What (not!) to ask your Social Media Manager!

Social media isn’t exactly a new thing, but sometimes people still get confused as to what a Social Media Manager actually ‘does’…

After all, social media jobs are just young people having fun at work, taking selfies and ‘gramming their lunch right?

Building a loyal brand following on social for a demanding client can be gruelling – it’s a tough, demanding job with a lot of pressure.

So, here, the team at South Coast Social shares some of their most asked questions – and the ones they LOVE to hear instead!

Oh, and yes, they still do ‘gram their lunch…

1.Can you post this right now?

Your Social Media Manager isn’t sitting around all day posting about whatever pops into their head – there will always be a strategic method to their madness.

The content they choose to post, how they interact with your brand followers, what they retweet or share, the number of posts sent out each day – everything is done with a clear rationale and based on the analytics provided from each social network.

Asking a social media manager to post something out of the blue will likely clash with a strategically planned out schedule, although of course they’ll always want to be as reactive as possible.

Frequency of reactive content is something you might want to discuss when you first start working with an agency to ensure you’re both on the same page.

What we’d LOVE to hear: Do you have room in your schedule for this, and how soon can we get it implemented?

2. Why don’t you just message *insert celebrity* and ask them to talk about our product? They’d love it!

Social media influencers have dedicated and engaged followings and an endorsement can be a big boost for your brand.

However, influencers are no longer just celebrities.

They range from industry experts, to content creators and local entrepreneurs.

That’s why finding the right influencer isn’t about the most likes or follows, but their relevance to your brand.

A quick, one-off endorsement isn’t how influencer partnerships work and they’re rarely free.

It can take months to finalise a plan that suits both the brand and influencer.

So the chances of Leonardo Di Caprio reading your message and deciding to chat about your product on his Stories is, let’s just say, slim – however talented your Social Media Manager is and however amazing your brand!

What we’d LOVE to hear: Do we have the budget for an influencer as part of our campaign, or can we investigate relevant influencers in your niche and entice them with a great offer or product?

3. Can you make this go viral please?

Ah – the classic. And yes – we’ve all heard it.

When a post goes ‘viral’, it is usually down to pot luck – but let’s talk about what happens when it does happen.

Viral posts will usually see a big spike in social engagement and may even experience an increase in website traffic.

Then, within a few days, everything will return back to normal activity.

If your content isn’t created to provide long-term value for your audience, then it won’t have a great return on investment.

That’s why Social Media Managers always focus on creating relevant, quality content that meets the business goals of their clients.

What we’d LOVE to hear: Let’s chat about how we can we measure a post’s success and continue to build on it long term.

4. Why aren’t we on *insert new social network*?

Short answer: Your audience isn’t on there either.

Social Media Managers are busy focusing on developing quality, strategic social profiles and an online presence on the right channels for your business, not the ‘trendy’ ones (remember FriendFeed or YikYak anyone?….)

Each network has its own audiences and differences they have to be attuned to.

It’s about quality, not quantity.

It’s far more beneficial to master two social media channels than have profiles on five networks if the extra three are not meeting your objectives.

Each additional network adds a new layer to your social strategy, plus needs resources and time to devote to managing it.

That said – your Social Media Manager will have years of industry experience, and if there IS a relevant new social network your brand could capitalise on, they’ll be the first to let you know.

What we’d LOVE to hear: Is this (new social network) a good fit for our marketing efforts? What are your thoughts on it?

5. Let’s post something fun for *insert national holiday*

If there’s one thing Social Media Managers are fully aware of, it’s all of the national holidays.

All Social Media Managers will be equipped with a calendar and will be strategically choosing which national holidays are relevant for your campaign.

The choice to omit something from your company’s feed – like National Egg Day for example – is intentional!

Jumping in on conversations without intention can actually devalue your brand and annoy followers.

Your Social Media Manager will know when and how to engage in trending topics without forcing relevance.

One effective way of utilising national holidays is to incorporate a company offer to customers for ‘one day/week only’.

What we’d LOVE to hear: You mentioned it’s National Women’s Day this week – how can our team get involved?

In the end, trust that your Social Media Manager knows best when it comes to your brand’s social media profiles or even ask for a quick review of the strategy and tactics.

They will always be happy to walk you through their plans and content calendars.

Consider hiring a social media agency for your business today.