6 steps to awesomeness on social media—without burning out

Too many communications departments are focused on providing real-time responses.

We live in a 24/7 world. Our customers and supporters come at us any time of day, from multiple local or global locations with their accolades, issues, complaints, and questions. Supporters using multiple channels of communication, especially online, further complicate this scenario.

As a result, businesses and organizations react by trying to be everywhere at once, all the time. Even with a strategy, this is unsustainable for those of us without bottomless pockets.

So what is there to do?

First, let’s accept that there will always be outliers—people who post in places where we do not have a presence and complaining about things we would rather were kept locked away. This will not change, and given how quickly people produce and sign up for new online platforms, their options will grow.

Second, we all always face limited resources. You may love those employees that never turn off their cell phones, send updates around the clock, and seem to reply to every post, email, and phone message. They’re great—and they’re burning out. Those twitches aren’t normal, and the more fluorescent liquid they pour down their throats the faster they’ll crash.