The job of a social media manager isn’t the same as it used to be. Way back when, the only people using social media were interns in their fields and all they had to do was simply post original content to result in high levels of engagement.
But the social media landscape has changed from a game of checkers to a game of chess. Nowadays, you have to keep up with new algorithms dished out by Mark Zuckerburg for Meta and Instagram or Elon Musk for Twitter, making it more and more difficult to figure out the creative content that will engage the proper audience for a specific brand.
It’s not a bad idea to have an existing employee who works on other tasks within your company contribute to your social media efforts – this might be a marketing intern or someone on the internal marketing team.
However, social media management has become an important job on its own, and dedicating that task to someone who’s highly trained may be the best option. A specialist who focuses solely on the creation and management of social media campaigns can help provide the best return on your investment when you decide to make social media a priority.
What Does a Social Media Manager Do?
Some of the everyday roles a social media manager takes on include…
Creating strategies to increase followers and engagement across various platforms
Spearheading and overseeing social campaigns
Making and overseeing content creation
Reviewing analytics
Creating a style guide
Understanding searcher intent
Building a social media calendar
Communicating with key stakeholders about how a brand is appearing on social media
Benefits of Hiring a Social Media Manager
When you decide it’s time to up your social media game, you’ll likely realize pretty quickly that it’s a lot more time consuming than you might think. There are numerous benefits associated with hiring a social media manager, ranging from gaining back time and resources to getting the most out of your online presence.
Save Time
There are never enough hours in the day when you’re running a company in today’s fast-paced economy – let alone making time for the even faster-paced task of keeping up with all of your social media platforms. You don’t need to spend your time creating posts, focusing on what’s trending and how it’ll perform among your audiences, and triaging social media interactions.
When you outsource your social media management, you can save yourself time to work on other tasks related to the company and have a dedicated individual on the job who is a true pro.
Create Engaging Content
It may not seem too difficult to make a graphic every now and then for your company’s social media, but thinking of social media management as a “side job” isn’t going to get you far. A social media manager is a dedicated individual who will focus on creating the ideal content for your brand at a consistent rate by using visuals, focusing on click-worthy headlines, encouraging user-generated content, experimenting with new concepts, and reiterating those tactics that work best for your company.
Target the Right Audience
An important aspect of a social media manager’s job is understanding the conversion funnel and searcher intent – and how to apply those ideas to marketing through social media campaigns. Social media managers spend time researching your brand’s audience and identifying what type of content resonates with them.
Then, they repeatedly make that content, focusing on related trends. They may use analytics tools to gather data on engagement, demographics, and interests in order to generate content that appeals to their target audience.
Boost Brand Recognition
One of the best perks of utilizing social media is that it allows you to boost your brand recognition. Some brands have such established presences that you recognize them without a second thought – like the signature Disney font or the red and yellow McDonald’s palette.
A social media manager helps build your brand by first building a stylebook (guidelines around content, font, logo, and color palette) and creating content that adheres to your brand and its values. Once you have a clear understanding of your brand, you can create a consistent and cohesive brand identity across all your marketing channels thanks to a dedicated social media manager.
Increase Engagement
Boosting engagement on social media requires a deliberate and well-planned strategy. While posting on occasion at any time of the day or any day of the week is better than no strategy, strategic planning can make all of the difference when it comes to engagement.
Social media managers are on the job, so they will post consistently. Studies show that the most well-performing social media accounts make at least 16 posts a month. When you hire a social media manager, they will utilize analytics tools to decide what type of media (videos, reels, photos, etc.) to determine what your specific audience wants to see.
In addition to this, they will take care of encouraging user interaction through questions, giveaways, and user-generated content. These are just a few of the ways social media managers focus on the “social” aspect of social media. Social media is a two-way communication channel, so it's important to have a specific individual who’s dedicated to interacting with your audience by responding to comments, answering questions, and addressing concerns. This helps build a relationship with your audience and fosters engagement as well as brand loyalty.
Work Toward Your Business Goals
The first thing a social media manager does in deciding which platform to use for a client is to understand the client’s business goals.
For example, your business goals could be increasing revenue, boosting customer acquisition, raising brand awareness, or reaching Gen Xers, Gen Zers, Baby Boomers, business owners, students, etc.
Once a social media manager understands your business goals, they will decide which social media platforms to use to actually make those goals a reality. If your company is looking to target specifically older generations, it may be worthwhile to up your Facebook marketing. If you’re looking to appeal to teenagers and young adults, maybe you will utilize TikTok for your brand. A social media manager makes reaching your business goals easier.
Is Hiring a Social Media Manager Worth It?
The short answer? Yes. Hiring a social media manager can be a worthwhile investment for a company and, despite this being a position that’s in high demand, it’s not going to break the bank. Social media has become an essential part of the modern business landscape, and having a strong social media presence can be a powerful tool for building brand recognition, driving engagement, having person-to-person interactions that boost positive company reviews, and increasing sales. It allows the company’s leadership to focus on other important business functions while leaving social media management to a dedicated professional.
Entrust Your Media Projects to Baltimore’s #1 Social Media Manager
It’s not easy being a business owner – as well as the individual behind your social media accounts – on a daily basis. But that’s where WriteHQ can help. Plus, our services come at a reasonable cost.
WriteHQ offers full-service social media management with proven results. Take our client in the hospitality industry, for instance, who saw a 900% increase in followers in just three months with our help managing social media.
No matter what your goals are, we'll create a social media plan tailored to your individual needs and vision. Your initial consultation is completely free, so what do you have to lose? Take the first step toward better social media today!
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