If you’re on the fence about the importance of social media for your business success, it’s time to hop over to the bright side.
There are countless statistics demonstrating the effect that a savvy social media strategy can have on a business’s bottom line. For example, did you know that 71% of consumers report that they’d recommend a company to others if they have a positive social media experience with them?
Imagine how you could grow your customer base.
To truly benefit from all social media can offer for your business, consider bringing on a team member responsible for this area of operation. A skilled and experienced social media specialist can implement the right strategies to get you the return on investment you’re after.
Not quite sold on the idea of hiring a social media manager? Read on for 10 reasons why your business needs a social media specialist.
1. Social Media Affects the Entire Business
Social media isn’t just for posting exciting updates about your product offerings or for gathering customer feedback. You should be taking advantage of social media for those capabilities and so much more.
You may initially think that only your public relations and marketing teams can benefit from social media. That is no longer the case. The ideal social media presence can help your business thrive in virtually all departments, from human resources to customer service. Think about how your social media image can impact current and possible future employees, current customers, and potential new customers.
A social media marketing specialist can work to ensure your entire business benefits from the many advantages social media can offer.
2. The Right Social Media Management Strategy Entails a Full Workload
Many businesses assign social media responsibilities to employees who already have full-time roles. This is a mistake. Social media touches so many aspects of your business, so managing it right creates enough work that requires one dedicated person.
Social media never stops. People are being exposed to your brand via different platforms 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. To properly manage your social media accounts, you need someone who can dedicate a significant amount of time to work.
The social media space is fast-paced. Posting fresh content on your social media channels on a regular basis is important, and consistency across your message is also vital.
A social media manager can create and execute a content plan and manage a posting schedule. Social media works like search engines now, and you want to be ready with the right message at the right time.
3. A Social Media Specialist Knows the Latest Trends
Having a dedicated social media specialist means having a team member who has intimate knowledge and insight into the social media space. This includes staying up-to-date on the latest trends and statistics.
Because social media is such a vibrant and busy space, the trends tend to change quickly. What works one month may not work the next. Part of a social media manager’s responsibility is to stay informed of these changes.
The ideal social media manager should know the best hashtags to use and the ideal times to post for optimal views and clicks. They should be knowledgeable of new algorithms and best practices.
4. You Need Analytics on Your Social Media Performance
What does a social media specialist do in addition to managing the activity on your accounts? Your social media manager should also be looking into and reporting on the performance analytics of your activities and engagement.
You may not be familiar with terms like virality, reach click-throughs, and RTs. That’s why you have a social media specialist on your team.
A social media expert will know how to analyze every aspect of your social media presence. He or she can monitor performance using social media analytic tools designed to help them get the detailed insight they need to make the right decisions in their work.
Your social media manager will provide you with the most important performance statistics. You will have insight into just how your social media presence is serving your business needs.
5. Smart Social Media Presence Gives You a Competitive Edge
Without a social media specialist to manage your social advertising, you may be neck and neck with your competitors or even trailing behind. But with a social media expert on your team, you can begin to dominate the space for your industry.
Your social media manager can identify weak points in your current strategies, fill in holes, and help make your strong points work even harder for you. No matter how big or small your company and your budget, the right social media tactics can help you pull ahead of your competition.
6. A Social Media Specialist Values the Importance of Social Media
You may not think that spending resources to improve your social media presence is important to your business. A social media expert knows the social landscape and how you can use it to your advantage. He or she can help you and others in your company understand the importance of investing in social media to benefit your entire business.
Your social media manager can execute strategies across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and even Google+ that help to drive traffic to your main website. Everything they do will affect your reputation, lead generation, and sales.
Let a social media expert show you how important social media is to your business by using it to help boost your successes and minimize your losses.
7. Social Media Should Integrate with Other Business Activities
You may already have a social media presence. Perhaps your business has a Facebook page, a Google+ business page, and a Twitter account. But how do your activities on these platforms integrate with what’s happening elsewhere in your business?
A social media specialist has the expertise to create strategies aimed at coordinating social media activities with other business events. Your social media expert should work with other team members to assist in planning product launches, promotions, and special events. They can integrate social media plans with your company’s PR plan, media plan, and experiential marketing.
When social media integrates with other business events, you can expect better performance across your entire organization.
8. Maintain a Consistent Voice Across Social Media
Do you have your marketing team posting promotions on Facebook, your PR specialist tweeting, and your HR manager posting on LinkedIn?
Having different people create messaging across various social platforms can cause confusion for your audience. You should be using one consistent voice for your messaging.
A social media manager can ensure that you’re using a consistent voice and cohesive messaging across all platforms. Being familiar with your overall business goals, he or she can keep everything in-tune with your overall branding strategy. Your audience will grow familiar with your voice, and you can build more brand trust and awareness.
9. You Want a Person Completely Dedicated to Social Media
Having employees across various teams responsible for different aspects of your social media isn’t an efficient or beneficial strategy. These employees hold other important roles in your business and likely have full, demanding workloads. They may forget to post or may not be able to give their social media tasks their full attention.
Hiring a social media specialist means you have one employee whose complete focus is on building and improving your social media presence. They won’t be distracted by unrelated tasks and can spend the time and focus needed to create and execute a robust social media marketing strategy.
10. A Social Media Specialist is an Expert
You wouldn’t expect your HR manager to plan the launch and marketing of a new product or ask your public relations officer to balance the yearly budget. Your employees work in fields in which they have the appropriate knowledge and expertise. It should no different for social media.
When you hire a social media specialist, you are trusting a professional with a unique set of skills and valuable knowledge. This person is dedicated to their job at your business and to the social media industry in general. They conduct necessary research, follow best practices, and are committed to ensuring the best return on investment for all your social media efforts.
A Full-Service Marketing Agency Can Provide Expert Social Media Help
You don’t have to hire an in-house social media specialist to experience the full benefits of having an expert on your team. Many marketing and web agencies offer social media marketing as a service. Your agency can assign a social media experts that will commit to helping your business succeed across all social media channels.
We’re proud to offer social media assistance as part of our comprehensive services. Contact us today to learn more.
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