The Rise of The Social Media Manager Mum!

Mums Tips

Mumpreneurs & Mums at work

Published on Saturday, 14 March 2015 11:10

Last Updated on 16 March 2015

SanjeetaBains

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According to writer Caitlin Moran, best-selling author of How To Be A Woman, a mother can achieve much more than a childless person – thanks to superior time management skills.

Mum-of-two Caitlin writes: “Give a new mother a sleeping child for an hour and she can achieve 10 times more than a childless person.”

Caitlin is right –  as we know, mumpreneurs are taking over the world!

Londoners Kathryn Tyler, 38, and Nikki Cochrane, 42, are not mothers themselves but they also recognise the super-human time management skills that many mums possess – and they’ve built a  super successful business around it.

Last year,  Kathryn and Nikki launched Digital Mums, a social enterprise that helps mums get back into work by training and mentoring them to become social media managers. After successfully completing the training,  the ‘Digital Mums’ are matched with businesses that need social media managers.

“Almost all businesses should have a Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – not only to push their product but to engage and have a relationship with their customer base,” says Kathryn.

“We saw that there was a big demand for social media support and that mums are the best people to fill this demand. ”

As well as being effective time managers,  mums are digitally savvy – even more so than younger people.

“Mums are really good at using social media at home. They’re very active online and clued up about the various SM platforms available. This made it even more obvious to Nikki and I that they could take their social media skills to a professional level.

“And of course, you don’t need to be in an office to be a social media manager – so the job can fit around family life.”

“As a mum, I learned how to prioritise effectively.”

London mum Emma Unwin, 38, is a former TV director and mum to three-year-old twins Kitty and Alice. She started the Digital Mums Advanced Social Media training programme last November.

“Before having my children, I was very much a perfectionist and had a tendency to get bogged down in details at work. Now I juggle a lot of demands on my time but I just get on with it and know how to prioritise! It’s a different way of working for me but I’m much more efficient. I’m also more flexible, which I’ve learned is the best approach when working in social media.

“I spend on average 10 – 15 hours a week on the course – including my social media test campaign for SXT Health, a community interest company (CIC).  SXT is a new national database of sexual health providers, and my test campaign is to raise awareness of the database amongst sexual health practitioners so they join SXT.

“I look after the Twitter account and LinkedIn for the company as well as the personal LinkedIn account for SXT’s founder. I work Monday and Wednesday mornings when the girls are at nursery and in the evenings when they’re in bed – so my work hasn’t impacted on them at all.

“I graduate from the course next month and I hope to secure paid work as a social media manager for SXT or another Digital Mums business client.  It’s great to know I have found a job that is creatively stimulating but also gives me the freedom to put family life first.”

For more information please go to the Digital Mums website.