Even the most put-together social media strategies and intentional content calendars still have dips. This is the reality of running social media for clients, performance won’t always trend upward.

Not every month brings those pretty case-study metrics. Algorithms shift, trends fade, audiences get busy and disengage…and suddenly, you’re staring at a report that makes you sweat a bit. I promise you that every social media manager and agency has been there, but what do we do?

Whether we like it or not, we are in an analytics-based industry. Clients count on us to bring in results. So, when you see those numbers in red and you are in full overthinker-mode, here are some ways you can dial back your heart rate and cope with those low months as a social media manager!

Reality Check

Reality check yourself for a sec...If you panic, your client will panic, too! Get out of your head, take the emotion out of it, and focus on what's really going on. Let me tell you something I absolutely hate being told: don't take it personally! I know it's challenging because you spent a lot of your time and effort on this strategy and content, but it's not you! Make sure you don't blame yourself for not predicting every little thing. We can't beat ourselves up for having a below-average month, we can only move on from it. So, before sharing this with the client or chatting about it with your team, take a moment to collect your thoughts, look in the mirror, and tell yourself that this is normal and these results don't define you.

Audit Outside Factors

What went wrong? Was there something that changed? What's your audience going through right now? What's the algorithm going through? There are seasons in your audience's life, seasons of the year (summer, we are looking at you), and current events that will disengage your audience. Maybe your audience is moms and they are busy prepping to send their kids back to school, maybe they are single and hate being online around Valentine's Day, maybe they are local to you and the weather has been super cold, so they are online a lot. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience and figure out what they are going through that might not have crossed your radar before.

This can be the same with the algorithm. Platforms frequently launch new updates and changes, and if you schedule your content out in advance (like many of us do, of course!) maybe you didn't have time to adapt. Go through anything and everything you can think of that could have impacted your strategy. Sometimes it's a factor out of your hands, and it's important to understand so you can be more prepared for this moving forward.

Audit Internally (Your Strategy + Content)

Now that you have the outside factors considered, was it something else? Go back through and look at individual post metrics. Is there certain content that you see trends in? What didn't perform? Read back through your copy. Was the messaging aligning with your audience? Look at your graphic/photo/video and topic choice, was it eye-catching?

Revisit your goals. Were they following the SMART goal method? Were they out of reach? Just like you construct a post and think about all those little details that come together to create it, now do the same in reverse and find out if there's anything you should be pivoting moving forward.

Use our free audit template if you need!

Re-Strategize

Take everything you learned from the audit and put it back into your strategy. Strategies aren't meant to be set in stone; they are for trial and error, pivoting, and experimenting. Strategies are like a science project; they are meant for leading and testing, not to leave you stuck in a box. Set new goals, reframe your messaging, try a new content pillar — whatever you think will be a great pivot based on your audit and your previous experience. Don't be afraid to ask for help in this process. In our Facebook Group for Social Media Managers, we work through all kinds of bumps in the strategy road if you need inspiration or pivots. Sometimes having a second set of eyes helps!

Communicate with the Client

Again, this isn't like going to your parent to tell them you forgot to take the trash out. This should be a healthy conversation! We aren't hiding behind those low results, we are explaining them and pivoting from them. But, what if the client drops me? Let them. Anyone who doesn't understand that metrics are a roller coaster isn't for you. All we can do, is present our results.
Need a reporting template? Visit our template shop.

In Conclusion...

Every single social media account goes through rough patches. You can't have a green, growing month every single month, no matter if you're putting in 100% of your time or 10% of it. All kinds of things shift, and it's not up to us to control those shifts, but instead to pivot and communicate through them. How you audit, strategize, and communicate this to clients will make all the difference in getting out of the red.