I had to drink a rather LARGE glass of wine just to get through this list. That’s how crazy some of these things make me.
I know it’s like this no matter what role you’re in – but dang, are people THIS self-centered in every industry?
“I want 1,000 likes a week!”
“Let’s spend $20 boosting this blog post about my personal life – our fans will love that! And buy more!”
“We really need this video to go viral, okay?”
If you’re a Social Media Manager, a Community Manager, or a Social Media Consultant your blood has probably run cold as you’ve listened to your clients (who mean well, really!) say such things.
You’ve probably taken a deep breath, plastered on a way-too-toothy grin, and slowly explained why we shouldn’t focus on vanity metrics, that fans probably won’t buy more because of your feeble attempt at emotional marketing, and that you can’t really “make” something go viral.
These simple requests are everyday banter that drive us social media geeks right over the edge. Along with the 25 other reasons & statements listed below …
25 Reasons Working In Social Media Will Drive You Over The Edge
- Your client is way too scared to have a personality, so all of your posts end up looking like this: “This is an article from our [Company Blog]. We hope you enjoy it.”
- The client wants that press release put out on LinkedIn. Oh, and Twitter, and Facebook, and Pinterest, and hey, let’s Instagram a pic of it!
- Your boss decides it’s easier to link Facebook to Twitter. Plus, it saves time. And time saved is money earned!
- Your competitors can’t stop making basic grammar and spelling errors. (Even if they’re your competitor you just want to go in with a red pen and SLASH. ALL. THE. WORDS.)
- They just don’t get it: “Conversations? We have to have those? WHY?!” (<—- Ugh.)
- Shiny object syndrome: “Oh, Snapchat! Why aren’t we doing that one? Oooooh, Instagram! Let’s be sure to sign up for an account today, mmmm-kay?”
- Your manager comes up with the brilliant idea to sell something on every. single. newsletter.
- The client cc’s you on emails pertaining to anything remotely close to social media or marketing. Which 34% of the time has nothing to do with your scope of work.
- A prospective client assumes they’ll have that RFP within 30 minutes of asking for it — and without any sort of consultation or conversation.
- While you work more than most … 9AM – 11PM during weekdays, weekends and holidays … your biggest client likes to make every call or send every email at 7AM (and expects an immediate response).
- “Do you have any discounts?” (Sure. I’ll just cut this, this, and this from my scope of work to get you to the desired price. In other words, NO! Discounts are for dummies.)
- Why isn’t our blog getting massive shares yet?! We’ve been publishing for a whole month!
- “Why can’t we keep the negative comments off, and just keep the positive ones?”
- Your client thinks posting kitten memes, quotes from others, and ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ posters are some sort of strategy. No. Just … No.
- Your new client really isn’t sure exactly what they’re looking for, but they’ll know it when they see it.
- “Aren’t we AWESOME?! Buy our stuff!” and “Look at this cool thing we did. Buy our stuff!” and “Let me tell you what it really means to buy our stuff by sharing someone’s else’s quotes/story/messaging. But buy our stuff – not theirs!” This is their proposed Facebook strategy. (RUN.)
- Yes, we know what our story is, it’s: We’re the BEST in the world! No? No good? Okay, then it’s: We love helping people! Too generic? Oh … How about: We’ll add to your bottom line and have fun doing it! (Oy …)
- “I really don’t like having all of our stuff out there … it’s so public.” Ya think?!
- The client says, “I really like the way that looks, but can you change it back to what my high school-aged son made?”
- Your marketing liaison informs you that the target market for your ad campaign is males and females ages 0 to 65. (Insert dropped jaw here.)
- “Can’t we just grab an image off of Google?”
- Your customer just wants to agree with everyone. You know, no need to make waves.
- They REALLY just don’t get it: We don’t feel the need to post more than once a day/on weekends/on holidays/after hours/if we’re on vacation/[insert other absurd answer here].
- Your accounts just can’t understand why you can’t curate all of the content you need to share.
- Your accounts just can’t understand why you can’t share all of their content.
Did I miss any?! Be sure to let me know in the comments section below!
See you in the social sphere!
Want more tips like this? Click here to get our newsletter, The Social Swag, delivered straight to your inbox each month.
Latest posts by Brooke B. Sellas (see all)
- When to Let Go: Ensuring You Are Focusing On the Best Customers - November 29, 2023
- Optimizing Your ABM Strategy with Social Listening for Enhanced Results - November 15, 2023
- How To (Better) Appreciate Your Customer Experience Professionals - November 8, 2023
11 Comments. Leave new
You shouldn’t disrespect your clients and talk bad about them. They are reading your blogs and paying you, by the way.
Hi Jennifer, thanks for your feedback. We have wonderful working relationships with our clients, and this was really meant for farce (and no where did I say these statements were from our clients – these horror stories are circulating the web). We encourage our clients to read our blog, too!
Sorry if you didn’t find our tongue-in-cheek post amusing!
Oh my goodness, this is soooo true! Not with my clients or yours, of course! There is so much education that needs to be done when you start working with a new client. I’m sure you have figured out how to avoid these problem but yes, those clients are out there and yes, they will drive you crazy!
SO true, Alisa! We teach our clients from the get go what’s “no-no behavior” so they know what’s going to bring them more success (and help them be more efficient!). Everyone makes mistakes, too! Especially me. 🙂
Trial and error has helped ME be a better client as well. Thank goodness!
Love the post Brooke! Had a good laugh at quite a few of them.
Thanks, Chad! Glad you found the humor in this. 😉 It’s certainly not a “rainbows and unicorns” job!
Why aren’t we focusing 100% on Facebook? That’s where everyone is, even my nan has it
GOOD ONE, Helen! Spot on, too. Thanks so much for leaving us that little doozy (and for the comment!).
OMG! If I hear #13 from one more person (and yes, some of my clients), I’m going to scream! LOL! I LOVED this – every social media professional has heard these and can definitely relate!
LOL, Mandy. I think we’ve all been put through the ringer with that one. So glad you liked the post! 🙂 Thank you for leaving a comment!
[…] one in five highly-engaged employees is at risk of burnout. Social media definitely comes with its own challenges. That means you could potentially lose your best team members if you don’t deal with the […]