Seven months ago, I accepted a position as a social media assistant at the Quinnipiac University office of Marketing and Communications. I’ve never been too crazy about social media, posting once or twice a year. Still, it seemed like an exciting opportunity and a great way to learn about social media from a professional perspective. Not only did I learn about what makes social media professional, but I also learned about the tolls that come with the job. As a student and part-time employee, I bear less of the burden than my supervisor, the social media manager, but we work in a close-knit team and share ups and downs.
We all know that social media takes a toll on mental health, but does that change when you use it primarily in a professional setting representing a brand rather than personally? McLean Hospital recognizes that much of the problem presented by social media relates to the desire to boost self-esteem both consciously and subconsciously. Many people also begin to fear missing out because they see other people posting about the fun things they’re doing. These aspects of social media are less applicable when working with social media professionally because you are not representing yourself.
The documentary The Social Dilemma explains that cell phones rewire our brains so that each ping, buzz, and like releases dopamine and makes us crave more. This aspect is more likely to impact people who work in social media because, even if the content you produce and post isn’t about you, it’s meaningful, and you want it to do well.
I have noticed that I get more attached to the higher stakes projects that I have worked on, such as creating TikToks for the QU vs. Yale hockey game, one of the biggest games of the year. Although the game took place almost two weeks ago, I still find myself checking the post for the number of views, likes, comments, and shares.
I became particularly attached to this TikTok because it was more of a personal project than a team effort like much of our other content. I followed it from concept to completion and was ecstatic when it began amassing views on the platform. When I started working with the Quinnipiac University Office of Marketing and Communications, four videos were posted to TikTok with a minimal following. We now have 40 videos, and my pet project is the most viewed and interacted with (at 46.6k views, 1,856 likes, 43 comments, and 51 shares).
When I first posted the video, I was disappointed because another TikTok about the game that we made a little earlier in the evening was doing better and quickly reached one of our top five performing TikToks. I was elated to see that the one I made outperformed it a few days later. I began to obsess over it, constantly checking to see if it got more views and interactions. While this didn’t harm my mental health, it was surprising to see how wrapped up I became in a post that, from an external point of view, had nothing to do with me.
As I mentioned earlier, most of our content is created as a team. Everyone contributes ideas, and we bring them to life when we can, constantly shooting photos and videos at events to use in posts. Working like this helps keep any individual team member get too caught up in the social media vortex.
One more impactful aspect than I had expected was the comments people leave on posts. While many are positive, some are negative and can bring the energy of our team down if we let them get to us. For example, on the TikTok I references earlier, many people left comments to the effect that the hit was weak and, truthfully, it wasn’t very aggressive, but that was our intention. We wanted to show off the team without promoting violence which could be challenging because hockey is a high-impact sport.
Using social media professionally is very different from using it personally. Both have positive and negative aspects, but the professional side can have more surprising effects than you might expect. And remember, check-in on the social media managers in your life; they might need it.
Victoria Lorenz 