If you love social media then working for a social media company must be the dream job, right?  However much we love tweeting all day long there are some downsides to this very public role – your mental health.  So how do you keep your mental health in check whilst working in social media?

24 Hour Connectivity

There is an immediacy associated with social media, that allows a direct connect between brands and the public.  Barriers are dissolved in the worlds of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  This direct contact between businesses and customers has many advantages but this connection can be difficult to manage for those managing the social media, so here we look at ways to set some boundaries and look after yourself and your customers.

• Time Zones – use your bio on your social media to state when the account with be monitored/responded to, ie “Tweets monitored Mon – Fri 8am – 4pm”. On Facebook you can set up standard responses for when someone messages you so they know you have received the message and will respond in due course
• Angry Customer – firstly be polite. If the complaint can’t be solved in a civil manner then take the matter offline and settle it via direct messaging or email.  Our article “4 tips to deal with negative comments on social media” has more helpful ideas
• Set up a routine.  We find that dividing up the tasks for social media clients throughout the week really helps.  Otherwise you will wake up on Monday with an overwhelming feeling of what there is to do – the very nature of social media takes you in all kinds of directions very quickly, so have a plan and stick to it.
• Delegation can be your best friend – we’ve recently taken on another VA and she has been a key component in us keeping our workload manageable. Handover parts of projects or regular tasks, and your clients will continue to receive the high quality work that you are used to delivering
• Learn to say NO – In this game, we’ve learnt that saying NO can sometimes be the best thing to do. If get an enquiry from a company that either expect high results for very little budget or they don’t fit in with your work ethics, then say no.  Don’t give yourself sleepless nights worrying about how to deliver to an unrealistic project, be realistic and honest with yourself and your clients.
• Set Boundaries – Colleagues and clients should know what to expect from you. Are you happy to work late or at the weekend?  If not then let them know that you will only respond during working hours.  You need to switch off at the weekends.
• Bad news – as it has always been the way in the media there will be endless bad news, it has psychologically been proven that our eyes are more likely to be drawn to negative words used in headlines. Unless you need to read it because it relates directly to your work, don’t read it, manage what you read and look after yourself.

If you have any mental health tips that you practise then let us know, it’s always great to share good ideas!