If you’re currently working with a Social Media Manager or contemplating using one in the near future, you’re probably going to wonder, How do I get the most of my Social Media Manager?

Finding someone or a business to assist is relatively easy these days, but with social media services varying it can be tricky determining if you’re getting the most out of their services. The role of a Social Media Manager has evolved so quickly and dramatically over the years. What was once a fairly straightforward job of creating and posting content, and responding to the community, has morphed into one that requires a variety of soft and technical skills.

But in this blog post we’re discussing how to determine a return on investment from your Social Media manager and determine whether you are working effectively with yours.

What should I expect from my Social Media Manager?

You’re hiring a Social Media Manager for a lot of reasons. It can be because social media has become overwhelming, or you lack time to focus on your online presence, or maybe you prefer your current team to concentrate on core business tasks. So what can you expect when you hire a Social Media Manager? These are some qualities and skills to look out for from a Social Media Manager;

• Being well versed in industry knowledge, tools and tricks of the social media trade.
• Can design and produce various marketing assets such as images, videos, emails, brochures, blog articles just to name a few.
• Write compelling captions, blog posts, emails, newsletters etc
• Scheduling and distribute of your content across digital channels
• Has an understanding of analytics, therefore suggest recommendations and make changes accordingly

How to evaluate my Social Media Manager’s work?

Once you have chosen who is going to assist your business with your online presence, together you should devise a set of measurable metrics to verify after some period of time. Here are some things you can track and measure therefore evaluate the efforts of your social media manager’s work.

• Content generating greater reach and engagement. As they create content that connects with your target audience, reach out to your customers and make genuine connections, you’ll notice the increase in engagement, reach and followers.
• Increase traffic to your business website via social media. As they build trust with your target audience, display and prove your capabilities through strategically curated social media posts, you’ll start to see an increase to your business website via your social channels.
• Producing creative content consistently. Your Social Media Manager should be aware of industry trends and apply it to your business’ marketing efforts. As a result they should produce content that is of high quality, consistent with your business branding and messaging, and appropriate for your various social channels.
• Achieving marketing goals that are aligned to your business goals. Prior to working with a Social Media Manager, you should establish challenging but achievable marketing short and long term goals. Examples of short term goals could be increase in reach and engagement and long term goals could be a number of leads per month.
• Time savings. Rather than spending countless hours in creating content for your various online channels, your Social Media Manager will handle it all for you. Now you have more time to focus on other aspects in your business that plays to your strength.

How to work with a Social Media Manager?

Now that you understand more about what to expect for your Social Media Manager and ways to gauge your return on investment, working together effectively is the missing piece so you can start to take full advantage of the talent and skills of the resource you’ve invested in. Here are some ways to help you work successfully with a Social Media Manager:

• Establish a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities. Determining up front what they’re doing for you and what tasks they are accountable for delivering, minimises work and deliverable confusion.
• Set aggressive but realistic goals. Setting goals gives your Social Media Manager a path for success. It will not only let them know what you want to achieve with their services, but pushes them towards a direction.
• Use tools and systems. To work effectively with your Social Media Manager use appropriate project management tools to communicate and review work. This will minimise back and forth and allow you to work together efficiently.
• Set priorities, give them a list. To make sure that your Social Media Manager stays on top of everything, communicate and prioritise work to help them work more efficiently.
• Give feedback. Your Social Media Manager can’t improve if you don’t provide honest feedback on their work. Give them pointers or let them know what is working well. Communicate often and keep them in the loop with the latest events or changes in your business as this can also help them strategise their content and approach.
• Share your marketing ideas. Don’t be shy to share your marketing ideas with them. Your Social Media Manager might have experience, an opinion or knowledge and it’ll be a great help for them.
• Ask questions. If you have any questions, want something explain further or uncomfortable with their approach – ask question. They are more than glad to walk you through your questions to ensure you’re confident and happy with decisions relating to your business’ digital marketing.
• Let them do what you’ve hired them to do. You’ve hired them for a reason, give them the opportunity to shine and show off their skills and talent. They will totally appreciate that you trust them!
• Be patient. Social media is a marathon not a sprint. Don’t assume the moment you hire a Social Media Manager, your marketing problems are now solved. Implement and seeing the fruits of your marketing labour takes time. Just be patient, be consistent and persistent!

If you’ve been contemplating getting assistance with your business’ online presence and need the services of a Social Media Manager, we can help! Book a 20-minute chat with us so we can talk about your business social media needs and see if we’re a good fit. To book email hello@followmemedia.com.au or complete this form.