Technology has a habit of failing right when you need it to work - queue disconnected product feeds and failed posts - so we like to keep our eyes peeled in case this occurs.
Then finally, winddown and wine!