#021: Why Social Media Workflows Matter ?????

Ever experienced the pang of regret watching a viral trend slip through your fingers, all because the timing was off? We coulda, shoulda, but didn’t, is all too familiar when you work in a reactive workspace like social media. Sometimes you have to be ready to drop and roll at a moment’s notice, particularly if Taylor Swift’s been spotted with a new boyfriend or Queensland gets announced as the winner of the State of Origin. But to be constantly working in responsive mode is going to see you burnt out and your nerve frazzled. So let’s talk about social content workflow and the different flows the team need to be working in to drive meaningful business outcomes.

Why Social Content Workflow is so important

The one thing you need to understand about working in social media, it’s not about being or hiring a digital unicorn.

If one person is juggling tasks like creating graphics, writing captions, researching hashtags, managing influencer collaborations, producing videos, engaging with the community on a daily basis, handling reporting, and organising schedules, it's just not possible to handle it all in a consistent and well-thought-out way without:

a) dropping a few of the balls or, b) creative burnout.

Break Down Tasks in Daily, Weekly & Monthly

One of the first things you need to do when evaluating your social content workflow is what is required on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Let me share how we do things at The Social Media Coach.

Daily

Every single day kicks off with a trending pow wow and a stand up meeting. This is essentially a housekeeping meeting where for the first 10-20 minutes we discuss what’s trending and how and whether it’s suitable for any of our clients.

If there are suitable suggestions, we share our recommendations and if approved, we create & post that day.

Next we talk about our priority ones for the day. These are the tasks that ideally will be wrapped up by close of business withstanding extenuating circumstances.

If everyone can deliver on their priorities and get them signed off, that’s a good day in our world. Touching base each day gives the entire team a transparent oversight of what’s happening and brings wider context.

I’m also a huge fan of Daily Community Management. We’re not just posting and ghosting; we're in the social media minefields, sharing the love, solving the issues, and keeping the vibe alive. Community management isn't just important from a brand POV, it's also vital when keeping the algorithms warm, the more you interact, the warmer they are the further your organic reach will be.

Weekly

This is our time to roll up our sleeves and really dig in. We all know our KPIs, we understand what's expected of us each week. We’re all about playing to our strengths, ensuring every member is tackling tasks that align with their skills.

We create our weekly content calendars, and share them for approval each week on the same day, we like this repeatability as we can get into a good flow together.

Our social media coordinators? They’ll ensure that all content is polished, perfected, and handed over to the account managers well before our weekly WIP client meetings.

We also share weekly stats each Friday as we believe the devil is in the detail with effective social media management - because of its compounding nature, weekly insight is vital.

Monthly

Each month, the wider team meets to really dig into the nitty-gritty of our upcoming ideas and strategies. This isn’t just any get-together - it's where we knuckle down and dissect how we’re going to take each brand we work with to the next level.

Additionally, we align ourselves with our clients and the marketing teams we support, ensuring we’re all sailing in the same direction.

During these sessions, our agenda is packed; from upcoming events and sales, weaving in creator collaborations, plotting potential giveaways, to allocating our advertising budget. We also reflect on our results, celebrating the wins, and pinpointing areas of improvement. Your takeaway from this? I could simply not achieve all this alone and without having a strategic workflow.

It's important to note that we plan any paid social activity monthly too.

If you haven't already, I urge you to evaluate your social media workflow this week.

If you feel like you’re constantly chasing your tail, there’s something not quite right. Grab a pen and write a list of all the tasks needed to be carried out. Next divide them into what needs to be done daily/weekly/monthly. Is it feasible that one person can carry out all these tasks on their own? Be honest with yourself & your direct line manager. If you have gaps, communicate them.

We’re all human, we’re not 24-7 social media superheroes and it’s okay to ask for help, just be objective and programmatic about it, your new chic list will help!

Need guidance on evaluating your social content workflow? Feel free to book a #confidential slot in my calendar HERE.

Keep shining and see you next week!

E x