Time management amid an avalanche of social networks

For communication specialists, staying current means longer days—and more frazzled nerves

It’s a professional communicator’s nightmare.

You’re stuck on a plane—offline—while a customer frantically tweets you about a problem with your company’s product. After six tweets within a half-hour, she declares that she’s switching her service to a rival company because of your lack of response.

That happened to Sprint Social Media Manager Justin Goldsborough. And he’s not alone.

Goldsborough is one of hundreds of corporate communicators struggling to manage the demanding nature of social media on top of other work responsibilities. The incessant need to tweet, e-mail or use Facebook extends many a business professional’s work day from eight hours to 12—and sometimes into weekends.

Gloria Ciaccio, public relations director for the Chicago Botanic Garden, says that aside from social media, she and another staff member are responsible for churning out more than 500 press releases and fielding 1,200 media calls a year.

“It’s just the addition of social media on top of everything else we’ve been doing,” Ciaccio said.