Check-ins are such a great opportunity to move your social media program forward. Yet many people don’t use them effectively. Too often I sit through meetings that are just me being talked at for an hour. That’s not collaboration and that will hold us back from reaching our full potential.
So if you want to improve your check-ins, let’s take a look at the different frequencies and how you can use them to improve your social media.
Daily check-ins
Not every social media consultant will be amenable to the daily check-ins, but they are necessary. And to be honest, they don’t happen every day. They happen frequently enough to make sure everything is staying on track.
For me, this usually happens over instant messenger and what program we use is dependent on the client. But it’s really quick in and out communication, which is why instant messenger is the best for these check-ins. I have clients who rely more on email, and there is just less of an urgency when it comes through email. Daily check-ins require timely responses.
Why is that? Because they are usually fan questions that need immediate answers and sometimes that requires chasing down that answer. So the quicker we start that process, the faster the fan can get that answer.
And with that, these are impromptu check-ins, so as a client, you have to be ready to get them.
They also go the other way around. The client could do daily check-ins about individual posts. This should be dealt with during the approval process, but that doesn’t always happen.
How do clients do these wrong?
I used to have a client who liked to go on vacation. They loved to go on vacation at every chance. Without fail, they’d forget to tell me they were going on vacation every time and there would be no designated person to work with me when they were gone. In other words, I consistently had trouble getting answers to fan questions.
If you want to get this right, tell your social media consultant when you are going to be out of the office. Make sure that someone is designated as their contact while you are gone and make sure that person knows that any questions from the social media consultant is priority since they are likely asking it to get information to a fan. It’s as simple as that.
And to be absolutely fair, your social media consultant should be doing the same for you in case you have important information. I tell my clients when I’m going to be out of the office for longer than a few hours with the best way to reach me during that time. I think it’s okay to ask your social media consultant to do the same.
Weekly check-ins
For me, this is when the approvals happen. I instant message my client when the content for the next week is available and the communication from there is done within the editorial calendar spreadsheet (look, I lurv a spreadsheet and it’s easiest for my clients who are not tech-friendly). And sometimes my client even remembers to tell me that they did approve the content. That’s a good day.
I’ve also been a part of a weekly team meeting where I gave the win for the week on social media and a quick rundown of what I was working on. We didn’t get into details. It was just a place for everyone to be on the same page and for people to jump in on things that they can help on. Quick and easy.
How do clients do these wrong?
I once had a client sign a contract and then demand a weekly meeting. I could tell instantly that this would be an in-depth hour long one-on-one weekly. That was not necessary for this project, and I hadn’t budgeted for it. So I quoted how much more it would be for an hour meeting every week. That was enough to change their mind.
If you want a weekly meeting, tell you social media consultant before the contract is drawn up so that can be accounted for in the costs. A meeting is time we are working for you, and it needs to be accounted for.
And you need to also know that this should be quick and not in-depth in anyway. There are other times for that. This should just be a check-in to make sure everyone is on the same page.
As far as approvals go, I once had a client who was just not good at doing approvals in a timely matter. This was bad, because it regularly affected timing, which is one of my ways of working with the algorithm. If this sounds like you, having quick, weekly check-ins to get this done is not a bad idea.
Monthly check-in
This is where we start getting more in-depth with the check-ins. For me, I want my client to tell me everything they foresee happening in the next three months. Once we have everything on the calendar, we start moving backwards so we can promote everything properly. This makes sure that nothing is rushed and we give everything the space it needs to shine.
Once we have everything mapped out, we then divide and conquer. What are the tasks that fall under the social media consultant’s job description? What are the tasks that the client needs to be doing? And what do they need to be doing together?
My view on this is that we’re asking these questions three months out. At two months out, we should be talking progress. And then a month out, we’re looking at any final touches. Otherwise, you are scrambling and content just won’t be as good.
And this meeting should also be about anticipating problems. Get started on talking about what can go wrong on social for the organization and talk through responses. The more you plan ahead for problems, the easier they are when they come along.
How do clients do these wrong?
These meetings are the worst when a client thinks the point is for them to talk at me for an hour. What the client has to say is the start of the conversation. It’s not the whole conversation. And if you believe it’s the whole conversation, you’re not going to get the best out of your social media consultant.
Something else that pops up is a client who doesn’t want to do anything. There has to be so much give and take between the client and social media consultant. That means inevitably that social media projects will come up that will require client participation. You will get better content, and it will just be more fun.
Quarterly check-ins
This is the big one to me. Quarterly, we should be looking at analytics together and compare them to our goals. This the time to re-evaluate everything. Are we really working towards these goals? How are we doing? What can we do better? What do we need to stop doing? Should we change overall goals? Should we change our strategy? And so on and so on.
Some of this can be done during the monthly meetings, but I think making real changes to the plan happen quarterly. Then you have more of an idea whether dips or highs are just random. Making changes too often can leave you with throwing out a strategy that does in fact work. You have to give a strategy time to actually work and not make a major change every time things look a little down.
How do clients do these wrong?
Clients want analytics too often and get too worried too soon. I understand, because they’ve handed their baby over to a social media consultant. But it’s rare that a strategy takes off overnight. Consistent content that moves the needle forward a little bit is more likely. Looking for big gains during weekly check-ins is a recipe for a lot of frustration on both sides.
And not having any interest in analytics and sticking with a strategy that isn’t working is another place where clients get it wrong. You have to have some idea of what is going on and some interest in keeping everything on track. Or else your social media consultant is allowed to run wild and that’s not going to keep them on task with business goals. Keep them accountable by learning as much as you can about what they are doing.
What to do next
Check-ins can be quick and they can be long. They can keep your social media consultant accountable or they can just be about making sure they have what they need.
Before you sign a contract, go over with your social media consultant what their preferred check-in schedule is as well as goals for each one. Then write it into the contract. Remember that the more you have in that contract, the more likely it is that you will get the excellent service you deserve.
How are you using check-ins with your social media consultant?