PROS and CONS of Social Media Management
Last week, my grandmother [fondly known to many as Memere] asked me, "what is it that you do exactly?" to which I replied, "what is it that you think I do?" As you can imagine, we had a good laugh at her explanation, and while she wasn't that far off, it occurred to me that this happens to me often. People say, "so, how's your business going?" when they obviously have no idea what I do. It's my observation that unless you're in marketing/tech or were born after 1985, you likely don't understand the full scope of what a social media manager does.
So what does a social media manager do? I obviously just play on social media all day. Just kidding. Fun fact: posting on social media is where I spend the least amount of time. The most straightforward way I've found to describe my job is "to promote my clients' businesses/brands on social media to help them achieve their goals." Some of the more tangible steps I take to get there are:
Develop a content strategy
Curate a content calendar
Design graphics in various sizes
Edit video footage
Craft on-brand captions
Research hashtags
Analyze post performance
.. and more things they never taught you how to do in school.
I doubt this will come as a surprise to anyone, but I never dreamed of becoming a social media manager when I was a little kid.
Ask little Malgirl what she wanted to be when she grew up and she would have told you that she would be a veterinarian or lawyer.. It turns out I'm allergic to most animals and memorizing history books weren't for me. I'll save my full employment history for another time, but somewhere between working on Broadway and this very moment, I fell into social media management and eventually decided to open my own social media marketing agency, Mallory K Social.
I love social media management and the life it allows me to live today. I went from:
working 6-7 days per week
living paycheck to paycheck
looking for ways to bring in additional income
and rarely seeing my family
to
creating my own schedule
controlling how much money people pay me
working with as many or as few clients as I want to
never missing an important moment with my family
As you can see, it truly changed the trajectory of my life, and it allows me to create and live a life that I love. For example, I am writing this blog post on a flight from New York City to New Orleans on a trip that my boyfriend and I planned less than two weeks ago. More on that later. Social media management allows me the freedom, flexibility, and finances to do exponentially more than any other job I've ever had.
Now, if you're thinking, "Wow, that sounds good. Sign me up!" I will say, like any career, there are pros and cons to social media management, but - if you're looking to create anything like the life I described above - the pros will hopefully outweigh the cons.
PRO: Create your own schedule.
Do you like to sleep in or work into the wee hours of the night?
Do you wish you didn't miss after-school activities with your little ones?
Are you looking for a side hustle that you can do any hour of the day?
This is perhaps my favorite benefit of being a social media manager. Social media management allows you to create content for your clients on your own time and schedule it to go out in advance. Work, play, and rest when you want. Live YOUR life on YOUR terms.
PRO: Work with brands that align with YOUR values.
Have you ever worked for a company that does something you feel is icky? Like, icky enough that you don't want to work there anymore, but you're not sure you want to find another job. Social media management allows you to find clients and brands that are doing things that interest you or align with your values. You have the opportunity to positively impact the world by putting their mission and messaging on blast, and - like your schedule - you have free reign to work with whom you want. Never work with someone that makes you feel icky again.
PRO: Work from anywhere in the world.
Social media management is remote, so you can work from anywhere in the world.
Do you want to be a digital nomad and travel the globe?
Are you a mom juggling drop-offs and extracurriculars and desire flexibility to work from your car or the dance studio?
Are you trying to build an additional income stream and need something you can do from the lunch room at the office?
As long as you don't offer in-person services [like brand photography, for example], your clients don't need to know where you are. I really am writing this blog post from the sky, and some of my clients don't even know! As long as you have a stable internet connection, you can work from anywhere.
PRO: Create unlimited earning potential.
Let's face it - many people across all industries are underpaid and aren't receiving fair compensation for what they're doing in the workplace - especially since the great resignation. Businesses are understaffed, so their workers take on more responsibilities and are not compensated fairly. This leads to resignation and burnout. As a social media manager, you get to decide what your services are worth, how much you want to charge your clients, and how many clients you want to work with. You can make as much money as you wish without campaigning, begging, or praying for a raise or a bonus.
PRO: Outsource the tasks you hate.
Ever wish you could just pass off tasks you hate doing? Worse - ever get assigned a job you hate doing by your boss because they hate doing it?! If you don't enjoy providing certain services, you don't have to. Working for yourself allows you to create a menu of services you want to offer that you enjoy doing. If a service compliments what you're already offering, you could add it to your package and hire someone to do those tasks for you. Never drag your feet with tedious tasks again!
CON: Social media can be mentally taxing.
There are numerous studies about the effects of social media on mental health. Comparing ourselves and our lives to others' highlight reels is dangerously easy. If you aren't making time for yourself daily and often find yourself getting caught in the scroll hole, I suggest ways to create boundaries for yourself on social media.
How to turn this into a PRO: Create a workday start-up and shut down rituals, so you put your electronics away, use timers to limit the amount of time you're scrolling, and enroll your partner or roommate to help you out if they notice you're stuck in the hole.
CON: You might work with some difficult clients.
When you first meet with potential clients, it can be tough to understand who may or may not be a good fit. Like any other freelance or consulting work, it's essential to accept that clients come and go. In my experience, if someone wasn't a good fit for me - even if I was worried about finances at the time - it was better to let them go. That way, I wasn't hyper-focused and stressed about pleasing someone I was never going to please and could make space for new clients that aligned with me.
How to turn this into a PRO: Start your clients on a three-month contract with an evaluation before continuing on a month-to-month basis. This allows you an easy out if the relationship isn't working for you. This timeline also allows you to prepare to replace that client when the time comes.
CON: The work can be isolating and give you a false sense of connection.
The business of social media management is primed for isolation based on its flexibility. My business started to take off during the pandemic when society was generally isolated. I felt really lonely most of the time. Even though I was engaging with people online, it was different than interacting with people as myself in person. As soon as I realized how alone I felt during the pandemic, I sought ways to meet new people.
How to turn this into a PRO: Join your local chamber of commerce or young professional network to meet new people and grow your business. Find a local coffee shop in your neighborhood and try to work from there weekly to interact with other humans and make new friends.
CON: Social media is ever-evolving.
This means that part of your job is keeping up with the current social trends on all platforms your clients use. An easy way to do that is to find a blog you like that talks about social media changes (my go-to is Later), and since Instagram is the one that updates the most - follow some Instagram accounts that go in-depth about their changes (like @instagram or @creators)
How to turn this into a PRO: Reduce this burden by limiting the number of platforms you offer to service your clients and become the expert at just one. This will allow you to focus your time and attention there rather than spreading yourself too thin.
CON: Social media management can feel like a thankless job.
Some people view marketing as an expense rather than an investment, and it can be challenging to explain the value you provide as a social media manager. When I started my business, it was easy to feel defeated by clients who would micro-manage me or have hundreds of edits.
How to turn this into a PRO: When you screen your clients, make sure they value marketing as an investment. These clients are often willing to pay more because they know the value of your services. Find a group of friends with whom you can celebrate your achievements, so you're not relying on your clients for validation.
I hope that this gives you a little more insight into what social media management is and how it can dramatically change your life if you're looking to travel, change careers, work for yourself, make more money, have more time with your kids, or build an additional stream of income.
If you're wondering if you have what it takes to be a social media manager and if this career is right for you where you're at in your life, click here to take my free quiz!
