Hello and welcome to another recap of our beloved #SMTLive. We're happy to have these chats more often now that we're all WFH for the foreseeable future.
To kick off our special quarantine series of #SMTLive, we decided to check in with everyone and see how managing social is going during social distancing. Read on for not only the recap but also a first look at next week's chat topic.
Q1 - For some of you, this may be how you've always worked, for others, this is an adjustment. During your time working remote, what challenges, opportunities, and lessons have you faced/learned about social media management? #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/Xy6QIdD6VP
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) March 24, 2020
One group of social media marketers impressing us most during social distancing? Parents!
Yes that too! Plus home schooling my two kids.
— Rebecca Smetak (@rsdesigncreativ) March 24, 2020
Managing social media accounts during COVID-19 AND homeschooling kids sounds like something only a superhero could do. Hats off to moms and dads here.
A1:
— Nureen (@nureenv) March 24, 2020
Lessons learned: Plan content when you’re most productive and a bonus if that lines up with waking an hour or two earlier.
Planning content when you know you're most productive works for @nureenv.
A1: Not having those face to face moments when I can chat with a co-worker to confirm a small detail or a last minute language check. #smtlive
— Cassidy Rota (@cassidyrota) March 24, 2020
We're missing those face-to-face moments more than ever now too, @cassidyrota.
That’s why I think brands need to find 1-2 angles where they are more relevant and engage more in those vs. trying to react to majority or breaking news
— Rosa Del Angel (@rdelangel) March 24, 2020
@rdelangel advises quality over quantity during this time.
I think working with my creative team has been a bit of a challenge. It adds a layer of complexity when I can't just spin my chair around and chat.
— Austen Overman (@austenoverman) March 24, 2020
Missing the ease of a quick face to face exchange came up more than once during this chat.
Q2 - Which tools have you found to be the most critical for social media management and team collaboration while working from home? How is that tools supporting your work? #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/WZ8AHnsFqR
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) March 24, 2020
If there are any tools helping you out at this time, we sure want to hear about them.
Dropbox and one drive have been life savers. So glad I’ve been able to access a good deal of our photos to help with posts.
— Erin Ritter (@erineritter) March 24, 2020
Having some extra photography assets around in case of an emergency could certainly come in handy here.
Since our team is used to chatting everyday and sharing a laugh, I've been using Slack to share a funny meme or short video every day. It's definitely been helping us stay strong as a team. #SMTLive
— Click Control Marketing (@ClkContrl) March 24, 2020
Slack has been a huge stress relief for a lot of our #SMTLive community.
Yes! So many brands and people don't get that. #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/07Drykf2jY
— Click Control Marketing (@ClkContrl) March 24, 2020
As always, don't forget to use memes wisely.
if you've got any questions about Agorapulse, let us know! -deb
— Agorapulse (@Agorapulse) March 24, 2020
Thanks for the shoutout, @Agorapulse!
A2: Our Slack channel has helped us massively to communicate and share ideas constantly. We are using Hootsuite as a team to schedule content...
— webvid (@webvidtweets) March 24, 2020
We saw some more love for Slack from @webvidtweets.
Q3 - Which productivity tools do all social media marketers need for remote-work? #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/ezIyb3RBCQ
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) March 24, 2020
Social media marketers need productivity tips and tools now more than ever. Luckily our #SMTLive community seems to be productivity experts.
A3: #SMTLive
— Click Control Marketing (@ClkContrl) March 24, 2020
All remote social media marketers need:
1⃣ @canva
2⃣ @SproutSocial - they have an excellent mobile app that works seamlessly with their desktop service.
3⃣ @AdobePremiere - or simple video editing software/app
@ClkContrl advised tools with good mobile apps while working at home, such as Sprout and Canva.
A3: Everything Google related is helping us function right now! #SMTLive
— webvid (@webvidtweets) March 24, 2020
A4:@Google Suite has it all! @gmail, meet, hangouts, calendar, @googledocs forms, @googledrive & more! #smtlive
— Nureen (@nureenv) March 24, 2020
ELG: Everybody loves Google.
Q3- I have been using guided meditation to ensure I stay productive throughout my work day. #SMTLive
— Cassidy Hogan (@heyitscass95) March 24, 2020
If you've been meaning to experiment with meditation, @heyitscass95 thinks now is as good a time as ever.
Q4 - As a social media marketing professional, what does your daily schedule look like during social distancing? #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/XYkiRNXWle
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) March 24, 2020
Scheduling content on social looks a little different these days, so social media managers' schedules themselves do, too.
A5:
— Nureen (@nureenv) March 24, 2020
As someone who has been working from home pre-pandemic, some things may seem the same but it’s all different.
- content planning happens daily instead of weekly
- daily monitoring of relevant trends + stories
- increased communication w/clients #smtlive
Social media can't be planned out a week at a time; the situation is changing by the minute, especially for the nonprofits and public agencies we serve.
— Sage Communications (@SageCom) March 24, 2020
People are turning to social media now more than ever for info and resources, and we need to match this pace. #SMTLive
Many people mentioned that our jobs are getting more fast-paced than usual as a result of the virus.
A4: #SMTLive
— Click Control Marketing (@ClkContrl) March 24, 2020
My daily schedule hasn't changed much. Instead of meetings in our office, I hop on a call. The biggest change is not being able to take photos/video of and talk to our staff in order to create our own content. I definitely miss that part of being in the office. pic.twitter.com/UgLP8vTSzF
In-office content is lacking right now. Zoom screenshots just aren't the same.
Same here. Finding ways to create "digital twins" of physical events and recreating the networking opportunities that happened in person. Also resurfacing resourceful/educational content. #SMTLive
— Jennifer Donovan (@jendonovansf) March 24, 2020
The way social media managers have been creating "digital twins" of events, as @jendonovansf mentioned, has been genuinely impressive over the past few weeks.
A4: We're making more live shows to stay closer to our community. During these lives, we try to discuss how the environment has changed and what steps we all should take to adapt. #SMTLive
— Wave.video (@wave_video) March 24, 2020
And, of course, during the pandemic live shows are getting more popular by the minute.
Q5 - If you are managing or are part of a team, what creative ways have you found to boost team morale and connect with people online? #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/mXqoDQikLO
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) March 24, 2020
Our community seems committed to keeping their social media teams healthy and happy during this crisis. Here are some of our favorite ideas for morale-boosting:
A5 - As a team we have created online running challenges through @Nike Run Club to motivate everyone to get outside and stay active. #SMTLive
— Cassidy Hogan (@heyitscass95) March 24, 2020
In less populated areas, a @Nike Run Club challenge sounds like a great idea.
One colleague decided to host a Zoom quiz night, there’s a group on Teams where colleagues share photos, pep talks and advice. And of course, @houseparty has been the talk of the virtual office! Love that games are incorporated too! #SMTLive
— Safeera Sarjoo ???????? (@SafeeraSarjoo) March 24, 2020
Zoom quiz night? Sign us up.
A5 - 5:00 Friday FaceTime happy hour! #SMTLive
— Hydrate Marketing (@HydrateMktg) March 24, 2020
Clearly Hydrate Marketing is keeping their team hydrated with weekly happy hours.
For our final question, we want to learn more about ways we can assist you through this time.
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) March 24, 2020
Q6 - What type of content and information (for social media marketers) are you in need of right now? Are there any topics you would like to see covered on #SMTLive in the near future? pic.twitter.com/P62UAAxq9d
Here at SMT, we're trying to use this time to bring our community together on #SMTLive more often than usual. In fact, we've already planned next week's chat:
A lot of people brought up the challenge of adjusting your marketing messaging during this time. Well, that's the perfect segue into our next chat:https://t.co/aeWs3k5KkT #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/QbVOzvNZGt
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) March 24, 2020
A lot of marketers are confused about how to strike the right tone on social in light of the current situation, so we'll be chatting about that on Twitter next week. We asked for feedback about what you all needed from us right now, and you gave us some great ideas. Stay tuned for what we decide to chat about in the coming weeks as we all get through this together.
Agreed - there's so much to learn, and many of us might actually have time to dig in now! #SMTLive
— ee (@erininmilwaukee) March 24, 2020
For some social media marketers, social distancing is an opportunity for learning.
Working in social media can actually sometimes be very 'unsocial' and with new circumstances of everyone being required to #stayhome, chats like this are really great to help us all come together, so thank you @socialmedia2day ???? #SMTLive
— webvid (@webvidtweets) March 24, 2020
Thanks @webvidtweets! We're excited to keep connecting with everyone while we're all stuck at home and beyond.
A6: Given that we're all going through similar difficulties, hearing some good stories or learning from other peoples' successes at the moment would be great.
— Two Hour Digital (@twohourdigital) March 24, 2020
Plus it would give us all ideas that we can put into practice.#SMTLive
@twohourdigital wants to hear some social distancing success stories. We agree!
More advice on messaging strategy would be great. Also data on social media engagement during this time. What is social data telling us?
— Rosa Del Angel (@rdelangel) March 24, 2020
Stay tuned for messaging strategies, we're talking about those next week.