Navigating Client Boundaries During the Holiday Season as a Social Media Manager

During the holidays, there are always challenges about maintaining boundaries with social media clients.

With the craziness of the season, it's crucial to establish clear boundaries to prevent misunderstandings and maintain a healthy working relationship into the new year. We know holiday promos are in full swing, but we also deserve time off with our loved ones, even as freelancers.

This blog post walks through how to stick to boundaries, even during the holidays!

Understanding Boundaries

The first step in managing client relationships is to understand what your boundaries are. Boundaries often protect different aspects of your work, such as turnaround times, communication, and the scope of services offered. Your time is so important as a business owner, so what boundaries protect or time and sanity the most? Think about all those times that your role and clients made you super frustrated. Where did that route from?

When a client unintentionally crosses these boundaries, it can be rough. However, it's essential to recognize that many boundary breaches stem from a lack of clear communication. Start by writing out. If you don't know what your boundaries are and if they aren't set in stone, how will your clients know? From there, you can reiterate those boundaries

Communicating Boundaries

Clear communication is key when it comes to reinforcing boundaries. Saying "no" is not always easy for service providers who want to deliver amazing client experiences. While "no" is a full sentence and you don't have to do anything you don't want to in your business, you can also provide other solutions, too. For example, if a client asks for a last-minute meeting before the holidays, you can suggest a more suitable time in the new year.

Let's go over a few scripts you can steal for communicating boundaries with clients so you can feel confident when these situations pop up. And, trust us, they will pop up in business at some point!

When a client wants expedited turnaround outside of your established working hours:

"Thanks so much for sending this over. I totally understand wanting it done quickly. I stick to a two-business-day turnaround for edits and requests. That means I won't be able to complete this tonight, but I can have it ready for you by [specific date and time]. If you ever need something faster, just giving me a little more heads up is helpful."

Addressing Scope Creep

If a client requests additional work outside of the current project scope, try this:

"Thanks for the update and for wanting to work on additional XYZ. That piece isn't part of our current project scope, so I won't be able to take that on as is. What I can do is add it on as an add-on project for [specific amount], or we can swap it in place of [existing task]. Let me know your preference."

Reinforcing Approval Processes

If clients are not respecting your content approval process, you can remind them:

"Thanks for this. Just as a reminder, all content approvals and requests go through [insert tool name]. If you can drop this feedback in there, we'll make sure it's added into our workflow and updated as soon as we can."

Maintaining boundaries with clients during the holiday season is vital for both your well-being and the success of your projects.

By clearly defining your boundaries and confidently communicating them, you can navigate through the busy holiday season. Remember, boundaries are essential for a healthy relationship, and any client who doesn't respect them isn't the client for you. You aren't being unreasonable for having boundaries in your business and demanding respect!

Happy Holidays, Collective!