Social media management is a term to explain everything an organization does on the various social platforms online.
Or, as tech.co puts it, “Social media management is the process of creating, scheduling, analyzing, and engaging with content posted on social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. A social media manager may be employed by a brand, individual, or business to reach new customers online or to improve and maintain their reputation.”
Sounds burdensome, right? Creating. Scheduling. Analyzing. Engaging. All of that equals work. But is it worth it?
Absolutely. And that’s why we’re showing you 25 benefits of professional social media management for your business.
25 Benefits of Social Media Management
1. Better Customer Service: Often, customers will reach out only to you. That said, some prefer to be social, even with their issues. Managing social media properly includes being available to take customer service issues and questions directly from a platform, like Facebook (or many others).
2. Branding: The term “brand” is a big, inclusive word. As some say, a brand is what people say about your company when you’re not in the room. But that doesn’t mean you don’t influence that opinion. Social media is only one way of branding, but it happens to be the one medium most of your customers frequent often.
3. Multi-Channel Sales: Some businesses advertise; others use cold calls or emails. Even fewer organizations use more than one sales method. Regardless of your acquisition channel, adding professional social media management from a company like Simplemachine to your business means more touchpoints and a higher number of leads being qualified.
4. Product Development: Professional Social Media Management companies will also be able to look for ways your products (or other products in the industry) are talked about in order to:
- Improve your current products or services
- Help to create new products/services for existing customers
- Better sell those products/services based on research
5. Process Development: In addition to product development, your professional social media management company can also fix some antiquated processes in your organization. They will be able to stay up to date on new processes such as live chat, creating a detailed knowledge base, or starting a support channel on social.
6. Lead Generation: One of the most significant benefits of social media management from a professional company is that a well-run operation will eventually cause a stream of incoming leads. As content is produced, active engagement with your audience will garner a following.
7. Humanization of the Company: Big cold websites with impersonal copy and services that are explained in confusing ways seem out of touch (and out of date). Social media is meant for personal conversations and genuine interactions.
With help from Simplemachine, they will be able to create a strategy to convey both the quality of your company and its humanity. They could highlight your team and customers to create a better connection with your target audiences.
8. Connections: Nearly everyone is on social media. And there are likely other companies who would be willing to share your products and services with their audience. There are also a large number of people who use (or would use) your products while sharing their experience with their followers and tagging you in photos.
9. Reputation Management: It’s highly likely that people are talking about your company online. And you can’t understand what they’re saying, let alone answer back if you’re not paying attention. If there is one social media management benefit that trumps many on this list, it’s to manage your reputation.
Honestly, this is done in active and reactive ways.
- Actively promoting your brand through quality content and engaging your audience.
- Reactively handling issues that pop up on social platforms.
10. Customer Sentiment: Sentiment can be a mixed bag. You can gauge current customer sentiment about your brand or products. Or you can get a feel for an entire industry. The data can be used to sell leads better, improve customer onboarding, or even make significant pivots as industry sentiment changes.
Social media offers many great tools to help you gain insight into sentiment, including:
- Polls (Running a survey and asking your audience to share with their friends can yield data quickly)
- Search (Platforms, like Twitter, allow you to search for a hashtag and view years worth of opinions)
- Shares (Simply looking at what is popular in the feeds of your audience is an excellent source of info)
11. Content Promotion: A social media management company like Simplemachine can create videos, write blogs, and other forms of content. However, many businesses stop there without considering how they will drive traffic to that content. Simplemachine is able to use social media as an excellent channel for promotion when appropriately managed.
12. Content Creation: Professional social media management also brings in new contention creation. For instance, if you find a happy customer via Twitter, reach out and get a case study out of it. Or have them write a review on related sites. That’s social media content creation. Interacting and engaging together for content.
13. Content Research: Thought leaders, customers, and other organizations put their thoughts and content on social platforms. If correctly attributed, these are valuable tools to find sources and information for content. Having “up-to-the-minute” research can spark creativity and help you produce more and better content — resulting in more engagement online.
14. Direct Communication: Sure, email is a great way to communicate. But let’s say, you’re a B2B, and most of your list checks in during the week, but you need to say something on a Saturday morning. Social media is the best way to get the word out at inopportune moments.
15. Competition Research: It’s almost certain your competitors are online. Better yet, so are their customers. Your professional social media management company can take a look at how others in your industry handle their social media management. With this data, they can:
- Improve your social performance
- See gaps in your competitor’s processes and products
- Get a better idea of your target customers
16. Buyer Persona Boost: Speaking of target customers, professional social media management is a fantastic way to boost your buyer profiles. For instance:
- If you’re a clothing brand, your customers are likely on Instagram and Snapchat
- B2Bs should be keeping their ear to LinkedIn for data on their leads
- Average customer over 40? You should be looking at Facebook.
17. Raising Awareness: For new companies without a lot of clouts, professional social media management is the quickest way to help people know you exist. It takes time to build up an SEO strategy, and without a portfolio of clients, trust can be an issue. Invest in professional social media management. You’ll get likes for your content through commenting and engaging others. Before you know it, people will know you.
18. Advertising to New Audiences: Social ads are more expensive than they were a few years ago. That said, there are still several strategies to make this channel profitable. Plus, it’s a great way to test new audiences and markets for your business. The ability to target based on some demographic and firmographic factors will yield incredible data, even with short campaigns. The experts at Simplemachine will be able to set all of this up for you.
19. Retargeting to Aware Audiences: Once you get someone on your website, it’s way easier to get the most interested people back through retargeting ads. Your social media management company can also build out “look-a-like” audiences based on the qualities of leads who’ve been to your site. Plus, retargeting is often cost-effective, leading to a lower cost-per-acquisition for new customers.
20. Data, Data, Data: One of the best professional social media management strategies is compiling all of the data from social channels. Then, compare this information with your typical business data. For instance:
- Has an increased number of Facebook engagements increased the number of qualified leads over the last six months?
- When you handled more customer service issues via Twitter, did churn decrease? (Or did you lose fewer recurring customers?)
- Does your overall success on social media reflect in the revenue of the business?
21. Virality: Years ago, virality was more straightforward than it is today. However, there are several ways to dramatically increase shares and engagements with social media. Some are more natural, but one of the most popular ways is by running a contest where entrants gain more chances to win by sharing and promoting your brand (or a piece of content).
22. Contests: Contests are useful tools (and not just for viral content) that your social media management company can use. A simple contest among your followers is also an excellent way to get dormant leads to reach out and engage with you. A large part of a professional social media management company is getting your current audience to become more active. And contests help this in most cases.
23. Content Repurposing: Many organizations struggle with their social content plan. Most of the problem comes from not knowing what to share. Typically, it’s just an automated tool that tells everyone you just published a blog. That’s boring. Instead, your social media management company like Simplemachine could repurpose your content, like:
- Create visual images with sections of your content from a blog
- Put together a short video testimonial highlighting a new case study
- Share your popular posts on other channels (like Medium or LinkedIn) to garner more readers
24. Detailed Reports: Having a social media management company to compile detailed social account reports for you saves time. They will be able to dive deeper into the data. These metrics will allow them to see what’s working, where you need improvement, and to see if your efforts are leading to more business.
25. Live Options: Live video has taken the world by storm. This popularity is especially true in the marketing world. Webinars have integrated to include Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Q&As have gone live to create an even larger connection with audiences. And Founders are now doing “Ask me anything” videos to add more personality to their brand. Your social media management company will be able to coach you on this & so much more.
Experience the Benefits of Social Media Management With Simplemachine
Implement these options today with help from the experts at Simplemachine to get the most out of your social media.