Why Social Media Managers Need a Project Management Tool

Social media managers handle a constant stream of content, feedback, and deadlines. A project management tool helps them keep it all in order without burning out.

If you’ve ever managed social media for a brand, you know it’s never just “posting content.” It’s timelines, revisions, approvals, last-minute changes, and trying to remember if that caption was approved in email or chat.

The hardest part isn’t coming up with ideas. It’s coordination.

Every post passes through multiple hands before it goes live. Copy, design, approvals, scheduling, reporting. And when those pieces aren’t organized in one place, things slip. One missed message can delay an entire campaign. One unclear task can create three extra rounds of revisions. Multiply that by weeks, and burnout isn’t far behind.

This is why social media managers need a project management tool.

Who are Social Media Managers?

Social media managers are the people behind a brand’s online personality. They create posts, respond to followers, plan campaigns, and monitor analytics to drive growth and awareness.

The Challenges Social Media Managers Face

Social media management sounds simple until you’re the one juggling everything behind the scenes. Every post is a chain reaction:

• Idea
• Draft
• Design
• Review
• Edit
• Approval
• Schedule
• Monitor
• Report

Now multiply that by 20–40 pieces of content per month, plus the number of brands to handle. And because social media moves fast, there’s rarely time to pause and reset. Everything feels urgent and public. 

Here are the usual challenges of a social media manager:

• Multiple platforms, different rules. Instagram wants visuals. LinkedIn prefers value-driven copy. TikTok needs to be more entertaining. Each platform has its own format, tone, timing, and expectations. What works on one rarely works on another.
   
• Communicating with too many stakeholders. Designers, copywriters, video editors, brand managers, and clients have input. And input usually means revisions.
   
• Approvals scattered everywhere. Feedback comes through email, chat, voice notes, comment sections, and sometimes screenshots of screenshots. Keeping track of what’s “final” becomes a job on its own.
   
• Last-minute changes. A trending topic pops up. A product detail changes. A campaign gets paused. Social media is reactive by nature, which means plans shift constantly.
   
• Tight turnaround times. Unlike long-form marketing campaigns, social content often has hours to be executed.

Individually, these challenges are manageable. But if they’re happening at once at all times, a change must be demanded. 

How Can a Project Management Tool Help

A project management tool makes your team more efficient. Instead of alternating five platforms and ten message threads, everything lives in one place. That alone changes how a social media team operates.

It provides:

1. One Clear Content Calendar

You can see what’s going out, when, and why. Campaigns, launches, and evergreen posts are all mapped visually so nothing overlaps or gets forgotten.

2. Defined Ownership

Every task has a name next to it. No more “I thought you were handling that.”

3. Asset Organization

The right file and its latest version is easy to find. No more “final_final_v4.png.”

4. Transparent Progress

Everyone sees what’s done, what’s pending, and what’s stuck. There will be fewer status meetings because the work is visible. Designers, copywriters, and managers can finally work in sync.

5. Easier Communication

Gives everyone visibility into what’s been said and decided.

6. Structured Approvals

Feedback stays attached to the actual asset. No need to hunt other platforms to confirm if something was approved. In just a click, a task moves to the next stage.

7. Real Time Progress Update

Track work in real time and stay aligned without sending a single message.

Using a project management tool turns scattered efforts into a repeatable process. Your energy can be spent in improving content, testing ideas, and optimizing performance. No longer about managing recurring tasks.

Choosing the Right Tool

There are plenty of project management tools out there. However, most of them weren’t built with social media teams in mind. They’re either too generic, too technical, or overloaded with features that make simple workflows feel complicated.

Upprovall breaks that. It’s not a repurposed task manager trying to fit marketing into a rigid structure. It already supports the way you work: fast-moving, collaborative, and deadline-driven. Learn more here.

Focused on clarity, campaign timelines are visible and approvals don’t get lost inside conversations. Everyone, from creatives to clients, works in the same space, without endless back-and-forth. It also has an added layer of security to protect your team’s privacy. So when your operations are solid, creativity finally gets the space it deserves. That’s how Upprovall is designed.

Create your forever free account today! Sign up here.

Conclusion

Managing social media without a solid system is basically trying to ride a rollercoaster blindfolded. Fun sometimes, terrifying most of the time. 

Don’t spin in circles, have a structure that works for your process. Enjoy the freedom to plan and create your work. Support that by using a project management tool designed to make it easier and powerful for social media managers: Upprovall. 

Alyssa Briones

Copywriter