What’s up everyone! Welcome back to Stronger Social, your new favorite social media newsletter (well..I hope). I’m feeling good today because I started the day off with some heavy back squats. Highly recommend starting your day with squats…although I know i’m going to be in pain tomorrow 😅
However, let’s talk social. I’ve worked in social media for 10+ years now (wow that makes me feel old) and I feel like I have learned and grown so much. So today, I want to dive deep and share 5 things that I wish I knew earlier in my career that I think you would find helpful. Excited for this one.
In this issue, we will go over the following:
5 things I wish I knew earlier in my career as a social media professional
What stopped my scroll: a social post that went viral, had me on the ground laughing, and that we can all learn from
Social Pro Spotlight: Christina Pearo drops a gem about comparison in social
5 hot social job opportunities that you should check out
Let’s go! 💪
-Sam
The 5 things I wish I knew earlier in my career (that you’ll also find helpful)👇
The biggest lesson I have learned in my career as a social media professional is this: social is so much more than putting up posts.
Early in my career I put a lot of time into developing posts and putting those posts into a calendar. However, what I have learned is that it’s bigger than that - we need to use social as a means to drive brand growth, community growth, and business goals.
So today, instead of “making posts”, I have shifted my time and attention into creating strategies, brand moments, brand experiences, stunts, and campaigns. And “social posts” are just outputs and deliverables.
This shift and learning has been an absolute game changer for me.
2. You’re a Brand Marketer, not just the “social person”
Whether you’re a social media creator, coordinator, manager, director, or VP - you’re a brand marketer. Brand is everyone's’ job. Especially for social media professionals and social media teams. This is something that took me a long time to realize.
You can’t just put yourself in a “social media box” - because you’re bigger than that. It’s so important to understand that you do more than make posts, engage with fans, and respond to DM’s…
Every interaction and every post you put out is an extension of your brand and is a brand touchpoint. Everything you do is…so much bigger than social.
Social is brand. Brand is social. 🤷♂
This simple mindset shift helped me so much, and I hope you find it helpful as well. At the end of the day, you’re a brand marketer…who’s just always on the socials😅
3. Record Your Wins
One thing I didn’t do until later in my career is take note and track all my wins…and I really wish I would have done this earlier. Here are 3 big reasons why you should👇
To add into your social media portfolio
To add into your resume
To remind yourself of what you are capable of and what you have done when a post does flop (it happens to all of us, don’t worry)
The best part is that this is very easy to do. And you don’t need to overcomplicate it. This can be a word document on your computer, in notion, or even in your notes app on your phone. Just record your wins so they can be accessible at any time.
4. More time online ≠ More results
Earlier in my career as a social media manager, I was chronically online. I was online legit 24/7 and was absolutely glued to my phone. However, i’ve learned that if you want to work in social media long-term, you have to make your mental health a priority...and disconnect.
I understand that you feel like you need to be online constantly. But you really don’t. More time online doesn’t exactly mean more results…
The easiest and simplest thing you can do is take it easy on the weekends. Schedule your content out, log into your account periodically to make sure everything’s fine, and then disconnect. That message that comes through on a Saturday night? It’s not urgent and it can wait till Monday morning.
Make your mental health a priority and you will have a long and successful career in social media.
5. Learn How to Speak to Your Work
I struggled heavily in my earlier years at speaking to my work. I felt like I was great at getting results. But I had a habit of just putting my head down, putting together posts, and just grinding away. As social media professionals, we have one of the most visible jobs in organizations and we have to be able to defend and champion our work.
It’s one thing to generate strong social media results. It’s another to communicate and articulate those results with cross functional team members and leadership. So speak up and champion your work. You are your biggest supporter!
WHAT STOPPED MY SCROLL
As a huge football fan and a social pro, I find myself constantly consuming (and analyzing) social content from NFL teams. The Buffalo Bills have been one of my favorite sports social teams for a while, and this recent post solidified my stance on this. I audibly laughed and shared with 10+ people immediately.
What I love about this post is how the Bills took a trending content format and added to it. This is how you win social - you lean into a trend, and then add a creative twist to it that drives shareability and virality. They did that. And they perfected it. This is something we can all learn from: don’t just participate in a trend. Add to the trend.
SOCIAL PRO SHOUTOUT
Comparison kills social teams…especially when you’re being compared against the biggest and the best in the industry. This is a great LinkedIn post by Christina and a great reminder for us! If you’re going to compare…do it accordingly. Make sure to go give Christina a follow on LinkedIn!
SOCIAL OPPS
If you’re on the job hunt and exploring new Social Media Opportunities, here are some roles to check out.
✌️ KBYG (Know Before You Go)
Before you go…here are a few quick hitters for you! We’ve got a new Instagram update and a few reminders.
😲 Instagram dropped competitive insights! Instagram is rolling out a new feature in-app where you can do competitor benchmarking. Be sure to check this out and let me know what you think!
📱 Interested in learning more about creating shareable content? Check out last weeks issue to catch up here.
‼ Forward to a friend! If you do find Stronger Social helpful, be sure to forward to a friend.
🤔 Got a topic that you want to see addressed in a future issue?If so, respond to this email and let me know!
Sam Wells
Thanks for reading and hope you have a great week!
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