Why to hire a Social Media Manager
Every business is expected to be active on social media. However, a small-business owner cannot expect to be an expert in everything, and that includes optimizing social media. Even if an entrepreneur has the knowledge and skills to navigate through social networking sites, maintaining multiple social media accounts can be time consuming.
By entrusting social networking activities to someone with the expertise to consistently engage customers, small-business owners can save time while also making the most of social networking. Here are a few questions every business owner should ask before hiring a social media manager.
Can I Maintain It?
The only thing worse than not having a social media presence is an outdated social media presence. You may have the best intentions when the social media accounts are created, but you will soon find that it is easy to put off updates until days have passed. If you know that will be difficult to maintain it long-term, a social media manager may be the best solution.
Do I Know the Market?
An expert in any field puts the time and effort into learning everything possible about that field. Talented social media managers employ the latest content strategies to make sure each post gets the best results possible. What works today may not work tomorrow and it is the job of a social media manager to know the latest techniques. Social media managers also grow to understand each social media audience and cater to that in their work each day.
Do I Have a Plan?
Social media managers often act as strategists, devising a plan and ensuring it is followed. If a business wants to promote a specific event or product release, for instance, a strategist will come up with a calendar that ensures posts are consistent in the weeks leading up to the event. Posting often enough to keep the information fresh on customers’ minds without making content seem “spammy” is essential to a social media campaign. A social media manager will outline when posts need to go live and which social media networks should be included to help ensure your campaign is a success.
Do I Have Objectivity?
As business owner, the truth is that you may be too close to the brand to accurately reach out to your audience. A social media manager can create a voice for your brand and use that voice consistently with each post, he or she can help create a plan for posts and make sure you always use the right wording to represent the brand accurately.
Can I Find the Right Person?
When it comes down to it, nobody will have the passion and knowledge of the business that you have. If you hire a staff member, that employee will be able to gain firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of the business, but you will have long-term commitment of a salary. A social media manager can bring the benefit of professional knowledge to your social media campaign.
Can I Afford to Hire Out?
One of the biggest deciding factors will likely be cost. A small business likely won’t have money set aside in the budget for salary and benefits for a full-time social media manager. Interns or students are an option, but many businesses are reluctant to entrust accounts to someone who has never worked in a professional environment. This is where social media managers can help. Knowing how to strategically use social media such as Facebook Ads can greatly increase sales and foot traffic to your business. Below are some success stories of businesses using social media.
Sport Chek, Canada’s largest sporting goods retailer saw a 2X return on ad spend after replacing its traditional paper circular with Facebook digital advertising, lifting in-store sales by more than 12% nationally.*
Kay’s Designer Consignment, a Florida consignment shop saw a 30% increase in sales and a 23X increase in return on ad spend in 9 months after moving its ads from print to Facebook.*
BarkBox, a dog ecommerce company targeted dog owners using Custom Audiences and boosted posts to gain new customers, resulting in 50% of daily conversions on its website from Facebook.*
Karaoke Heroes, the Connecticut superhero-themed karaoke bar uses Facebook Offers and boosted posts to acquire new customers, with 50% of new patrons coming through the platform for a 7X return on ad spend*.
* https://www.facebook.com/business/success
Social media is about engagement, build relationships with your viewers and earn their trust and loyalty. There are countless articles written that cover this, and I want to highlight that in most cases, active and organic social media engagement will lead to more fans and followers. While numbers are important, how you achieve those numbers is equally important. Do you have the time and capacity to create new content, respond to inquiries promptly, take advantage of interactions as they happen, and stay up to date on trends as they change daily?