For some people, vacation means a getaway from everything - your job, your house, and your standard way of life. It means packing up the family car or hopping a plane to some fantastic destination while leaving everything behind. For me, and other social media managers, it does include the amazing locale, but not the escapism that is typically associated with a vacation.
For about thirty years, I’ve vacationed in North Carolina each year. When I was seven years old, this meant I would spend an entire day on the beach, shower, and then force my mom into the organized torture that is mini golf on a small island. Now, it means something a little bit different. I can’t, nor do I want, to spend an entire day on the beach as I’ve developed a special kind of hatred for seagull feeding tourists, a distaste for sand, and an unhealthy interest in sharks.
My dislike of the beach isn’t the only difference. These days, I also have to work. While the rest of the people in the neighboring condos are heading out to the pool at nine o’clock in the morning, I’m researching content with the world’s slowest internet connection (Seriously. Think dial-up without hearing the song of its people).
But, you know what? I wouldn’t change it.
For me, being a social media manager is a commitment to my clients, and this means serving them even when I’m supposed to be sipping cocktails poolside. I won’t compromise my work ethic for any amount of sun and fun, and neither will my travel companion (my sister, Stephanie) so we vacation after our daily tasks are complete. Whether it be writing a blog for a client, hammering out a set of content, or checking the Twitter accounts, I’m going to do it, because it is what I said I would do.
When I signed on with a social media company, I knew it was going to mean being available to my clients when they need me. One of the things on which I pride myself is that I do what I say I’m going to do. If I tell a client that they will have content to review on a Tuesday afternoon, then they will have their content that day. If a client sends me an urgent email asking for a call, I’ll call even if my niece is clawing at the back door to go swimming.
Some would say this is the price we pay, but like I said, I wouldn’t change a thing. I love what I do, and I’m invested my clients’ businesses. That’s the #Strella way.
