How to Become a Small Business Social Media Manager in 6 Steps
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It goes without saying that all entrepreneurs need to understand the power of social media management.
Without large advertising budgets, social media marketing is essentially the best way for a small business to connect with its clientele - these platforms are often free and readily accessible.
It goes without saying that all entrepreneurs need to understand the power of social media management
Indeed, small business owners shouldn't skimp on their social media presence because the world is more connected than ever before.
Social media marketing may seem very daunting at first, but once you break it down into a series of small steps, it'll quickly become evident that it's not as bad as it seems. Being a social media manager is actually very rewarding due to your daily connections with other people as well as the high degree of task variety!
So how do we professionally manage our social media presence? We've prepared six easy steps that you can follow:
1. Diversify Your Communities
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The first step is not only to create your actual social media communities but also to make sure that you are on as many platforms as possible.
Setting up business accounts such as LinkedIn pages or Facebook pages is super easy, and a tech-savvy social media manager could probably establish a presence on more than a dozen social media platforms in a single workday. If you aren't reaching a large number of potential customers, then you really aren't trying.
Setting up business accounts such as LinkedIn pages or Facebook pages is super easy
Some prioritization is for the best, of course. A business geared toward artistic endeavors may want a presence on Etsy and Pinterest, whereas a construction firm may not get as much value there. It would be wise to discuss potential diversification strategies with your colleagues. Always have a game plan in mind.
2. Sharpen Your Skills
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The framework of your social media empire is established, and you've cast a wide net. What now? It's time to look intrinsically.
Social media managers must have a wide variety of soft and hard skills in their arsenal, such as emotional intelligence, video editing, networking, visual design, writing, and much more.
A good social media manager is versatile; this will save a small company thousands of dollars in commissioning specialized workers
It's not exactly the kind of career that favors specialization or putting all your eggs in one basket. Some of these skills can be practiced on the job, while others will require attending seminars or lectures geared toward self-improvement.
Why is it important to strengthen your skillset?
A good social media manager is versatile; this will save a small company thousands of dollars in commissioning specialized workers. A social media manager who can design their own videos, write copy, or even run a website will allow the company to channel that payroll expense into other areas.
3. Learn About Your Clientele
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Traditional marketing relied heavily on segmentation, focus groups, and other Marketing 101 concepts to figure out who they should attend to and where they should center their energies.
Thanks to the Internet, we're just a click away from our customers. But how do we get their attention in the digital age? Obviously, it helps to have targeted social media presences, but social circles are always shifting platforms. Video gamers are often on Discord and Reddit these days instead of Mumble or AOL like they were 20 years ago.
Be sure to attend conferences and get-togethers and scour the internet to find social circles where your target audience frequents. Prioritize those hot spots while also diversifying on other sides.
4. Time Management
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Social media management might be very time-consuming. Sure, it may be easy to set up a wide variety of accounts on every social media site imaginable, but what happens when your firm really takes off?
Each of those platforms will have customers reaching out, and each will require prompt responses. The workload can be daunting and the temptation to hire additional hands or outsource production or copywriting will be tempting. But that may not be the cheapest way to solve the challenge. How do we minimize the amount of wasted time (and money)?
Set up a calendar or schedule in place so that you are devoting a specific time a day to each of your platforms instead of bouncing between them all. It's very easy to get lost in your own social media presence - just look at how much time we waste on our own feeds in our free time.
There are plenty of third-party scheduling apps which you can use to plan and automate your publishing
Be disciplined and do not allocate more time than needed for each platform. There are plenty of third-party scheduling apps which you can use to plan and automate your publishing. Thus, you'll save considerable amount of time.
Ultimately, you'll have to figure out what works best for you, whether it be a schedule in Google Drive, a specialized calendar, social media scheduling app, or even a weekly priority system in a spreadsheet.
Find out also our tips on how to better manage your time with social media management.
5. Advanced Visual Marketing and SEO
If you're confident in your diverse set of skills as outlined in step two, you may want to consider enhancing the creative side even more. Visuals are what really help a company stand out.
New logos, special keywords, and phrases to drive SEO; fancy headers and special hashtags will really help your social media marketing stand head and shoulders above the rest. Learn more detail how social media helps SEO.
6. Put Yourself in the Customer's Shoes
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Sometimes we'll get lost in the sauce of managing our social media that we may lose track of what it's like to be on the other side.
Each of us has multiple social media accounts, and we're bombarded by thousands of posts and pins every day. Determine what YOU like to see in a post and try to replicate that in your own work.
Alternatively, what if your tastes are different from those of your customers? It may be worth polling your clients on what they want to see to help you tailor their social media experience and ensure your posts stand out.
If all else fails, pick peoples' brains at seminars and conferences to really get a feel for what stands out for the "normal" customer. Ultimately, you could have a very well-designed social media campaign, but if it's tone-deaf or not to the customers' tastes, they'll just scroll right by it.
Final Thoughts
These 6 points are just the tip of the iceberg, but they should be able to get you oriented. It's safe to say that all the people on our success stories page - social media managers, small business owners, entrepreneurs, or all of the above - employ these strategies on a day-to-day basis.
And do not get disheartened if you still find it challenging. Like several other successful business owners before you, you can engage professional digital marketing agencies if you have resources to do so.
Alternatively, be experimental and check out scheduling tools - such as Hookle - that can make managing your social media easier and more efficient than ever before!
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