Diaries of a stressed out Social Media Manager

So for a moment, I was really feeling unmotivated to do anything. Even more so with my marketing business. I've worked with numerous clients and I think I was at my wits end with people doing me dirty. This is the side of the business that they don't tell you about.....

I was tired of clients walking away from their contracts. Not because I wasn't doing what I needed to do. They wanted to pause for various reasons and or wanted to re-brand. In some cases, they weren't doing what they needed to do for me to do my job.

This taught me 2 major things. 1- have a strong contract that protects you i.e. require a non-refundable deposit. This ensures that if your client decides to walk away then you at least have a final payment; so, you're not up the creek without a paddle. Because baby it's nothing worse than someone disappearing and you've broken your back to deliver quality content. Put your client on some type of reoccurring billing plan. This way you don't have to chase your clients for payment. Make sure it's something that they cannot manipulate. 2. Do a thorough discovery call with all potential clients. (When I say thorough I mean damn near ask for their SSN lol) All money ain't good money nor is it worth the stress or headache. I should have learned this while working in corporate but naw. (that shit went over my head and out the window) My goofy self was too excited about new clients that were willing to pay my rates; but, baby I quickly regretted it. If I would have asked more open-ended questions it would have definitely helped. I learned that micro-managers aren't my thing neither are those that can't articulate their vision for their brand.

You have to understand that as social media manager it is my job to make sure your brand and social media pages stay active. I respond, I engage and post. Growing your audience doesn't happen overnight unless you're paying for it. Selling products also requires having pictures of your products. If you want to be taken seriously you might need to post more professional content, and finally, if you want to see if your social media manager process is actually working then you need to let them do what you're actually paying them to do instead of doing your own thing. Have a reasonable timeframe, because again your audience won't jump to the thousands overnight.

Now it's a new day and I'm finally getting back into the swing of things. I have new systems in place to help me manage my clients, while also allowing them more approval power and accountability. I plan the content and send it to them, and they need to approve it. (In a timely fashion- if they don't then it's on them) I have added more probing questions to my discovery and client intake. I've also worked with my new business lawyer to draft a great contract that protects me. Just in case I have a client that wants to have amnesia when it comes to paying their monthly invoice.

Moral of the story: Clients Need Patience

Social Media Managers: Need to Vet Their Clients

Sincerely,

Stressed Out Social Media Manager