Guest Blog: How to Prep your Social Media for a Stress-Free Holiday
This article has been written by Megan from Just Peachy Digital. Enjoy!
Recently I’ve been feeling stressed with a capital S, how about you? As Christmas approaches, it seems like there is never enough time in the day. The deadlines are getting closer. The calendar is getting fuller. The to-do list is running off the page. And all the way at the bottom of it? That’s where social media tends to be. Am I right? If you’re the same, and struggling to keep on top of creating content, and serving your clients well, this blog is for you. This is your festive and summer holiday survival guide; everything you need to prepare for taking time off social media.
Disclaimer: this is not a guide for running Christmas sales promotions. It’s tips for managing your social media over the Christmas and summer break.
FAQS: Managing Social Media While Unplugging for a Holiday
Can I take a break from posting on social media?
There are two ways you can approach the summer break, let’s discuss:
1.Completely unplugged
You can choose to stay offline entirely. That means you’ll have no posts going out, and no need to check in or engage with your community. If you choose this option, make sure that you communicate clearly the dates you won’t be available. And be aware that going completely silent will have an impact on your reach and engagement. It’s not the end of the world but just something to keep in mind.
2. Semi-unplugged
You might prefer to still show up online in some capacity. That might look like a reduced number of posts, maybe just posting on your Stories, or perhaps engaging with other people’s content. If you choose this option, be aware that if you are posting, you need to be responsive to the messages and comments that come your way. The benefit of this option is that you’ll be staying in contact and top of mind with your audience.
How can I prepare in advance to avoid posting in real-time?
The best thing you can do is batch create your content. Set aside time to create all of your posts for the next month and a bit. Then be intentional about how you use that time. We tend to be more efficient when we focus on one task at a time vs switching from task to task. Batching means doing all of one task eg. writing captions before moving on to the next.
How to plan social media content:
Come up with ideas: plan out each post including: content type (eg. reel), goal of the post (eg. making connections), topic of post, the call to action,
Write the captions
Create the graphics/add images/film the videos
Schedule for later
TIP! Prepare buffer content now: for my social media management clients, I always prepare content now that we will post at the start of the new year. When you are getting back into the swing of things in January, future you will thank you for having that content prepared.
What content should I prioritise if I only have time to post occasionally?
Here’s the deal, November and December are very promo-heavy months on social media. After all the Black Friday sales and Christmas shopping, people tend to feel fatigue from sales posts.
Our wallets are empty, we’re exhausted, and we’re just on social media to escape.
Which is why I recommend easing up on the promotional content and instead sharing content that’s focused on making connections and building trust.
Keep reading until the end for a freebie to help with this!
How can I keep engagement up even if I’m not posting regularly?
If you aren’t posting as frequently, Instagram has some great tools to help continue building those connections and conversations.
Use Stories: these are more in-the-moment and casual. Because they’re only available for 24 hours they don’t need to be as polished as a feed post. They are quick to create and also super easy for people to consume.
Encourage engagement: share posts that aim to get your audience to participate. Think: a poll in your caption, a question, this or that, or would you rather? Here are some examples:
Repost old content: check the archives and see if there is any previous seasonal content that went down a treat. Or any other posts that performed well in the past. If it’s been 6+ months, go ahead and repost them.
How do I communicate my holiday break to my audience?
It’s important to set expectations so people know when you’ll be out of office or slower to respond to their messages.
I recommend creating a friendly “out of office” post or story to let your followers know you’ll be less active. You will want to:
Include the dates you’ll be away
Let them know your level of unplugged-ness (completely offline or still replying to DMs)
Add a little personality to your message - Laura from Tide Studio has some great tips to help with this
Put it somewhere easy to find like pinning it to top of profile, adding it as your first profile highlight, or including it as an auto reply message for DMs
How do I avoid guilt around not showing up online as much?
The good news is, if you’re in NZ like me, most people take time off over the summer break. It’s the one time of year that businesses tend to shut down. And almost everyone is resting, seeing family, going on adventures, and spending more time outside.
That being said, I want you to know that it is always okay to step away from social media when you need to.
If you’ve been building genuine connections, trust that your audience will still be there when you come back. You can reconnect and pour back into your community once you are refreshed and ready in the new year.
Remember: it took more than a month to build your community, it’s going to take longer than that to lose them!
How to create seasonal content that doesn’t take much time…
I’ve got something just for you! I’ve created a Summer Social Media Content Plan which includes over 70 social media post and story ideas for the festive season and summer holidays.
This guide will help you save time and prepare all the content you need to connect with your audience without burning out.
Author Bio:
Hey, I’m Megan, a social media manager for female service providers who are burnt out on social media. I know that it’s scary putting yourself out there, exhausting trying to keep up with the trends, and overwhelming to find the time to create content. Which is why I’m on a mission to help you show up consistently on social media without burning out! Follow along for a gentler approach to social media.
