Sorry ya’ll but I just have to clear something up! ShortStack.com recently put out a blog featuring an infographic titled “How to Manage Your Social Media Accounts in 34 Minutes a Day or Less”.
How nice to think you can effectively manage your entire social media branding in about a half hour, how nice.
The problem is that there are so many misconceptions in this infographic (below) and I’m going to lay them out for you. There is a difference between helping people work more effectively and (innocently, but still) devaluing a profession.
Take a look at their breakdown of those 34 minutes here, then let me give you an accurate description of how a social media manager keeps a brand green and growing:
We’re all busy so I’m going to make quick work of this:
1) Aside from the text-only post we rarely make, posts with images or videos include prep time. How did your logo get on that? When did that #brandedtag get added in the lower corner? How did the video get on YouTube, with key words and all? Hmm. 1-2 minutes to make a post is accurate only if you disregard any prep work that went into creating the asset accompanying it.
2) A few “scheduled” minutes a day to check notifications, DMs, etc? C’mon man. You know we have your accounts ping our phone in real-time whenever someone is interacting with your brand. We are engaging with your followers when they engage with us, that can’t be scheduled. And errmmm it takes more than 120 seconds!
3) The 7 Minute Twitter morning is cracking me up. Find me someone who can visit three websites, find “at least” three blogs they like, write branded copy intros about why they are sharing the blogs, and get everything into their scheduling tool in 5 minutes and I’ll shave an eyebrow.
All in all, the infographic is a really nice reminder: How can you better use your time to be more productive? I like it. I am all about productivity! But I think it’s a bit misleading for people who may be considering hiring a social media manager. And since that’s how I make my dolla bills, I had to speak up.
Any other SMMs have an opinion? Let me know on Facebook, @bellestrategies on Twitter or @bellestrategiessocial on Instagram.
Rachel Creveling has 15 years in the industry and is the Owner of Belle Strategies Marketing Agency. As a Digital Marketing Consultant, she helps clients strategically plan and build campaigns based on ROI. Her highly custom consulting method has earned clients including the Hilton Head Wine & Food Festival, Four Seasons Resort and Residences, South Beach Seafood Festival and many others. Rachel’s expertise helps companies push past revenue goals by leveraging their data and identifying areas for efficiency and growth.