Vacation Mode: How Business Owners Can Take a Break from Social Media Without Damaging Their Brand
Being a social media marketer or strategist can be exhausting.
And running your own social media for your own agency is just as exhausting!
But being the CEO or business owner means being flexible and balancing your work and personal life—something we always strive for, right?!
So here are some tips to help you get away for a holiday this summer without sacrificing your online presence.
(And if you're not in the social media industry, but you use social media for your own business, you might find some of these tips just as useful.)
⭐Plan to schedule content for at least two-three weeks after you get back from your vacation. The bulk of the content can be written, designed, (and approved) well in advance. Even video content can be created in advance if you’re not relying on trending audio. When you get back, you’ll be dealing with emails, client questions and accounts, and potentially end of month reports, you don’t want to have to be creating content in those first few weeks back.
⭐For your own account, when you create the content, create one post per week for the whole duration from now until a few weeks after you are back (likely 4-8 weeks). That way if you have no more time to go back to it, you know you have one post per week to get you through. Once you’ve done that, if you have more time, add in another post per week, and repeat until you have all the posts you need, or you run out of time!
⭐In terms of what that content does, you need to consider what CTAs (call-to-action) you’re going to use. Don’t invite conversation in the DMs if you don’t intend to answer for 2 weeks. Instead, choose CTAs that are valuable, but don’t need you. Ex. Download this helpful worksheet from my link in bio.
⭐Leave enough time to tell your clients you are away, and what you need from them in advance. Need videos or photos? Launch dates? They’ll likely be happy you’re thinking so far ahead for their business.
⭐Communicate. Will a team member be taking over for you while you are away? Do they need to manage the inbox for 2 weeks? How can they contact you while away if there is an emergency?
⭐If you are delegating to your team, start early. Leave time for them to ask questions, and feel confident in the process. Give access to schedulers or important data and know that they can access what you need them to. Also make sure that your SOPs are up-to-date and that all the process maps you use are correct.
Lastly, while longer term erratic posting isn’t great for for your social media accounts, if you’re a small business and simply want to not post for two weeks, go for it. The business owners that I know who have done this had no real lasting negative affect to their business.
Your time off is so valuable to you, not only for your own well-being, but also that of your business. Go away and enjoy the break, knowing that if you’ve done these steps in advance, your social media will be just fine without you, or be confident in your choice to not post, and go have fun!
Are you ready for your summer break?