My boss is not so good at communicating. He hired me because of my graphic design skills figuring I could learn the Social media needs. I am always asking him for content for his social media sites, with little success of getting anything. He is the face of the company and I am not a realtor, so I am not qualified to share real estate content (or even know where to get the content).
How do I proceed with him on this. I am looking to learn more about social media posting for business, but the communication thing is getting crazy. I ask him when he will be in the office so I can meet with him, and I get no answers. Instead he deflects and gives me tasks that are Graphic Design related.
14 Comments
14 Comments
Kelli
1.3k
I help you go from STUCK TO FULFILLED
12/11/20 at 7:50PM UTC
Hi Laura - this is frustrating. Can you create a social media calendar with categories for post topics for each day? Then he can easily fill in a few bullet points for each category. Ask to have it back on Wednesday for the next week so you have time to create and schedule posts. Putting a process in place will make things easier on him and hopefully he will give you what you need.
4
Reply
N T
129
I'm here to help
12/11/20 at 8:02PM UTC
Hi Laura I agree with Kelli. As for the challenge of finding qualified content to share on social media. Would you and your boss be able to sit down and pick top sites your boss reads on the latest real estate topics the industry is paying attention to? Maybe then you two can work out a schedule to promote articles from there. Another approach is trying to pinpoint in your company if there are any other SMEs (subject matter experts) who can write a blog or provide topics for blogs and then google if those topics have already been written about by seasoned vets that you can share. Definitely if you can figure out social media influencers in the real estate I would follow them so you can repost and promote them as well. All the best of luck to you!
User edited comment on 12/15/20 at 10:39PM UTC
2
Reply
Madeline Schwarz
27
Communication + Career Coach for Introverts
12/15/20 at 6:02PM UTC
I love the ideas suggested so far and would add that doing your own research into what competitors are doing for social media might help you come up with topic ideas you can put forward. Then you only need his approval and edits to create a calendar instead of relying on him sitting down to do it from scratch. I would also use open ended questions and ask your boss directly how you can make his job easier?
3
Reply
Katie Malone
1.16k
Social Media Manager + Mother to two daughter
12/15/20 at 7:45PM UTC
Hi! Social media manager here... All of the above suggestions are perfect. If you want to learn more about social media marketing, I would recommend a few sites, too.
https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/
https://www.jennstrends.com/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/
I think that both research of how other realtors are using social media will serve you best right now. And then create a plan for say a week... You can present that to your boss in one meeting and see what he thinks and go from there.
1
Reply
Jennifer Smith
26
Career Coach & Consultant
12/15/20 at 8:35PM UTC
Hi Laura! One more thought in terms of the lack of communication — can you set up a recurring check-in meeting with him? Maybe bi-weekly? This helps with a couple things: ability to plan your schedule and his schedule around the dedicated time and knowing that you have dedicated time to get all your questions answered allows for higher productivity.
This approach has always helped me when I had tricky managers.
I hope it helps...
2
Reply
Alyson Garrido, Career Coach
405
Job Search and Career Advancement
12/15/20 at 8:51PM UTC
Great question, Laura. I think this is something so many of us experience. Could you let him know the impact of his lack of communication? Perhaps he doesn't know that it's impacting your ability to get things done. I wonder if a direct conversation about your goals and how you could add value could be helpful. Wishing you all the best.
Reply
Krista Coutts
309
Marketing Professional, Cross-Functional Leader
12/15/20 at 10:17PM UTC
This is a challenge...especially when we are WFH! Can you schedule time with him to review the expectations of your position and how he will help make both of you successful? He might not be social media "savvy" and needs some coaching? Good luck!
Reply
Anonymous
12/15/20 at 11:11PM UTC
Are you able to catch him your internal messaging tool (such as skype, MS teams etc.) and while you send your IM ask if you just call him instead. I agree with other set up a weekly or bi-weekly touchpoints this gives you an opportunity to chat with him on regular basis and ask questions about things you may have.
Reply
Laura Warren
37
Graphic Designer/Visual Communications degree.
12/15/20 at 11:31PM UTC
Thanks everyone. My boss emails me, texts and calls me. I talked with him last week and he told me he just needs me for the "personal" posts on his social media. We talked about ideas and what he wants. He also told me that the last two weeks of the month will be really slow. Like almost no work. The posts I have created and scheduled to be posted on peak days have only taken me 2 hours. (I've charged for google research) To make matters more challenging is that my boss has been feeling sick and went to get tested for Covid today. He has been out of the office for a full week and plans on being out for a couple more, just to be safe. He has also been sleeping a lot due to not feeling well, and does not respond for several hours (if not the next day) to messages. Which puts a pause on my work.
1 Reply
Dawn Reed
33
Equipping people for success
12/22/20 at 2:38PM UTC
Glad that you were able to get some information. I would take the slow time to develop a plan on what could be done to improve the social media presence. A phrase we use in my company is "run it like you own it". What would you do if it was your company? Develop this plan and present it to your boss. This would show initiative and potentially take pressure off him too.
1
Reply
Amy Bucciferro
93
Consulting is my profession, equality my passion
12/16/20 at 1:29PM UTC
Was the expectation set that this would be a full time role or a minimum number of hours per week? Sounds like you are billing hourly, so I would revisit what the commitment was to you when you were hired and potentially negotiate to change your pay structure and/or commitment to this role. It may work out better for you to settle on a part-time availability expectation and look for another part-time contract to supplement.
1 Reply
Laura Warren
37
Graphic Designer/Visual Communications degree.
12/30/20 at 4:24PM UTC
In a few years full-time with a team that would have various specialized tasks. (video productions, social media posting and graphic design) Right now I am not to go over 30 hours. (which hasn't been an issue at all)
1 Reply
Amy Bucciferro
93
Consulting is my profession, equality my passion
12/30/20 at 4:45PM UTC
Since you are not committed to this tile full time yet, you may want to explore other part time opportunities, focusing on ones where you can develop the skills you are most interested in focusing on. Thus will also build your portfolio and network for the future. Consider that this current job may not pan out as expected for any number of reasons that may have nothing to do with you. You owe them only what you are currently committed to and nothing more.
Reply
Miranda Wilcox
162
Helping women thrive at work and in life
12/17/20 at 11:27AM UTC
While it sounds like the latest news isn't what you wanted, you have more information, which is a good thing. What I'm inferring from your initial post is that your expectations and your boss' expectations may not be aligned. When the time is right you may want to have a conversation in which you ask him to clearly state what he expects in your role. As a starting point, you can share your understanding based on past communication and ask him to clarify. Try to approach this from a curious position where you ask questions so you can truly understand what he wants, without putting him on the defensive.
Reply
Looking for a new job?
Our employer partners are actively recruiting women! Update your profile today.
The Fairygodboss Feed
We're a community of women sharing advice and asking questions