What Do Social Media Managers Do And Do You Need One?

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Successful social media strategy takes knowledge, experience, and a lot of hard work. To the point where a social media manager is now a full-time job. Big companies and corporations have dedicated employees to run their social media accounts because social media has become a large part of any good marketing strategy. But if you’re a small business owner who doesn’t employ a marketing team, where does this leave you?

Social Media Managers for Small Businesses

When small business owners want to take a step towards content marketing and social media marketing, hiring a social media manager is often the smartest decision. Usually, this will be through enlisting the services of a third party rather than hiring a new employee.

This allows the small business owner to leave the development, organization, and management of a social media strategy to the experts. Social media is now inherent in an up-to-date marketing strategy. Small business owners are trained to be dentists/accountants/lawyers/hairdressers, not marketing consultants. These professionals aren’t, and shouldn’t be, expected to know how to properly run an online marketing campaign.

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Do You Need A Social Media Manager?

If you run a small business and you are looking to take your online presence to the next level, to engage in some online marketing, and to boost your social media presence, it’s a good idea to invest in a social media management company. It comes down to the old adage of “if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.”

Social media is user-friendly and it is easy to set up business pages, but running them according to standards of marketing best practice is complicated. Here just a brief overview of the work involved in managing a business social media strategy:

  • Create content to post regularly and consistently according to SEO guidelines
  • Post content to multiple social media platforms
  • Keep track of which content is posted where
  • Respond and reply to any comments
  • Engage in the community to generate leads and followers
  • Check analytics metrics to determine how posts are performing
  • Adapt content based on analytics

And they are only the basics. “Creating content” alone involves writing articles, creating graphics, recording videos, sourcing interesting material, and taking and editing photos.

If any of that seemed overwhelming, you definitely need the services of a social media manager. They’ll let you carry on with your job while ensuring that your marketing dollars are put to the best use.

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What to Look For When Hiring a Social Media Manager

There has recently been a huge rise in the number of social media management and online marketing service providers available. Should you decide to enlist the services of one of these companies, you’ll be spoilt for choice with options. There are a few things to keep in mind to help you settle on which social media manager will be best for you.

Unlike older professions like dentistry or carpentry, there is no regulating body, professional association, or recognized training program for social media marketers. Anyone can call themselves a social media marketer, but whether that makes them any good at it or useful for your business is another story. Here is what you should ask a prospective social media manager:

  • What do they understand about your profession, and how will their strategy reflect that? If they can’t answer this, they don’t know enough about your target audience and how to tailor content to your business’ needs.
  • Do they understand how to analyse data and do what tools do they use to measure success? You don’t necessarily need to understand this question or even the response to it – as long as your prospective social media manager knows what they’re talking about! What social media managers do should be influenced by all the data which the social media sites provide about their posts. If they aren’t doing this then they’re only doing half their job.
  • Can you see progress reports? This is useful when you’ve actually hired a social media manager. They should be able to show you exactly how they are spending their time and your money and demonstrate how their work is positively affecting your business and your bottom line.

At the end of the day, you already have a job, you don’t need to work as a marketer as well. Social media is a powerful marketing tool for businesses if it’s done right. And if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well, so it’s best to leave it to the professionals.

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