Social Media Overwhelm...it's a real thing!

We all know that feeling of overwhelm. It’s a horrid mentality that convinces us that even the simplest tasks are too difficult to try. Overwhelm can feel like you’re drowning - you know what to do but it all seems to get on top of you. Until, guess what, you do nothing at all.

Modern day life is well suited to this feeling...running a business, children, shopping, social media, TV, rush hour, that crushing feeling of lacking in time and that’s without mentioning the pandemic! So it is perfectly understandable that we feel this way and that overwhelm impacts our businesses. As a Virtual Assistant specializing in social media, I hear all the time about how marketing, and especially social media, is one of the first things to be banished from the to do list when overwhelm creeps up.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are 3 helpful tips and tricks to make sure your social media marketing isn’t effected, nor contributing, to your feelings of overwhelm.

Plan in advance

Planning our social media posts in advance in something that we have all tried in the past, I am sure. We all start with the best intentions, but life gets in the way. That is why I leave one hour free each Sunday to plan my social media. This is a none negotiable in my diary - a bit like going to school, turning up to a client meeting or for me, going to dance class, it happens every week and that’s that. Making it a none negotiable in your mind helps to ensure that you don’t just skip it because it is a meeting with yourself.

Make yourself worthy enough to stick to it. If you’d do it for a client, why not for yourself?

Side note: some people like to save one day a month a batch create social media posts for the month in advance. I prefer to do it weekly because the world changes so suddenly and it is easier to stay up to date with current events. Although you can obviously change pre-created content to fit in with the changing world, I would rather have it set during my Sunday sessions and not necessarily have to worry about it again. But do what is best for you.

Don’t put yourself under pressure

I often find that people put themselves under pressure to be posting multiple times a day. It isn’t necessary. Once a day is more than enough, and for some pages every other day may be optimal. That means you only have to think of 7 ideas each week, which is more doable than 14.

Also remember, if you miss a day, it isn’t the end of the world. I wouldn’t make a habit of it, but don’t stress yourself out about it. This will only increase your levels of overwhelm and make it harder for you to think of creative ideas (or any ideas at all), and ultimately fall into the trap of inconsistent posting. It is better to post less often but consistently, than be sporadic about your social media posting.

Outsource/ask for help

Asking for help is key when feelings of overwhelm start to creep into your life. This is true, no matter what your reason for overwhelm is. There are many Social Media Managers, Social Media Assistants, and people like me, Virtual Assistants who specialize in Social Media that are willing and eager to use their expertise to help you. If you only have a small budget, maybe look at hiring someone for less hours or someone who is still at University and is looking for some experience. If you wish to offload it completely to someone with a proven record, then search around and ask in Facebook groups and on Instagram and I have no doubt you’ll be inundated with responses. Spend some time conducting calls with these people so that you find someone who you resonate with and trust.

I hope these tips have helped some of you.

Remember:

• Plan in advance

• Stay calm

• Ask for help

If you want to work with me in 2021, there is one slot that will become available in March. Until then I am fully booked for VA and/or Social Media clients. You can still work with me on my Instagram Re-Vamp and Instagram Overhaul packages - there are 3 places available for the month on February.

Contact me using the contact button for a free call to discuss all options.