“Any content you have time to share would be helpful!” This is a statement you’ve likely heard from your social media manager – whether that person is in-house or part of an agency.
Every time you hear it, your eyes roll and your social manager pauses all breathing while waiting for a different response, hoping against all odds that this time you’ll be ready to dive in. Meanwhile, you’re silently cursing the person; after all, isn’t content creation the reason you hired the position out in the first place? You don’t have time!
Except…you probably do. Before you throw the phone you’re using to read this, consider the real reason you might dread this conversation. Is it perhaps because the content is too broad of a term? What does it mean in this context? Because you are busy, you need an action plan. A bulleted list. Most importantly, you need a value assignment. If you carve time out of your schedule to step outside of what you see as your role, what return will you reap from that investment of the most precious resource- time?
I’m sharing three ways to make this conversation easier, less tense, and more infrequent (yay!).
It’s all about details.
First, know what relationship you should expect with your social media manager. If all is going to plan, you’re probably hearing this request for content during a monthly report review meeting or a planned brainstorming session.
Next, respond to the question with one of your own. Your content marketer is probably uneasy about asking you for anything because he or she does understand that you have a lot on your plate. That person also knows their role is to execute marketing tasks. However, in order to be as successful as possible, there must be a helpful partnership working toward achieving common goals.
Try extending an olive branch rather than an eye roll. “Thanks for the reminder. I should be able to dedicate about 30 minutes to content next week. What would you like me to focus my energy on?” This type of response lets your marketer know you are invested in the success of your company’s marketing and provides parameters for your time. Additionally, you will walk away knowing that the task at hand will be the most valuable use of your time.
Maximize the mileage.
One of the most daunting, yet most thrilling, aspects of social media marketing is the vast possibilities for content. Both in creation and curation, content can take on many forms. The mistake many people make is to publish a well-formed post and then move on to creating more content.
As we’re already aware, marketing takes time. If you are going to allocate efforts, you will certainly want to make sure you will be able to maximize effectiveness. Make sure your social media manager has a strategy on how to best repurpose content. If you work to make a video, find ways to spin the media into a blog post, an ad, or a series of teaser posts. When promoting a blog post, look for SlideShare opportunities, group posts, video, or ways to share information visually through graphics.
Delegate with tools and people.
Make sure you and your social media manager are communicating in the most effective and efficient ways. Consider messaging tools such as Slack (a Posse favorite) or real-time collaboration options such as Google Drive (another favorite). Email chains, especially when requesting a quick response for clarification, feedback on posts, or photo uploads can clutter inboxes and delay forward progress.
Don’t forget about the benefit of delegation. Just because you might need to be the person involved in report review and marketing planning doesn’t mean you have to be (or even should be) the primary contact for content questions or transfer. Find someone reliable and efficient to work with your social media team to help keep your interactions focused and clean.
Often, it’s the fear of the unknown or the paralysis of perfection that holds us back from accomplishing the achievable. Yes, we are all busy.
Prioritizing time to help ensure your marketing team has the resources to be as successful as possible will ultimately benefit your company.
