Social media is a crucial — dare we say an absolute essential — part of any business. Through different social media platforms, you’re able to connect with your current customers and attract new ones, share news and information, and ultimately build a brand that engages with the world.
However, taking care of the social media side of your business and staying on top of posting and interacting can quickly become a full-time job.
We’ve jotted down some truths and some myths when it comes to the world of social media.
- Truth: Social Media Managers love what they do.
It’s true. Social Media Managers thrive off of comments, likes, and shares. They enjoy creating graphics that tell your stories or share your news, and they meticulously research best practices and industry standards.
Social Media Managers want your company to be successful and grow and can be great team members to add to your business. Having someone to take care of your online customers by responding to messages and engaging with them in order to continue to grow your reach is irreplaceable.
- Myth: Social media is just Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Based on your industry, these are not the only platforms that you should be using. LinkedIn and Pinterest can be a great way to share blog posts or resources that you are offering as well as company news and wins.
YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Clubhouse should also be taken into consideration depending on the type of content you have on deck. Videos are a great way to connect names to faces for your audiences, and they can also be used to explain processes or behind-the-scenes glimpses.
- Truth: Social media growth takes time.
Couldn’t be more true. Although we’d love to be able to post once every other month and continue to grow a following, that’s just not possible.
Your social media presence needs to be often and relevant to your industry in order to grow – and this takes great care and time. We suggest using scheduling software and getting ahead of the game so that you aren’t struggling to decide what to post for that day.
Lucky for you, a Social Media Manager does just that. They are strategically gathering content and posting to the respective outlets at the best times of day for your audience.
- Myth: Everyone needs a Social Media Manager.
Not necessarily true … yet! There are a few prerequisites for business owners to tackle in order to have a successful place for a Social Media Manager to start. There are a few easy steps a business owner can take to lay the groundwork before bringing someone else on.
One of the most important things is to make sure your company is on every platform. Even if you aren’t active on these accounts, there is still value in having a profile on every platform with a link to your website to contact you. This shows your audience that you exist and are legitimate.
Here are some clear indicators that will help you determine if it’s time for you to start thinking about hiring a social media manager.
- Truth: Virtual Assistants can help you with social media.
Virtual Assistants can be a great place to start to create your online presence by sharing pre-written and pre-approved articles and maintaining a basic editorial calendar.
A Virtual Assistant can also help you establish a regular social presence and research the best social media tools and scheduling software for your team to implement. This can be a great place to start to get your social media platforms to where they need to be for a Social Media Manager to be able to come in and take it to the next level.
A Virtual Assistant can also help you begin to create a brand guide for your future Social Media Manager. Determining colors, fonts, mission and vision statements, and tone of voice for your company is a great asset for you to have and for any of your new team members to be able to grasp clearly and quickly.
We have a comprehensive list of tasks that will help you understand the role your VA can play in social media management.
- Myth: A Social Media Manager can also be used to write blogs, send out your email campaigns, and build your website.
While many Social Media Managers also have the capabilities to do these jobs, it is not their main focus and shouldn’t be where they are putting their energy.
Social Media Managers are hired to curate and post content, manage a cohesive brand presence on social media as well as manage the brand’s reputation and community.
They build out content calendars to make sure the right content is being shared, and they focus on making sure your social presence is reflecting your company’s messaging.
Social Media Managers come alongside and work with content writers, email marketers, and website specialists to drive your company’s goals forward.
- Truth: Social Media Managers can work with you to help grow your business.
This may seem like an obvious one, but there is so much value in having a strong social media presence in order to reiterate your values and messaging.
Connecting to your audience and introducing people to your brand and the people behind your brand is one of the best ways to build growth.
Social Media Managers work with you to set goals and identify what type of content your audience is engaging with in order to create more of it.
- Myth: It’s hard to make a social media plan and then pivot.
Once you have the social media goals and realistic expectations in place, you’re ready to work with a Social Media Manager. And the good news is that it’s easy to create a plan with a Social Media Manager eager to help you reach your goals.
Working with your Social Media Manager to determine your why, who, and what will empower them to hit the ground running.
We have an easy, step-by-step process for you to use in making a comprehensive plan.
- Truth: You can find enough content to post on your social media platforms.
Always! Whether it’s a series of posts surrounding a holiday or a behind-the-scenes Q&A, there is plenty of content to go around.
Your Social Media Manager is an essential asset to helping you determine what kind of content should be posted and when, and they are pros in repurposing content for your various platforms.
They are proactive, enjoy content creation and work independently to make sure your social media profiles aren’t radio silent.
- Myth: Social Media Managers are not worth the investment.
Not true at all! There are endless benefits to adding a Social Media Manager to your team, including saving money.
Social Media Managers are kind of social media geniuses. They spend hours scrolling and researching industry standards and jotting down content ideas – all so that you don’t have to.
They are able to take general posting and upkeep off of your hands while also creating weekly and monthly reports on growth, building an online community, monitoring brand mentions, and creating paid ad placements in order to increase followers and engagement.
We hope this helped clarify some of the lingering questions you may have had surrounding the online world of social media. If you want to take a deeper dive, we have an Ultimate Guide To Working With A Social Media Manager.
Do you think you might be ready to hire a Social Media Manager to help you continue to grow your business? We have great news! You can start today.