What is social media management?

Social media management typically involves creating and publishing content, interacting with users, building relationships, developing strategies, growing reach and monitoring performance across various platforms.

Why is social media management important for businesses?

Statista reports that as of 2022, global social media users surpassed 4.59 billion and will likely reach six billion by 2027. Users dedicate over 2.5 hours daily to popular social platforms, engaging in messaging, trend exploration, and sharing photos and videos. Facebook currently hosts approximately 2.9 billion monthly active users, making it the most widely used social network globally. These stats illustrate the importance of making your brand visible to a wide audience.

With the help of a social media manager, you can drive users’ attention to your organization or brand. A social media manager is generally responsible for developing strategies to maintain and grow your followers and online social presence. The following responsibilities are common in the social media manager role:

• identify the target audience and research their interests, preferences and needs
• analyze engagement data
• develop digital campaigns
• create relevant content
• identify and track trends in customer interactions
• track and evaluate social media accounts
• select which networks are best for the brand
• increase a company’s social media reach

A social media presence can help your brand connect with prospects and communicate through different advertising channels, such as video, banner and carousel ads, influencer and content marketing, shareable content, social media trends and sponsored posts.

Social media management team skills

As you expand your social presence, you may require new team members to take on extra duties that come with business growth. You can build a talented team by focusing on developing specific skills, such as:

Time management

Social media teams can require many meetings to execute strategies, such as one-on-ones, stand-ups, and project kickoffs that can quickly fill your calendar. Remote and hybrid members may need additional help with time management. Perform regular meeting audits and schedule designated focus hours to help improve productivity.

Reporting and analytics

Develop a good understanding of collecting, collating and synthesizing data to explain its impact on your social media management strategy adequately.

Empathy

Your social team members are consistently online, seeing everything from world tragedies and catastrophes to brand crises and times of uncertainty. You can take preventative measures to prevent burnout and mental health issues by advocating for your team and keeping their well-being at the forefront of conversations during good and bad times.

Feedback

Constructive feedback can serve as a valuable tool for improvement. When your employees share insights on each other’s work or contributions, they contribute to the collective learning of the team. Concise feedback can help team members understand their strengths and areas requiring improvement for continuous progress and skill enhancement.

How to get started with social media management

Once you have a manager or team in place, the following steps can help you promote your brand on social media:

• Research your target audience: Learning about your target audience can help you create a meaningful social media strategy. Determine key traits of your ideal customer, including occupation, interests, pain points, age, gender and location, to design a customized strategy tailored to their needs and challenges. Develop a buyer persona to consolidate these details into one document to help make a more streamlined and focused approach to address your audience’s preferences and concerns.
• Choose your social media platforms strategically: Identify the most impactful social networks to execute your strategy and connect with your target audience. Concentrate on the platforms your customers frequent the most, such as Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram. Analyze demographic data to pinpoint these social networks and prioritize based on your target audience’s preferences. A social media audit allows you to assess platform engagement, helping you identify and prioritize the most effective ones.
• Develop a social media strategy: Your social media manager can tailor a strategy for every platform, using details like target audience, goals, values, industry insights and brand voice. This approach can ensure a well-rounded plan that resonates with your audience across all your social media channels.
• Design profiles: Ensure alignment of your social accounts with your brand voice, personality and visual elements. Instant brand recognition can be invaluable. Share polished images and videos for a lasting impression that entices followers. Consider social media design carefully; for example, create an eye-catching header and distinctive background on X (formerly known as Twitter), an engaging profile picture on Instagram, and maintain a consistent brand header and profile picture on Facebook. This cohesive identity can strengthen your brand presence across various platforms.
• Develop a publishing schedule: Establish a content posting timetable for each social media account by preparing a content calendar. Consider using scheduling and publication tools to save time and resources. Some apps allow you to set specific post dates and times within a content calendar for automatic sharing with your audience. Specific platforms can suggest optimal times for publication, maximizing engagement and relevance. This strategic approach can ensure a consistent and timely flow of content to connect effectively with your audience.
• Engage with your audience: Prioritize daily customer communication to earn their trust and business. You can use your content to interact with and respond to comments through specialized services or manual interaction to demonstrate attentiveness and build strong connections with your audience. Social management software can track impressions and messages across various networks.
• Boost your outreach: Consider exploring various strategies to grow your subscriber base. Your options include running ads, sharing content aligned with high-engagement trends or collaborating with influencers. These marketing approaches can increase your brand’s visibility, drawing in new followers. Influencers can endorse and recommend your product and heighten awareness, prompting potential customers to consider purchasing.
• Track performance: You can evaluate your content’s effectiveness by consistently monitoring your social media marketing performance, including top-performing content, ad analytics, and campaign productivity. Analyze your insights to identify strengths and weaknesses, and perform a thorough content and strategy audit to rectify issues and optimize performance for future campaigns.

Social media content creation

People often visit their favourite social networks to connect with family and friends, enabling businesses to establish lasting connections with their audience. However, the competition can be intense, with direct competitors and various elements vying for attention on these platforms, including publications, media outlets, and creators. Understanding what your audience wants can help users notice you on social media. Regardless of whether it’s entertainment, commentary on trending topics, a sense of community or tips and tricks, identifying your niche can help your business remain relevant in this ever-active environment.

In terms of formats, short-form videos are currently the most engaging in-feed social content. Originating from the success of TikTok, this format is extending its popularity to every major social platform. Short-form videos can capture your audience’s attention without demanding a significant commitment.

Manage your reputation

Social media helps drive a target audience to interact with businesses. For example, online reviews can persuade a potential customer or client to go ahead with a company or look for something “better.” Consider using the following guidelines when managing your online reputation:

• Request a review: You can ask customers via social media, e-mail, text or phone to share their experience with your products or services. Offering a discount or free product in exchange for a review can also generate feedback.
• Respond to all reviews: Customers typically look for a response when they leave negative reviews and want to feel heard and respected. While it can be challenging, responding to all reviews can help boost your reputation.
• Proactive risk management: People may discuss your product or service on their profiles without mentioning or tagging your brand’s account. Consider developing a social listening strategy to help you stay aware of conversations regarding your business and industry. Social listening tools can create lasting impressions with your audience and support an opportunity-driven reputation management strategy.