Eric Aaberg

Marketing

Taking A Healthy Break From Social Media & Why You Should Too | Dallas Brand Marketing

Social Media Marketing – Sometimes we forget how much we spend on social media. But, who could blame us? Society is truly built around all of these social media networks in the digital internet era we live in. We were taught to live our lives by social media: it’s where we get the latest news from our city, it’s where we stay in touch with our latest music artists or celebrities, or it’s even our work – but sometimes it can become an unhealthy habit as well, and mentally be draining.

As someone whose full-time job is revolved around social media (Social Media Producer at Complexity Gaming), it can become a 24/7 routine of constantly checking your phone, living by notifications, and reading the latest tweets from your friends (or even about events going on in the world). And let me also just say, working in social media is not always a “fun job” – it isn’t as easy as those Instagram Influencers or TikTok Accounts say it is, as it can most definitely drain your creative battery and lead to creative burnout.


As I am approaching our NCA Cheerleading Nationals Competition in April, I decided to take a break from social media – and even deleted the Twitter app. From running brand social media accounts for over the past 6-7(?) years, it feels amazing to truly disconnect away from social media and fully connect back to reality. Thankfully I do not run the Twitter account for my job, and only TikTok/Instagram – but I’m also going to dive into how those platforms too can be draining.

Twitter in the Esports/Gaming Industry can be so draining by just itself / by a typical user, but often times Social Media Managers are the ones who experience the “darker side” of being a personal user, professional user, and company/brand account on the social media network. Don’t get me wrong, Twitter is definitely a super useful platform – but it can be easy for those whose work is “tweeting from brand” to become easily overwhelming or lead to creator burnout.

I think there’s a lot to the “Social Media Manager” role (or division of roles) that is so commonly misunderstood and not popularly represented well to the public – and there definitely should be clearer representation/transparency for us social media creators. No, our jobs aren’t all about just “creating banger memes” or “being unhinged from the brand account” – but actually involve a lot of creative strategies, innovating thinking, emotional/constant engagement, and on top of that are even positions typically underpaid, under-appreciated (in/out the company), and overly utilized/strained (ie. having social media managers do the graphics, photography, content creation, and more).

And as I mentioned in a Tweet of mine, there are so many things I want to do but definitely just don’t have the time for them. In addition, to be as transparent as I could (which I think is healthy vs. only showing that “perfect” and always-happy side of yourself on social media) I shared that I was creatively burned-out.

So – these next few weeks are going to be fun. In less than 12 days, I’ll be in Daytona Beach, Florida with my teammates focusing on our cheerleading & dance competition – and soaking up the nice sun as well. And once that competition is over, I surely will be back on Twitter – but I think these few weeks off the platform are going to teach me a lot about making sure I’m focusing more on what’s real vs. what’s on social media.


Oh, by the way, I’m working with a good friend of mine on a podcast all about marketing, content creation, and elevating yourself as a professional personal brand & individual. Keep on the lookout sometime in April or so once I’m back on the social media world.

Eric Aaberg
About Eric | Business inquiries only: [email protected]

About Eric Aaberg

Eric Aaberg

Head of Social Strategy & Marketing, TGR Creative
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