So you’ve got a new client – cue rampant applause! That’s the third one this year and things are looking good. So you pop those bubbles and soak it all up until you suddenly realise that you now have a rather large portfolio and the same set of hands to manage it. Oops.
Well, the good news is that there’s no need to start picking favourites just yet. With a few simple organisational tricks, you can still hit the mark and give each of your clients exactly what you promised.
Here’s our guide to managing the madness:
Set up your workflow
When it comes to juggling a hundred and one projects, it’s quite easy to slip up from time to time (not to mention the old brain ain’t what it once was). Using a workflow management tool like Trello will help you to visualise all of your upcoming tasks, and allocate time for each one.
By arranging your tasks using a series of cards, which can then be moved across a board with a swipe of your cursor, you’ll be able to prioritise your workload, and ensure focus. Once done, you get to partake in the always-awesome-but-not-quite-sure-why task of ticking said item off your to-do list by whipping it enthusiastically into the ‘Done’ column.
Organise your artwork
We’ve all felt the panic of needing to publish an urgent post, but the artwork is nowhere to be found. You know exactly which image you need – the colours, the dimensions, the call-to-action – but when it comes to locating the cursed thing – nada.
Creating folders by brand and campaign will really help you to stay on top of your game. Be sure to cleverly store all of your artwork as soon as you receive it from your design team – that way you’ll know exactly where to find them when it’s time for your campaign to go live, allowing you to avoid that all-too-familiar last minute scramble.
Create evergreen content
Social media managers are expected to produce a continuous flow of original content, and that’s perfectly fine when there are a number of exciting campaigns on the horizon. But what happens when there isn’t all that much to scream about?
Instead of thumb sucking mediocre content in the final hour, rather look at creating content that is not time sensitive or campaign based. That way you’ll always have a stash of worthy and re-usable content to fall back on – a real life-saver when you’re in a pinch.
Use scheduling tools
Setting aside time to schedule a bunch of posts may not seem like the best use of billable hours, but dedicating an hour or two to getting ahead can save you plenty of anguish down the line.
Aim to schedule your posts at least two weeks in advance to ensure that each of your brands have a steady flow of rich content lined up. That way, when you forget (because you WILL at some point) to post thanks to the flurry of notifications darting across your screen, you’ve covered your own back.