Why Your Business Needs a Social Media Manager

Back in 2013, it was difficult to find a role as a social media manager. Many companies still did not understand social media and felt they could get by without having multiple social channels or someone dedicated to controlling them.

Fast forward to 2020 and it is now a necessity for businesses to have a dedicated person, or team, managing all of their social media accounts.

So why are you still questioning if you need to make a hire?

If you need a gentle nudge, or additional information to make this happen, here are a few reasons why you need to hire a social media professional for your brand.

You do not have the knowledge to establish and manage a social media marketing strategy

As a business leader, you more than likely have many talents. You probably have the skills to successfully pitch on Shark Tank, develop a business plan worthy of Warren Buffet’s attention, or write a New York Times best seller like Gary Vaynerchuk. However, that does not automatically make you a pro at creating a social media strategy and sticking with it.

Your social media strategy is a guide for the organic and paid content you will deliver to your future and current audience. This plan will help you make sales, improve your SEO, hire a team, handle customer service requests, build brand awareness, and much more.

You would not want to put management of those important goals on the back burner would you?

You understand social media, but you do not have the time to engage with and grow your audience

Let’s say you are a business leader with a knowledge of social media. Does this automatically mean you should spend your available time copywriting posts and replying to your customers on Instagram when you could simply hire someone to create content with your tone and voice in mind?

It takes a lot of work to manage social media accounts and this is mainly because they are all so different. You have some channels that are only for video creation and some that rely heavily on conversation. Your Gen Z audience may not be on the same platform as your Millennial audience. Even your profile pictures and header images need different dimensions these days.

Simply put, social media management is not a passive activity. Your accounts have to be actively managed and need consistent educational, entertaining, and informative content in order to grow a loyal audience and be known as subject matter expert or a thought/authoritative leader.

It is also not a good idea to automate all of your social media content. You would not want something going live during an inopportune time and risk having your brand appear tone deaf.

You cannot keep up with new platforms and developments

If you are so focused on keeping your stakeholders happy, how do you expect to keep up with algorithm updates, best practices, what is happening on TikTok, and the character limit on Twitter?

This is where a social media manager comes in. This person is able to keep an eye on the different platforms out there so he or she can keep your brand relevant via the numerous trends and challenges out there.

Finally, and many would say this is most important, a social media manager can dig into all of the dashboards and analytical data to determine what is working and what is not and apply those learnings back into your content.

You need an extra hand in order to grow

We understand that you may know your business better than anyone else, but it can be very difficult to scale a company on your own. Hiring a social media manager will help you show off your business and recruit employees, interns, and give you the opportunity to mentor future leaders. Outside help can also ultimately bring in new ideas and experiences that can help you grow even faster.

You need someone to help manage your customer service inquiries

As your customer pool and service offering grows, you will more than likely become inundated with negative feedback, refund requests, and other questions that may need further research and back-and-forth conversation in order to come to a solution that satisfies all parties involved.

Luckily, social media is looked at as that mysterious space between marketing and PR/communications and a social media manager can be relied on to help you protect your reputation, especially when accusations become personal. These types of claims are often popular in reviews that are found on websites like Facebook, Google, Yelp, Better Business Bureau, etc. Most customers expect a response to a review within 24-hours, but if you are so focused on other items, it can be easy to forget them.

Now that you know why a social media manager can be a vital member of your team, here are a few other pointers that can help you get the ball rolling.

I am ready to hire a social media manager, but should that person be Full-time, Contract, freelance, remote, or an intern? Which option is best for me?

Before you decide to make a hire, try to determine the amount of work you need completed. How many social accounts do you have? How often do you want to post per week? What are your goals?

It is okay if you do not have all of the answers to these questions, but having some sort of an idea will help.

A full-time hire is not always necessary as it can be more expensive due to health insurance, paid sick leave, retirement plans, and more. However, if your company is a large corporation or an established startup, a full-time hire could be more helpful due to the amount of content to plan, tasks to complete, employees to regularly train, and coordination with internal teams and outside vendors.

Smaller companies, e-commerce businesses, and local businesses that may already have remote or outsourced teams can benefit from remote and contract social media managers as long as regular communication, planning, and solid systems are in place.

Interns and apprentices are always helpful to have, but remember that they can take a lot of time as you have to train them and help them develop/grow. Do not hire a college intern who needs guidance if you cannot provide it just to save money. You will not get the results you desire, the intern will be robbed of an experience, and you will find yourself back at square one.

How much does a social media manager cost?

This is the million-dollar question.

Rates for social media managers vary depending on experience, the amount and type of work you are requesting, travel, etc. Some charge by the hour while others have flat monthly retainers. Determine what works best for you and the social media manager you hire. You can get a general overview of our rates here.

Many business owners also try to combine multiple different roles into one when hiring a social media manager (such as communications/PR lead, graphic designer, video editor, etc.) and fail to realize the amount of time it takes to complete research and then create, curate, engage with, and measure the content that is posted. Experienced social media managers will know to only accept the tasks they can handle.

If you have additional questions, feel free to reach out to us today!