Social Media Management

Here Are The Fundamentals That All Social Media Managers and Small Business Owners Must Know

Are you currently handling your social media in-house? Did you recently partner with a digital marketing agency? Are you thinking about ways to automate your process and get organized? No matter what stage of the journey you are in, you need to get up to speed on the fundamentals now!

A lot goes into an effective social media strategy. Do not throw your money away on random ads with no clear objective. From planning and budgeting to creating customer personas and target audiences to content creation and writing effective content, Motus has you covered.

Managing multiple social media accounts can be very overwhelming. There are a lot of variables to consider: which platform(s) to utilize, image and video formats, trends, optimized headlines, A/B testing, budgets, which content to publish, and the constantly changing algorithms just to name a few. If you want to stay sane and productive, it starts with being organized.

After reading this article, you will begin to learn how to turn your social media accounts into an organized lead generation tool. Whether you want to devote the time to do it yourself or talk to an agency that can do it for you, you should understand the basics. Call Motus for a consultation or a second opinion.

What Is Social Media Management?

Social Media Management is the process of managing your social media presence, building trust with prospects and increasing visibility on social media channels, creating and publishing content, monitoring engagement, growing a community of lifelong customers, and finally collecting and analyzing the data to see what is working and where you need to pivot. Whether you do it yourself, have someone in-house, or hire an agency, it is important to understand what social media management is and why it is essential in today’s market.

Why Is It Important?

Everyone spends their time on social media these days. It is crucial to meet your customers and prospects where they are. There are a plethora of social media channels and different ways to make sure your brand is seen on each one of these platforms. Which channels you utilize and what type of advertising you do will depend on your company’s specific goals. Whether you use one channel or a dozen, social media management is an essential part of an overall marketing strategy. It is important to make sure you have a consistent message.

Should I Outsource?

If you are too busy or do not have the know-how to dedicate time to do this correctly, I suggest hiring a social media management company to take it off your hands. A social media professional will conduct competitive research, develop a strategy, create the content, and utilize best practices for each platform. They will take care of the social media marketing so that you can focus on what you do best. It is important to do your research and know what you are getting before deciding on an agency.

Social media Planning

1. Discovery

Target Audience: Who are your ideal customers? What are they searching for? Where are they spending their time? It is important to get in touch with how your prospects speak and act before executing a strategy
Business Objectives: Set SMART goals. Having clear objectives for each campaign is a must. Your strategy MUST be created around your unique goals and needs.
Competitive Research: Have a professional look into your competitors to determine what they are doing well and what is working. Then create a strategy to pick your spots and do it better. Digital Marketing is a marathon not a sprint.
Social Audit: Take a look at your current social media platforms. Get a baseline before moving forward. Listen to what people are currently saying about your brand.

2. Strategy

Make sure it is consistent with the rest of your overall digital marketing strategy
Social Tools: After doing your research, which platforms will work best?
Content Strategy: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. It must be relevant and useful to your target audience. It typically takes 8 digital touches to begin to build trust. It must be a balanced mix of adding value and selling your product or service. Do your research or talk to a professional before you start posting.
Publishing Schedule: Once you determine which channels you are using and a content strategy, then you need to determine how frequently you will post. Less is not more in this case.

3. Management

Data Collection: One of the best parts about digital marketing is that everything is measurable. Look at the data regularly.
Pivot Regularly: Measure your current performance against your original objectives. Look at what is working and what is not. Pivot as needed for best results.
Keep going: This is not a static process. Always assess the data and adjust.

Social media Budget

Whether you are planning a completely organic social media campaign or you want to do some paid advertising to see some quick results, you must determine a budget.

Costs to Consider:

Social Media Management Tools
Brand Monitoring Tools
Photo & Video Editing Apps
Copywriting
Agency or Payroll Costs
Advertising Budget

Content Creation

Content is king! Creating high quality content that produces a substantial ROI requires a budget. Creating effective ads and posts is an art and a science. It is not as simple as posting some random photos. It is data driven and granular. Consider the costs before moving forward.

You will need a consistent stream of content to publish. Effective social media campaigns require publishing the right content at the right time in the right place.

Things to Consider:

Copy
Images
Videos
Live Streams
Short Form Videos
Effective Link Building

Final Thoughts

Small business social media management and social media marketing are critical for virtually all brands and companies. Your customers spend a lot of time there and are much more open minded when they are not being directly sold to. When done correctly, social media marketing campaigns are very effective at building brand awareness and generating leads.

Social media management and marketing is also very cost-effective compared to traditional marketing methods. You can reach a very wide audience or a very targeted audience depending on your business objectives. Social media marketing leads to an increase in conversion rates and user engagement. The best part, EVERYTHING is measurable and backed by data.

If you have any questions or would like a second opinion, do not hesitate to contact Motus today.