What I Do At Work as a Social Media Manager

Image by ByDesign Magazine. Get your copy here.

The inspiration for this post started last week, as I was boarding my flight to NYC for work travel and surfing Instagram. I wanted to share some insight on my day job, so here it goes…

I have been at my agency for almost two years as a social media manager. For those unfamiliar, brands pay advertising agencies to advertise their business. My agency is global, so we do a ton of things for different brands. I specifically work in social media but my agency offers tons of other capabilities to our clients, like web design, creative, app development, etc. That mixture of creative talents and the hustle of social media with the fast-paced nature of retail makes my job amazing. It's a blessing to have been hand-picked for this position.

Now let's get into what I do at work as a social media manager on a daily basis.

6:30am to 8am: Wake up, hop on my phone to check emails and social media for my client, myself and my brand. Then I like to brush my teeth and wash my face before diving into anything outstanding on my To-Do List. Finally I read my devotional and pray before heading out the door.

8:45am: Run out the door for work. I love listening to gospel music on my way to the office before calling my fianće to chat and/or pray depending on how much time we have to chat.

9:00am: Arrive at work. This is when I check the feeds again on my second monitor and catch-up on more emails. Once every base is covered, I like to weed through my emails from StyleCaster, AdWeek and Refinery29.

10:00 to 11:55am: Work on hot items. Depending on the day, this could mean scheduling content, finishing a weekly report or researching industry trends.

12pm to 12:15pm: Quick lunch at my desk while checking in on my Instagram feed.

12:15 to 1:00pm: Now it's time to focus on my client’s social media again without distractions. I keep my second monitor up throughout the day, but I like to use this time to look closely at the feed for any missed comments and direct messages. While checking the feed, I look for user generated content.

1:00pm to 2:00pm: Internal meetings to discuss how we can help to make our client better. Our clients are always top of mind when meeting. It’s important to be forward thinking and creative in meetings.

2:00 to 3:00pm: Work on hot items. Ensure all content is scheduled for the rest of the week.

3:00pm to 5:30pm: Snack time... which means trail mix or grapes unless someone brought in cookies or cupcakes. After snack time, I dive back into hot items. Depending on the day of the week, I might need to hop on the phone with my client or chat with my Social Strategist to help bring an idea to life. Community management is all about collaboration.

5:30pm to 6pm: Create end of day report to send to my client. Leave work.

I wanted to share what a day in my work life looks like to inform and inspire people, especially people of color, to chase their dreams. I hope that in doing so, representation will spark a wild fire of diversity amongst brands, agencies and social media platforms.

Drop any questions for me in the comment section. I'd love to chat more.

Ps. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @thejasminediane.