What is social media management? We all know and use social media, and yet there is a lot of confusion around the management of social media for companies. To all the questions you have ever had, you will find the answer in this article.

Table of contents:

Social media is more than just a place for hanging out
The opportunities that social media opens up
Be where your people are, and give them a reason to follow you
1. Find the channel where your ‘people’ are
2. Give them a reason to follow you
The strategy of social media management
1. Who are we and what do we stand for?
2. Defining the target audience
3. Defining the content mix
4. Choosing the channels
5. Competitive analysis
Social media management can begin
1. Challenges along the way
2. What are the most effective posts?
3. And what are the best practices?
The difference between an organic post and an ad
1. And what about boosted posts?
Social media management as a building block of the marketing ecosystem
When to hire an agency for social media management?

We achieve the greatest effect with our online presence when we are where the online users are. More precisely, where those online users who are our potential customers are. In this, social media plays an exceptionally important role today.

Let’s look at why.

Did you know that today already more than 82% of the population of Slovenia, aged between 16 and 74, has a profile on at least one social network? (MEDIA+ research by Valicon)

Social media is more than just a place for hanging out

Yes, social media was first created with the aim of fun, connection, and communication, but it has become much more than that. Today on social media in Slovenia, according to data from Valicon’s research, there are 60% of ALL Slovenians, or about 1.25 million people. All these people, with various wishes and needs, spend at least one hour a day on social media. Do you agree that this represents an unbelievable opportunity for leaving a digital footprint and connecting with potential customers?

It is an ocean of people that we can, with the help of a well-designed content marketing strategy, successfully address through social media and turn into rivers, lakes, and oceans of our (potential) customers.

The opportunities that social media opens up

Marketers know very well that the key ingredient of marketing is direct, authentic, and genuine contact with people. How else can people really feel a brand than through the stories it tells? Through the posts it shares, the events it holds, and the messages it conveys to the public online.

Social media is the channel on which we can do this. For free. Immediately. And address our potential customers. Those who come to social media for inspiration and information for various areas of life, fun, or relaxation.

Be where your people are, and give them a reason to follow you

Let’s look at everything that users of social media are searching for.

We go to social media for recipes, information about food supplements and healthy living, ideas for home furnishings, inspiration for clothes, information about concerts and travel, ideas for spending free time, knowledge, career development, and so on. Many users go to social media primarily so that they are informed about trends and get ideas for buying products or services.

How can companies take advantage of this?

Through quality social media management you:

Build a relationship with your customers
Strengthen brand loyalty
Highlight your activity and the recognition of your brand
Increase sales of products or services

Let’s look at how.

Find the channel where your ‘people’ are

Start with research of various social networks. What are the wishes and concerns of users? While on Instagram users look for inspiration regarding lifestyle, recipes, and ideas for relaxation, users go to LinkedIn especially for business contacts and content related to career, business, and success.

Depending on your activity and the needs of users, choose your channel.

Give them a reason to follow you

Find the meeting point between your target audience and their interests and what you, as a brand, can offer them. Then create authentic, genuine, and unique posts. Posts that give value to your potential customers and that express the values and mission of your company.

And, never create content that is purely for its own sake.

Always before posting on social media, ask yourself: ‘Does this post give value to my target audience?’

The strategy of social media management

To make the above more understandable, let’s walk through the steps of preparing a social media management strategy. Before you start posting on social media, for example: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., it is important that you know on which networks it makes sense for you to be present, what to share, and why.

Who are we and what do we stand for?

If you haven’t already, define your company’s values. Who are we and what is important to us? What do we stand for? What do we believe in? What is our mission and WHY do we do what we do. Only when we manage to truly communicate this through posts do we reach those people who identify with our story. And these are our ideal customers.

Defining the target audience

The second step requires that we define who we are selling to, or who our ideal customer is. Are these young mothers who are only just learning about the worries and joys of motherhood? Or people fascinated by adrenaline sports and activity in general? What are their problems, what are they thinking about, and what inspires them? Create a picture of them in your head, the so-called ‘persona’ or image of the ideal customer, and address them directly in your posts.

Defining the content mix

The goal of successful social media management is to create unique content that covers both, expressing the personality of the brand and addressing the concerns, wishes, and needs of your ideal customer.

To achieve this most effectively, define the content mix for your target audience. Choose a few content formats that you alternately publish on the chosen channel. These can be:

educational content,
products and promotional posts,
inspirational posts,
news from your area,
behind-the-scenes from your activity,
competitions and giveaways,
questions and answers,
positive reviews of your products,
and more.

Choosing the channels

Depending on the target audience and what you want to share, choose the most suitable channels.

Communication channels that are today most promising are Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, and other social networks. Choose the one your people are on, and use it fully. It is important that you are truly present and active on this channel, so rather choose only one social network and post on it truly consistently.

Competitive analysis

Before you take on social media management, also look at what your competition is doing in this area. A simple review of your competitors’ Facebook, Instagram, and other profiles gives you a clear picture of what others are creating. Use good practice examples and avoid bad ones.

The goal of successful social media management is to create unique content that simultaneously expresses the personality of the brand and addresses the concerns, wishes, and needs of the ideal customer.

Social media management can begin

So, we are ready. Social media management is a long-distance run in which we can succeed with a lot of invested effort and creativity. When we take on social media management, what is most important is that we focus on sharing quality content, being consistent, and constantly active.

Challenges along the way

The foundation of effective social media management is therefore regular posting, following trends, and creating impactful posts that attract attention. What is essential is creating unique content in which we use the specific voice and tone of the brand. In this, an important role is played by professional and unified visuals, which together with the content tell the story of the brand.

While creating posts, let’s keep in mind that every post should have only one goal. Let the post be either informative or promotional, not both at once. But even if you create a completely informative post that fantastically adds value to the reader, add a CTA at the end (call to action). This can be a link to the website, where the user can find out more about it. For the user who is really interested in the content, this makes finding information easier.

When writing posts, let us be guided by a relaxed, simple, human way of writing. This, through the sharing of our customers’ experiences and how the product improves people’s lives, allows us non-pushy product sales. To make our work easier, let’s resort to recycling content, for example reposting favourite content (we can do this within the framework of ‘ThrowbackThursday’ type posts), when we don’t have other ideas.

And what are the best practices?

Let’s also be careful to adapt the content for each channel. A post for Facebook and Instagram can be very similar or the same, but let the post for Instagram not have added web links, since these can’t be clicked through Instagram. Similarly, we can add a similar post on LinkedIn, but write it from another angle, so that it addresses the needs, wishes, and concerns of users of this social network.

Best practices include parallel online advertising, with which you achieve an even better response and reach for your posts. These are an important part of the social media management strategy. In the broader view of marketing, it is key that social media, together with other marketing activities, forms an integrated marketing (eco)system.

No marketing trick in posting will beat quality content that expresses the voice and values of the company.

The difference between an organic post and an ad

Many people wonder what actually is the difference between an organic post (a classic post) and a promotional post (an ad). Yes, some posts can be used both for organic posts and for ads. But the essential difference is in the purpose of each of them.

The purpose of organic posts, posts that we share on the ‘wall’ of a business Facebook page, is building community and recognition. When creating these posts, let’s address our community of followers, inspire them, and focus on building a positive image of the company. These can be inspiring quotes, advice on the use of products, or sharing what is happening in the background.

On the other side, the purpose of advertising is to achieve particular actions, e.g. a purchase. Ads are therefore sales-oriented, written more in a directive way, and contain triggers that encourage quick decision-making. The best way of social media management is the simultaneous publishing of organic posts and advertising, which brings the best results.

And what about boosted posts?

Promoted (boosted) posts can be considered as simple advertising, with which we increase the reach of posts. This only in rare cases brings greater results. Of course, this can happen, but what is essential is that we know what we are doing. Only this way will advertising on social media, for example Facebook advertising, have the right effect.

Social media management as a building block of the marketing ecosystem

It is important that we are aware that just being present on social media isn’t enough for our success. For results in digital marketing today, you need to have an integrated marketing ecosystem set up. What does this mean?

A brand that has a created website, carries out email marketing, runs social media, has active advertising campaigns on chosen channels, carries out SEO, and has a created visual identity, will have incomparably better results than a brand that is just present on one channel. The Pakt digital agency

So, for example, activity on social media brings a large flow of visitors to the website or shop, and vice versa. Equally, campaigns with a unified visual identity across all digital channels communicate: ‘We are a serious brand. We are present online and offline, and for you we always make the maximum effort.’

When to hire an agency for social media management?

Of course, many people take on social media management themselves. But today serious companies in most cases work with an agency and together (co-)create the effective story of the brand. In working with an agency, the transfer of ideas, values, and the vision of the brand from the client to the agency is necessary. The agency’s task is to round up all the obtained and found pieces of the puzzle into a polished and effective strategy, and prepare posts, that work and bring results.