What is social media management? Everything you need to know

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发布ed onMarch 23, 2023

Over the past few years, we’ve watched businesses like Wendy’s, Duolingo and more earn new fans—and customers—off their innovative brand accounts. This success isn’t random. It’s all a part of a carefully crafted approach to building and maintaining asocial media marketing strategy．

In this article, we’re breaking down all the moving parts that go into making those strategies run smoothly. Use these social media management fundamentals to inform your company’s processes so you can build a follow-worthy presence across the platforms that matter most.

What is social media management?

Social media management is the ongoing process of creating and scheduling content designed to grow and nurture an audience acrosssocial media platforms．这包括,但不限于:

Social media content strategy
Online reputation management
Community management and programming
Paid social media strategy and execution
Team member management and development

Thebenefits of social media managementgo far beyond raising brand awareness and staying current on the latest internet trends. The channel is key to building more personal connections with target audiences at scale. The rapport developed on social can build brand trust, affinity and best of all, loyalty.

The evolution of social media management

The definition of social media management is anything but fixed. Platforms and trends are constantly changing, meaning the responsibilities that go into managing a brand account are always changing as well.

For example, in less than a few years we’ve seen the creator economy completely transform how we post on social. The rise of social messaging has brought conversations from public to private, creating more personal connections between people and the brands they love. Social commerce has revolutionized how business leaders perceive the channel, taking it from awareness-focused to a full-funnel experience.

These developments prove one thing: social is driving how consumers interact with businesses, making social media roles business critical.

The role of a social media manager

Social media managers are responsible for developing the strategies that maintain and grow a social presence, on top of administrative and team development tasks. Any given day might involve content creation, campaign strategies, career planning, analytics reporting—the list goes on.

Being successful in such a fluid role requires a unique set of skills, including but not limited to:

Adaptability
Organization
Creativity
Curiosity
Critical thinking

Combined, these talents help social media professionals manage the evolving needs of this business-critical channel.

Social media content creation

Content creation is a fundamental aspect of social media management. People may log on to their favorite social networks to connect with friends and family, butmore than one-third (36.3%) stay to fill time．

You can use these spare moments to create lasting connections with your audience, but the competition is stiff. On social, you’re not only up against direct competitors, but other elements vying for attention on these platforms. Marketers need to account for other sources of content, like media outlets, publications and creators.

To stand out, you need to know what people want.

Is your audience looking for entertainment? Commentary on trending topics? A community? Tips and tricks? There are a lot of different reasons consumers turn to brands on social. Finding out where you fit can help your business maintain relevance in an always-on social landscape.

When it comes to formats, the most engaging type of in-feed social content is short-form video. It gained popularity thanks to the meteoric rise ofTikTokand has now spread to every major social platform in some way or another.

Short-form video is a powerful way to capture your audience’s attention without requiring a major time commitment on their end. However, a diversified social media marketing strategy makes use of all types of content. This may seem overwhelming, but it’s actually an opportunity in disguise.

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You can use a single live video stream to create dozens of short-form video clips, GIFs, text posts and more. At Sprout, we use ourSee Social Differently podcastto inform posts across networks like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and TikTok.

Team member management

Data fromThe Sprout Social Index™ 2022shows that more than three-fourths (88%) of marketers anticipate expanding their team over the next two years.

这种类型的增长可以是一个神奇的机会,but it does come with a learning curve. Developing your team’s talent also means committing to your ongoing development.

Here are four skills to work on as you build out yoursocial media team:

Reporting and analytics: As you move into a people management position, you’ll find yourself having to speak on behalf of your team’s efforts more often. Understanding how to gather and synthesize data is key to explaining the impact of your social media management strategy.
Time management: This one is especially critical in hybrid orremote work．脱口秀,一对一交流,项目开始the other meetings that need to happen to execute a strategy can quickly eat away at your calendar. Protect your time by scheduling designated focus hours and conducting regular meeting audits.
Feedback: Being able to give and receive constructive feedback is more than a skill. It’s a superpower.The majority of HR leaders (89%)agree that ongoing peer feedback is the secret to better business outcomes.
Empathy: Most social media professionals have to stay online through brand crises, world tragedies and times of uncertainty. Don’t wait until someone isbattling burnoutto start taking preventative measures. Advocate for your team by keeping mental health at the forefront of your conversations during the good times and the bad.

Reputation management

Have you ever thought about buying from a company only to find out they have poor online reviews? Did you follow through on that purchase? If you didn’t, you’re not alone.

According to astudy from BrightLocal, just 3% of shoppers say they would consider using a business with an average rating of two or fewer stars.

Social media reputation management is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of social media management. While it may not fall under a social professional’s core responsibilities, it’s vital to the success of all businesses.

If you’re new to online reputation management, here are three rules that can guide your strategy:

1. Ask for reviews with tact

You don’t have to wait for reviews to roll in on their own. Sometimes, you just need to ask.

Reach out to fans and power users to see if they’d be interested in sharing their experiences with your product or services. Be sure to make the process as easy as possible. Providing a specific prompt or template can increase customer follow-through.

2. Respond to both the good and the bad

That same BrightLocal survey found that more than half of consumers are unlikely to use businesses that don’t respond to reviews.

Responding to negative reviews can be difficult but it’s also a powerful way to let consumers know that you hear and respect their feedback.

3. Be proactive about risk management

Feedback won’t always come through direct channels. People often will talk about your business on their personal profiles without tagging or mentioning your brand account.

A screenshot of the Sentiment Summary table, available in Sprout Social’s listening tool. The Sentiment Summary shows that the Sprout Coffee topic has an 82% positive sentiment score. It also shows how the brand’s sentiment has trended over time.

A social listening strategy can help you stay on top of the many conversations surrounding your business and industry. Use asocial listening tool (like Sprout’s!)to support an opportunity-driven brand reputation management strategy that helps you create lasting connections with your audience.

Social media management and scheduling tools

Managing an active social media presence with native publishing tools was challenging five years ago. Today, it's virtually impossible to do alone.

Between sharing content, responding to consumers and managing paid initiatives, social media calendars are more jam-packed than ever. Businesses must invest in social media management and scheduling tools to keep up with the demands of a modern social media strategy.

These tools can do more than save time. The benefits of a social media management tool include the following:

Increased brand awareness with optimized post times for improved performance.
Better engagement by consolidating inbound messages into a single location for faster response times.
Improved analytics that provide a more holistic view into the overall performance of your social strategy.

Adopting a social media management tool can enrich your entiremarketing tech stack, making it easier to connect the dots on social's impact across your organization.

Managing a social media calendar

Your社交媒体con爱游戏官网皇tent strategyoutlines the overarching themes that inform your publishing schedule and how it relates to business goals. Your社交媒体con爱游戏官网皇tent calendarprovides a more granular look at what you're posting and when across platforms.

In an ideal state, your content calendar can support organization and brainstorming. A bird's eye view of your upcoming social media posts can help determine if you're hitting thecontent mixoutlined in your strategy.

For example, say recruiting top talent is a high priority for your business. A look at your social media content calendar can tell you whether or not you have enough employer brand posts scheduled over the next week or month.

A screenshot of a Sprout Social publishing calendar set to month view. The calendar displays posts scheduled for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, as well as reminders for tasks and important dates.

This visibility will make it easier to identify which content themes need more attention. Pro tip: if you're using Sprout, you can use theCalendar Notesfeature to keep track of potential content ideas.