This month we're talking all about how to work your business like a business.
And being the social media girl in the group, today I am going to share with you a day in the life of a social media marketer (and what areas you need to accomplish too!)
7:30am: Every morning, I start my day off with a coffee (two sugars, two milk), avocado toast and a podcast. While I am cooking and eating, I like to take in as much professional development as I can. It's important to me, as your social media trainer, that I stay up to date on the latest that is happening in social marketing, so that you don't have to.
Then once I have cleaned up for the day, it's time to sit down and get to work!
9:00am: The first thing I do is check my planner and to-do list. What did I accomplish yesterday and what do I have to get done today?
9:15am: Once I've gotten a handle on my tasks, it's time to respond to all of my e-mails, Facebook messages and Facebook comments. It's important to get this done first thing, so you're engaging with people, building relationships and responding to people who need you!
It's also a great way for me to come up with content that I should release that week whether as a blog, a post or a video. When people ask me questions, it lets me know that I don't have the answer readily available for them!
10:00am – 12:00pm: This is what I call black out time. I get off of social media and get to work on a client project. Two hours to knock out work without distraction!
12:00pm: Lunch time! Plus some play time with the puppy.
12:45pm: I re-check any of the notifications I have (in e-mail and on Facebook), as well as look through my feed for things to comment on.
Awesome viral video? I share it!
Interesting or inspiring post? I comment on it!
Starting conversations is just as important as responding to others! Go out there and make friends!
1:00pm – 3:00pm: More black out time. Finish up client work for the day!
3:oopm – 5:00pm: This is my flex time. Which means, what has to get done, gets done here. Whether that's last minute work, social media planning, checking analytics and so on.
This tends to be my least creative two hours of the day (when I start to feel a bit drained), so I make sure the tasks I have allocated to that time don't take lots of brain power!
Then the rest of the night is spent on dinner, household chores and hanging out!
I tend to get my second wind around 8:00pm, so I like to use this time to be creative or get ahead on projects that are coming up tomorrow.
Having a schedule is an important part to working your business like a business. If you schedule it, you will do it.
But many of us don't schedule the simple things.
Like…
- Replying on social media
- Sharing new posts
- Making friendships
- Checking analytics and planning for future posts, contests, free gifts and so on.
But what if you could do those four things (the most important four things), every single day in under an hour?
What if you could do it, using 15 minutes here and there?
I suggest scheduling in these four 15-minute increments at times where you need to get back into working mode. It's an easier way to transition from lunch into your heavier work.
Here are some good times of day to get your social priorities done:
- Before you start work
- After a project is completed (before you start a new one)
- After lunch
- 15 minutes before your day is over
- After dinner
- In the bath
- Before bed
When you break your social responsibilities down into small, actionable steps, it's easier to get them done.
But the key is to plan your business activities. Remember, even if your in this business as a hobby, you still have a goal in mind. Whether that's to earn enough income to pay for your personal product every month or to help cover one of your bills. So it's important that you always treat your business (no matter what size of business you want), like a business.
What does your average day look like? Are you planning in your schedule, even the little things that you need to get done daily?