If you’ve ever had to explain your job as "just posting on Instagram," this one's for you.
Social media managers wear more hats than anyone realises: strategist, creator, analyst, community manager, customer service rep, cultural translator, and sometimes... punching bag.
While the job often looks fun from the outside (free products! memes! going viral!), it comes with a constant, quiet pressure that never entirely turns off.
There’s the always-on expectation, the ever-changing algorithm, the 8pm DM crisis, the weekend comment moderation, and the impossible demand to both follow and set trends. It’s no wonder burnout is hitting social media managers hard!
But here’s the thing: most burnout advice is aimed at the individual—meditate, take a walk, drink more water. And, while well-meaning, it ignores the real issue: Burnout in social media management isn’t a personal failure to "cope"—it’s a structural problem.
If you feel burnt out in your social role, we’re here to help! This guide is about helping you name the problem, reclaim your power, and—most importantly—fix the system behind the burnout, not just yourself.
What burnout looks like for social media managers
Before you can fix burnout, you have to recognise it—and that’s tricky when it doesn’t always look like a full-on breakdown. In social, burnout often shows up slowly, creeping in through the cracks of your workflow, inbox, and sense of purpose. It builds up quietly, one late client email, overwhelming campaign, and thrown-together report at a time.
According to a 2023 survey by Sprout Social, 63% of social media managers say they experience job-related burnout. The top drivers? Unrealistic expectations, unclear KPIs, and lack of cross-team support.
Social media burnout isn’t just about being tired: it’s a constant emotional and cognitive load. You’re expected to perform creatively, strategically, and socially every day while navigating criticism, dismissiveness, and algorithm shifts that no one else understands. And, because so much of the job happens behind the scenes, it’s easy for leadership to overlook the signs until it’s too late.
Burnout doesn’t always mean collapse. Sometimes, it just looks like losing the spark that made you good at this in the first place.
The signs you might be burning out:
- Dreading notifications—even the nice ones
- Feeling like you can’t log off (even when you technically could)
- Being creativity tanked, even though you love your brand
- Emotional exhaustion from community management
- Lack of clarity around what success even is anymore
Why social media burnout is systemic
Let’s stop pretending this is a resilience issue. Burnout in social isn’t about not being "zen" enough. It’s the result of a broken system that puts constant pressure on small teams with unclear direction, monumental expectations and too many roles done by too few people.
Here’s how social media burnout might start seeping into your team…
1. Unrealistic expectations
Social media roles are often seen as entry-level or "fun"—but the expectations tell a different story. There’s an unspoken pressure to go viral on demand, create high-performing content with little budget, and keep every stakeholder happy.
Add the pressure of reacting in real-time to trends, crises, and customer complaints, and you’ve got a recipe for burnout by design.
2. Understaffed teams
Many brands are still assigning social to one person, even when it’s the primary channel for communication, sales, and support. When that one person is writing captions, building strategy, running ads, responding to DMs, and jumping into crisis comms, it’s not just unrealistic—it’s unsustainable.
It also puts monumental pressure on solo SMMs to never take time off, never get sick, and—with social media's fast-paced and ever-present nature—never be off the clock. Because if they do, who’ll pick up the slack?
The fact is, growth without headcount equals burnout.
3. Poor workflows and feedback loops
Even if the content is great, if the process is a mess, managing social media can be incredibly stressful. Endless rounds of feedback, last-minute changes, surprise Slack messages saying, “Can you post this today?”—without a streamlined content calendar, clear approvals, and timely feedback, social managers are constantly operating in fire-fighting mode.
4. Lack of clear KPIs
Imagine being asked to kick goals or reach milestones that are never clearly defined: welcome to life without KPIs!
When your role spans awareness, conversion, engagement, and brand voice—but leadership can’t tell you which matters most—it leads to confusion, frustration, and a sense of never doing enough.
This leads to a reactive, unsupported way of working. And guess what? It’s not the people—it’s the system.
Collaborate effortlessly, save time and spend less
Why settle for a lackluster social media management tool when you could be using Sked Social? With unlimited collaborator access, streamlined approvals and advanced auto-post technology that lets you schedule to all major platforms, Sked Social offers everything you need.
Get Started for FREESo, how do we fix it? (Spoiler: not with yoga)
Wake-up call: Meditation alone won’t solve your broken content calendar. And “just taking a break” doesn’t cut it when posts still need to go live, comments need replies, and every trend has a 48-hour window.
Burnout in social isn’t necessarily about fixing your burnout—it’s about fixing the conditions that cause it. That means system-level changes, not surface-level self-care. This next section focuses on five practical shifts that will reduce your workload and make your job more sustainable, respected, and actually fun again.
These fixes require buy-in from both social teams and leadership, but the good news is: they’re not out of reach.
1. Build better delegation and collaboration
You can’t do your best work when you’re doing all the work. Even if you’re a small team, defining clear roles can help reduce overwhelm.
Split tasks across content creation, engagement, strategy, and reporting. That way, no one person becomes the bottleneck—or the burnout scapegoat. If hiring isn’t possible, start by documenting responsibilities and assigning primary owners. That clarity alone can ease mental load and keep things moving.
Pro tip: Use a project management tool like Asana or Trello to document who owns what. Clarity reduces chaos!
2. Set smarter, clearer KPIs
When you know what success looks like, you can chase and celebrate it. Instead of relying on vague “growth” goals, link your content performance to actual business objectives.
Want leads? Track link clicks or UTM traffic. Want community? Focus on DMs, shares, and repeat interactions. Make your metrics meaningful—and make sure your leadership understands what they mean.
Pro tip: Use Sked’s Metrics That Matter guide to help build your KPI playbook.
3. Fix your approval and content workflows
The most common workflow killer? Chaos. Avoid it by setting up a proactive content calendar with baked-in approval cycles.
That means planning at least two weeks ahead, leaving buffer space for reactive content, and ensuring every post has a clear path from draft to live. No more midnight captions or chasing people for feedback. Use platforms that support version history, comments, and review tracking.
Pro tip: Automating workflows and approvals means fewer Slack pings, distractions, and missed deadlines (Sked Social can help you with that!)
4. Get leadership on board
Social teams can’t build better systems in a vacuum. Leadership must actively support change by respecting boundaries, reinforcing priorities, and investing in tools and team growth.
If you’re a team lead, advocate up and model these boundaries. Stop responding after hours, and build a culture where posting urgently on a Sunday is the exception, not the norm.
5. Use tools that reduce busywork, not add to it
Every platform claims to make things easier, but some just add more tabs. Choose a tool that simplifies, not complicates.
From scheduling to reporting, your stack should reduce admin, not create more of it. Look for platforms that combine planning, publishing, approvals, and analytics so you’re not duct-taping workflows together with spreadsheets, emails, and extra logins.
Pro tip: Sked Social’s built-in scheduler, media library, approvals, and analytics help teams do more in one place—with fewer clicks and headaches.
Case in point: How Buffer overhauled their process (and saved their sanity)
Buffer, a well-known social media management platform for small businesses and solopreneurs, recognized the signs of burnout among its social media team. The team was grappling with social media's "always-on" nature, which led to stress and decreased productivity.
The challenge:
- Team members felt the pressure to be constantly available, responding to social media interactions at all hours.
- The lack of clear boundaries between work and personal time led to fatigue.
- There was a need for a more sustainable approach to social media management to maintain team well-being.
The fix:
- Buffer introduced a rotation system for their social media managers, similar to customer service teams, to ensure no single person was always on call.
- They emphasized the importance of setting boundaries, encouraging team members to disconnect after work hours.
- The company also focused on creating a support system within the team, promoting open communication about workload and stress levels.
The outcome:
- The rotation system allowed team members to have designated off-duty times, reducing the feeling of being perpetually on call.
- Clear boundaries helped decrease stress and prevent burnout.
- Open communication fostered a supportive environment where team members felt comfortable discussing challenges and seeking help.
By proactively addressing the systemic issues contributing to burnout, Buffer created a more sustainable and healthy work environment for its social media team.
The TL;DR? Burnout is not in the job description
If you’ve been quietly burning out while trying to make magic on every platform, you’re not alone. But it also doesn’t have to be this way! With the right systems, better tools, and better support, you can absolutely kill it on socials without killing your passion or your personal life.
So, let’s stop glorifying the grind and start building social systems, teams, and processes that can sustain great work—not just survive it.
Want help getting your evenings (and brainspace) back? Try Sked Social to reclaim your workflow!
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