5 things social media managers should know about surviving the festive season

The festive season is nearly upon us and most social media managers deserve a well-earned break after a long year after growing their social networks and participating diligently across all the social networks they manage. I have listed a few things you can do which will ensure that you keep your community happy and afford you some time off.

1. Let your followers know you are taking a break
There is no harm at all in letting the subscribers to your blog and newsletter, your followers on Twitter, Facebook friends and LinkedIn connections know that you are going on leave and that they will not hear from you as often as they are used to. Schedule a blog post announcing the fact and schedule a few announcements on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other networks you participate on.

2. Plan and schedule a few updates
Schedule a few blog posts to be published at regular intervals during your time off. This will ensure that there isn’t total silence and that your subscribers will have some material to consume. Being the festive season you may want to focus on blogging content that is related to this time of year. You can use tools such as Hootsuite and Socialoomph to schedule a series of updates for Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook too.

3. Check in now and then
Have a cursory look at your mentions on Twitter, updates on LinkedIn and Facebook and comments on your blog once a week. Attend to any important items and leave the rest until you return from leave. Your followers will value your commitment.

4. Share some of your holiday experiences
Many shy away from this altogether but for those that enjoy sharing a few pics with their followers, this is an ideal time to do so. I enjoy mountain biking and the outdoors so I will be sure to share take a few photographs whilst mountain biking or hiking in some exotic location and post them on Twitter and Facebook.

5. Don’t forget to send a festive season greeting to your community
Take the time to send out a few messages across all the digital platforms you manage to wish all your followers and subscribers and to thank them for all the support they have given you this past year.

Happy Festive Season

I would like to end this by wishing everyone a happy and restful festive season. Enjoy the rest and the time you will be spending with your family and friends. Thank you for your support this past year and come back recharged and ready for a fruitful and abundant 2013!

One final comment – according to the Mayan calendar, some believe that the end of the world will occur sometime in December 2012, so if you are an ardent believer in these predictions, go crazy with the credit card and have that extra portion of pud at every meal.