The holidays are a crucial time for businesses to boost their revenue & attract new customers. As a social media manager, you play a critical role in those results by helping your clients capitalize on this timely opportunity.
A successful holiday campaign can have a significant impact on a client’s revenue for the entire year, making it essential for you to provide clients with the support they need to succeed.
However, we know that many social media managers will fail to prepare their clients in time.
Instead of experiencing a season filled with comfort & joy, they’ll end up feeling stressed out, working overtime – scrambling straight into the new year, with very little downtime.
But what if you could transition into Q4 with an intentional plan that feels supportive & impactful – and not just for everyone on your client roster – but for you & your team, as well?
By starting your holiday planning in advance & communicating clear operational boundaries with your clients, you can work to minimize seasonal stress, while simultaneously seizing the biggest social media shop-ortunity of the entire year!
Ready to live, laugh, LOG OFF?
Here are some tips to help you enjoy the holidays as a social media manager…
1 | Be Proactive in Preparing Clients for the Holidays
Instead of waiting on your clients to communicate their holiday plans to you – reach out as early as possible to gather all of the details about their upcoming sales & promotions. (Yesterday was the best time to ask, but today is certainly better than tomorrow…)
While we’d like to believe that every business owner is well-prepared for things like Black Friday and Christmas (because they happen every single year) we know firsthand that many are flying by the seat of their pants.
Insist on collecting important information ahead of time, so you can start on their holiday content & campaigns in advance. This ensures that everyone is ready for a successful shopping season - without any last minute surprises.
2 | Set Holiday Hours & Communicate Boundaries
Schedule dedicated time off for both you & your team. Even if it’s not possible to clock out for an extended period of time, remember that this season is more stressful than most – and everyone deserves a break.
Share these holiday hours with clients, along with any deadlines & updated policies for content requests (preferably before Q4 begins) in order to communicate exactly what happens if they contact you outside of working hours or miss the cutoff.
👉 Not sure how to do this? Our Holiday Bliss Kit includes Holiday Email Swipe Copy with all of these details laid out in black & white, to help you clearly communicate seasonal expectations with your clients like a pro!
While we understand that communicating & holding boundaries can be difficult, you will be doing yourself (and your team) a disservice by not encouraging clients to collaborate with you in a timely manner. These are YOUR holidays too.
3 | Leverage Automations
An uptick in online traffic will mean more questions, comments & other social listening responsibilities.
This could be handled in some part by setting up Quick Responses in email & DMs to make the most common questions easy to respond to.
You can also work with your client to set up AI chatbots & other customer service tools in order to automate inquiries during dedicated time off, like weekends and holidays. This guarantees everyone can still enjoy some scheduled time away.
You, or someone on your team, will still need to regularly monitor your client’s accounts for customer service inquiries, respond to comments, continue engagement, and post content manually [if applicable]. However, the ultimate goal is for you to work in tandem with your clients and team well in advance to ensure these tasks will be minimal, and much less stressful than it would be if you didn’t get a majority of the promotional content taken care of ahead of time.
