Why Your Business Needs A Social Media Manager
An Interview with our very own Social Boss, Brianna Green
Running a business’s social media is a full-time job. So much so that it is no surprise that business owners sometimes become overwhelmed with trying to keep their pages current and up to date on all the trends. When you fall behind on posting content to your accounts, your page’s engagement goes down, no longer reaching potential customers.
Times have changed, social media is now the cheapest and best way to reach your audience. With all of this in mind, I thought it would be beneficial to talk to our very own social media management specialist, Brianna Green, a.k.a The Social Boss.
Why would a business get a Social Media Manager?
Brianna: The benefits to hiring a Social Media Manager are endless. First and foremost, it gives owners and employees the opportunity to focus more time and energy on their business and clients/customers. When attempting to tackle social media alone, business owners can fall behind and miss out on opportunities to promote services or special offers. As a result of this juggling act, social media pages can get forgotten about and grow virtual tumble weeds. When, for example, Facebook pages lay stagnant, your reach goes absolutely flat and it doesn’t get seen by your audience. People lose interest.
How do you stay ahead of the trends?
Brianna: Because this is my role, I am always looking at what’s trending. I’m not only aware of what is happening right now, but I am also predicting the trends that will happen in the future. In short, I do all the research that business owners don’t have time for. What some people neglect to note is the fact that, due to its target audience, every business and page is different. For this reason, I watch for the best times to post, when the quieter times are, and how the flow in traffic changes. Depending on the day, the season, or anything in-between, I may hold off on posting certain things at certain times in order to get more traffic on a busier day.
Why is it important for a business to be online in this day and age?
Brianna: Every business and their dog (literally) is on social media. While being on social media isn’t necessarily going to bring in profit, it is essential to keeping your followers up to date. Social media is the receptionist of the online world, in the age where people seem more comfortable asking questions online, picking up a phone is quite often the last resort.
How can you increase a client’s social media engagement?
Brianna: An SMM can increase engagement by looking at the page’s current audience and really getting to know them. Pages, not unlike businesses or people, are totally unique, so understanding your audience’s likes and dislikes is crucial. Sometimes it takes a couple of months to thoroughly study and understand an audience, but it always pays off because from there you can tailor every post. For example, one of our clients has an audience that responds well to vlogs, so we record one every month, and it receives an awesome amount of engagement.
Increasing engagement is about watching the trends and being able to make quick changes to keep up with what the online world wants to see. Keeping the page fresh, advertising, but especially knowing who to target and when to target them has the most advantages for increasing engagement.
What is the #1 mistake people make when managing their own business’s social media accounts, and how do you solve this?
Brianna: Not being consistent! This is the number one mistake; consistency is key. If you’re not going to post frequently and think posting only once in awhile is enough, your page will just lay flat and your posts will get pushed down to the bottom. Your followers want updates; they like to know what’s happening and how they can get involved or benefit from it! For example, if you’re a restaurant, Victoria is a FOODIE city, people want to see the food and learn about any deals. Photos of food will win the hearts of thousands.
Where do you start with new clients?
Brianna: Posting random things and not following a proper strategy doesn’t make your page look professional. Often when I take over a page, there is no rhyme or rhythm. This is where I come in. Creating a plan of action is the first step, followed by branding the page. So, when people see an image, they instantly know what company it came from.
You wouldn’t be unprofessional in your place of business, so why is online any different? If anything, this is where you should be your MOST professional seeing as the internet never forgets. Let me give you an example, a little popular skin care company known as Nivea did an ad with the tagline, “white is purity”. This did not go over well for obvious reasons. What we put on the internet never goes away, so having a clean, well thought out online presence is very important.
Social media is one of the first places people go to find a business (especially Instagram as the next generation comes in) that is why it is important to keep it professional and having an SMM ensures all of this. A well trained Social Media Manager will have issue management skills, will act fast in the case of an online emergency to protect your business, and will keep a business’s engagement at the top!
Contact us with any questions you may have about making your online marketing out of this world.