If you have a business present in one or more social media platforms, you will be reaping huge benefits of being online. Because most people today have Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram accounts among many others, online businesses surely are in the right place. Nonetheless, while reaching target audiences can be done more quickly and garnering sales can be achieved more efficiently, still, it’s not easy for a business owner to handle all the operations of his/her enterprise, including all online matters. With that, a social media manager is indeed helpful and, one can say, necessary.
Are you thinking of what description to put on the job description when hiring a social media manager? Or are you looking to become one for a certain business? Regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur or an aspiring social media manager, the list below can be your guide.
1 – Building effective social media techniques
Amidst the countless businesses running online, you have to stand out and shine brightly. Not to mention, many different enterprises offer and provide products and services of the same nature, so the competition is indeed tight. With all the pressures and struggles in the region of online businesses, good social media techniques are the key to withstand them all.
It is the job of a social media manager to study, create, analyze and execute (together with a team or with the business owner) social media tactics to productively drive the brand online. Strategies are a big must because this is where the plans to achieve the business’ goals online are noted. They serve as a directory, including risk management measures, for the e-business to progress proficiently.
A social media manager heads online campaigns for brands, from the start of the making process up to the very end, when results are already close at hand. Furthermore, the budget needed for social media plans is also studied and discussed by the social media manager.
2 – Writing for the audience
Possessing excellent written communication skills is one of the core qualities of a social media manager. This job requires writing for the audience. The goal is primarily to inform, enlighten and engage people. Other aims include to grab attention, entertain and be remarkable.
Social media managers are typically in charge of writing textual posts, captions for posts, creative briefs, copies and more. They have to be smart and skillful with words, vocabulary, grammar and others related to these. They have compelling manners of delivering a brand’s message. Their crucial duty is to write in such a way that readers will easily understand, without confusion and doubt, whatever the brand is trying to say and promote.
Social media handlers know different styles of writing and are knowledgeable about the different tones used in writing. This is significant for the brand to have a distinct voice that makes the audience familiar with it.
3 – Social media manager responsible for posting visual content
Images and videos take up an enormous portion of social media. They give life to virtual timelines that would just be filled with text and white spaces without graphics. Endlessly scroll up and down, and you will see innumerable sorts of posters, selfies, groupies, memes and advertisements in the form of photos and video clips.
For online businesses, the social media manager is tasked to post all visual content based on the schedules specified in their discussed plan. For Facebook pages, social media handlers can prepare posts beforehand and schedule them accordingly. In that way, no post or announcement is forgotten or late. Other social media sites besides Facebook also have the same feature but varying style of usage.
When the company does not have an actual graphic designer or does not work with a creative agency for their visual materials, the social media manager is also the one who creates, shoots and/or edits visual content to be uploaded. This is why some companies require basic graphic designing skills from their soon-to-be social media managers.
4 – Responding to and engaging with the audience
This is probably one of the most popular chores of social media managers. Responding to and engaging with the audience is their priority. They are always standing by for comments, reactions and messages coming from their followers and from people visiting the online business page. Replying to people is a huge responsibility because that interaction can give potential clients a first and lasting impression about your brand. They might or might not choose you depending on how your social media manager handles and connects with them!
5 – Reviewing the page’s social media metrics
Business accounts on social media can access the social media metrics of their pages with the tools particularly designed and built only for business purposes. Social media managers have the ability to check and review how the business is going by looking at the patterns that show the performance of the online page.
This is where online businesses can track the reach of their posts and of their page in general. Reactions, clicks, visits and more are found here. Social media managers can understand the meaning of those data to find out the efficacy and also the results of a social media campaign. Through reading social media metrics, they can keep on using the same strategy, improve it or change it totally.
6 – Being present on other social media platforms besides the main page
Social media is a broad, broad, broad area. It sounds and seems simple because people often think it’s just Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, however, there are tons of other social media networking sites and platforms existing all across the globe!
An online business has an almost limitless range of opportunities to share and spread its name and its services. There are a bunch of social media websites and applications that can be ideally utilized for them. Some are not so popular, but they actually work well.
A social media manager knows how to work on not just one but a lot of online communities where the target audiences can be found. For those they do not know, they are fast learners, so there’s no worry. This is necessary because being present on other social media platforms besides the main page is a duty of social media handlers. They place a brand’s content wherever possible, so that it reaches farther online zones, thus reaching more people!
7 – Listening to people on social media
Social media listening is a very powerful tool that online businesses practice and also benefit from. This is used to understand what people say, what they need and what they dislike. Actually, it is the key to figuring out the target audience’s demands, requests, wishes, complaints, rants and hates. By learning about them, social media managers do something for the business to be in fashion, to catch attention and to really be the brand that will satisfy people’s needs.
This is why social media managers must always be ready, alert and quick to observe what’s happening online. Monitoring the behavior, language and culture prevalent online is the secret weapon for businesses to be on the same page as their customers and their target audiences.
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MANAGERS ONLINE
No one can and must underestimate the job of social media managers because they are not simply sitting down but performing very important tasks for the businesses they work for. They have weighty duties that can make or break a brand, so they have to be excellent, skillful and truthful in doing their assignments. The online world is a fun yet complex zone, so the one who manages an online business must be fit for it in every aspect as needed.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. Quality and well-researched writing is her worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. She is a daytime writer for Orion Creative, a digital agency and design studio in Sydney, building greater possibilities for brands and businesses of all sorts. Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.
