A Guide To Social Media Management in 2022

By Imeru Wambui

TOPICS THAT WILL BE COVERED

What is social media management

Processes of social media management

Key elements of social media management

Where to begin with managing social media

Benefits of social media management

Social media has changed the way we live our lives there’s no denying that social media networks are now a major source of news and information and their popularity is still growing. The usage of social media around the world is ever-increasing and is, without a doubt, one of the most popular online activities that internet users engage in. With 3.2 billion people using social media around the world, and 11 new users every second, it’s safe to say it has turned into a global standard growing exponentially it hasn’t reached the peak of its popularity yet.

With popular social media platforms growing in terms of size and each platform having a unique audience. Social networks have transformed marketing playing an integral part in the business landscape by offering tremendous opportunities to grow your brand and your business.

The business potential of social networks is immense where brands can leverage social media platforms to successfully drive their objectives across the marketing funnel but to be able to accomplish this, you need an efficient social media team. Engaging with your audience through social media is more important now more than ever. Customers in this digital era interact with brands via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more, and they expect fast responses and professional outputs.

That's where social media management comes in.

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

• Social media management is the process of creating, publishing, and analyzing content you post on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. as well as engaging with users on those platforms.

Social media management offers both services and tools these services are equipped with the knowledge and resources to manage your social media presence right. Through targeted posting, sponsored ads, and a wide range of social media tactics.

These tools and services can help you automate social media management processes, which saves you time, improve productivity, and taps into the potential of your audience, taking your social media game to the next level.

PROCESSES OF SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

Social media management as a process includes the following

1. Analyzing social media audiences

2. Developing a strategy that’s tailored to them

3. Creating and distributing content for social media profiles

4. Monitoring online conversations

5. Collaborating with influencers

6. Providing community service

7. Monitoring, measuring, and reporting on social media performance and ROI.

8. Creating, scheduling, and engaging with content posted on social media platforms.

KEY ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

Take a look at some of the key elements of social media management below, they include the following...

1. Managing multiple accounts

With the state of social media today, one of the hardest aspects is to keep up with is all the different accounts, the sheer number of accounts you have to manage can be very overwhelming but with social media management, all those accounts get narrowed down to a single platform. You'll be able to post on every single one in an instant, saving you hours of time on a daily basis.

2. Schedule posts in advance

One of the unfortunate facts about social media is that the best times to post rarely line up with when you're actually online. This means posting content at random times without a lot of cohesion. Social media management fixes all of that. It allows you to schedule posts in advance to go live at the best time to post.

3. Listen to comments and respond efficiently

With 54% of consumers wanting customer service over social media rather than phone or email, the ability to respond quickly and efficiently is key to your business success.

4. Analyze social engagement

With social media management, you can get all the information you need to see who is engaging with your content, how often, and where they're coming from. This will allow you to strategize better in the long run, as you'll know what works and what doesn't.

5. Receive comprehensive analytics

Understanding who is commenting and how often is important with social media management you can get the comprehensive reporting tools to truly inform your strategy from top to bottom. You'll get access to demographic, geographic stats, and a wide range of other analytics that will provide actionable data to improve your social media presence across the board.

WHERE TO BEGIN MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA

Generally, social media management focuses on the following:

1. Perform a social media audit of all your current social media profiles

Typical steps within a social media audit include:

• Reviewing your social media goals

• Ensuring your branding across social media networks matches

• Compiling your social media metrics, like followers, engagement rate, and more

• Analyzing your social media metrics to find trends, like content preferences

• Reviewing your competitor’s social media presence

2. Researching your target audience

Investigating your audience is a core part of social media management. Knowing who your audience is and where to find them online is very critical, as you want to maximize your investment by targeting your audience on their preferred platforms.

3. Choose your social media platforms

Find which networks matter most to your target market because time is one of the most valuable resources when it comes to social media management for businesses, so it’s essential to focus your efforts on the networks that matter most to your audience.

4. Create your social media strategy

You will need to develop your strategy for each platform due to the different roles and uses each platform offers. In addition to considering your audience, they’ll also look at the following factors:

ü Your goals: What does your business want to accomplish with social media

ü Your industry: What do audiences in your industry want to know? Are there content gaps that your business can fill or, are there industry leaders you can connect with on different platforms?

ü Your brand: What is your brand voice? Do you have a set of standards or processes when engaging with clients in a public forum?

5. Designing your social media profiles

When you create or update your social media profiles, making sure they fit with your brand is essential. social media design will focus on your account’s static images, such as the following: Your header and background, icon, profile picture, and Biostructure.

6. Build your social media content calendar

Another deliverable included in most social media management is a content calendar for each of your social media accounts. This calendar serves as a reference point for you and your team.

7. Create platform-specific content

Social media content social media management also creates content in the content calendar. They may oversee every aspect of content creation, from developing the topic to writing the copy to select the media all to create the best possible content that will resonate with users and accomplish your goals.

8. Develop your social media Ads

Depending on your business goals and service plan, develop an advertising strategy for your business or brand keeping in mind that platforms, from Snapchat to Facebook, vary in their approach to ads. They feature different ad types, as well as different goals.

9. Monitor your social media performance

A critical part of social media management is monitoring the performance of your efforts by tracking the performance of your ads, as well as creative content, and share those results with your team.

BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

Social media management offers several benefits, including:

1. Maintain a quality strategy – it ensures your social media strategy remains active and top-notch by continuously (and proactively) monitoring and improving your approach to driving the results you want, from brand awareness to follows to sales.

2. Users - Incorporating social media management into your marketing strategy allows you to align your marketing initiatives with user behavior.

3. Save time – by scheduling posts in advance, rather than burdening yourself with remembering to post at peak hours during the day.

4. Increase authority – by posting multiple times a day on a wide range of platforms.

5. Understand your audience – by providing in-depth analytics that explain who is following you, where they're coming from, and what they want from your business.

6. Improve customer support – by creating a simple pathway for customers to inquire about your business through social media and making it simple for you to respond.

7. Take control of your brand's reputation – by allowing you to monitor comments and feedback more closely, and respond as quickly as possible.

8. Foster innovation- by encouraging creative collaboration across new platforms, for each social media campaign.

9. Cost - No matter your marketing budget, social media is a cost-effective initiative. It’s free to join social media networks, post content, respond to user comments, and more.

10. Reach - Social media networks, from Facebook to LinkedIn, can connect you with users across the world.

From what we have covered its clear to see that social media management tools and services are designed to make marketing easier, which ultimately increases profits, especially for small businesses, and put your business in front of your target audience.

Social media management tools and services come with a bevy of helpful benefits that will reinvigorate your marketing efforts. Being fully informed on how to use them and understanding how they work is the first step in deciding whether or not you should purchase one of these services for your own business.

Social media management tools and services vary in costs, which is why it's so important to get a tailored quote before you make a decision.

Most social media management tools charge by five important factors: accounts, posts, users, features, and platforms on the other hand social media management services vary greatly in cost depending on a wide range of factors, which include:

1. The size of your company

2. How often you plan on posting

3. The type of services you require

4. Which platforms you want to share content on

5. The level of analytics you need

6. Whether or not you'll provide customer service through social media