Social Media Strategies
A business’s social media presence can make or break a brand. Well-timed posts can create lasting audience connections. Creative visuals and copy can change how consumers perceive an organization. That’s the power of social media management. Over the past few years, we’ve watched businesses like Wendy’s, Duolingo and more earn new fans—and customers—off their innovative brand accounts. This success isn’t random. It’s all a part of a carefully crafted approach to building and maintaining a social media marketing strategy. In this article, we’re breaking down all the moving parts that go into making those strategies run smoothly. Use these social media management fundamentals to inform your company’s processes so you can build a follow-worthy presence across the platforms that matter most.
What is Social Media Management?
Social media management is the ongoing process of creating and scheduling content designed to grow and nurture an audience across social media platforms. This includes, but is not limited to:
The benefits of social media management go far beyond raising brand awareness and staying current on the latest internet trends. The channel is key to building more personal connections with target audiences at scale. The rapport developed on social can build brand trust, affinity and best of all, loyalty.
The evolution of social media management
The definition of social media management is anything but fixed. Platforms and trends are constantly changing, meaning the responsibilities that go into managing a brand account are always changing as well.
For example, in less than a few years we’ve seen the creator economy completely transform how we post on social. The rise of social messaging has brought conversations from public to private, creating more personal connections between people and the brands they love. Social commerce has revolutionized how business leaders perceive the channel, taking it from awareness-focused to a full-funnel experience.
These developments prove one thing: social is driving how consumers interact with businesses, making social media roles business critical.
The role of a social media manager
Social media managers are responsible for developing the strategies that maintain and grow a social presence, on top of administrative and team development tasks. Any given day might involve content creation, campaign strategies, career planning, analytics reporting—the list goes on.
Being successful in such a fluid role requires a unique set of skills, including but not limited to:
Combined, these talents help social media professionals manage the evolving needs of this business-critical channel.