With over 3.4 billion users using social media, it becomes mandatory to have a business profile on every social platform. While many established businesses are reaping benefits from social media, small or new joints often ignore it as it seems like a hassle. Of course, there are other things to worry about in which case social media becomes an afterthought.
Why Social Media Presence Matters?
When it comes to smaller businesses, a social media presence and its marketing are extremely important since it helps them in building brand awareness. Additionally, it also improves customer base and aids in connecting with potential consumers. Despite all of its benefits, many smaller businesses remain conservative when it comes to investing in this department.
If you need a little convincing as to why your smaller enterprise should have a social media presence, then here are a few reasons:
- Social media helps in establishing a trust-based relationship between consumers and sellers.
- Social media provides businesses with instant access to literally anybody on the internet which helps in defining the target audience.
- Consumers use social media to share their experiences with any brand. Such information can help businesses in perfecting their services.
Social media is a game changer; however, no business can jump into this department without having a sound management plan.
Small Businesses and Social Media Management Tools
Social media works by allowing users to post content through desktops and other hand-held devices. When it comes to established businesses, marketers are required to schedule, post, and manage tons of content daily. They face no problem in this department since they have the manpower to manage the workflow. On the other hand, small businesses are not that lucky since they lack the resources and the time to effectively manage their presence.
Even with the most organized small business’ entrepreneurs, they are still left with the task of writing original posts, finding images to go with it, and hitting publish. Additionally, they will need to prepare all of this in advance and prepare a spreadsheet to schedule their posts.
That said, there is still the chance of re-sharing content without their knowledge. Keeping a track of all of this is a decent workload. So, for someone who barely manages to accomplish business-critical tasks, social media management would present a challenge. Fortunately, there are tools available in the market that takes the stress out of the management process for smaller enterprises. Here is how they do it:
- Social media management tools organize and post content on all your profiles from one place.
- The best tools provide small business owners with a glimpse of all the scheduled posts for a single month. That way, the entrepreneurs can analyze the posts on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
- They provide an extra layer of security which means that the concerned employees can schedule posts without accessing the account’s credentials. This is a much-needed step since it saves entrepreneurs from a potential social media disaster.
- They provide employers with all the control. Before posting, all the scheduled posts are lined up for approval from the main person-in-charge.
There is no doubt when it comes to the functionality of a management tool. However, where do they stand in comparison with a social media manager?
Social Media Manager or a Management Tool: Which is the Best?
A social media management tool schedules and posts all the content that marketers provide it with. It does not possess any abilities that could enable it to create social posts from scratch. On the other hand, a social manager can accomplish much more than just scheduling and posting content.
A social manager can create engaging posts from scratch. They can generate a social media strategy that can hit it right with your target audience. However, for all of this to happen, the social managers need to have access to all the target audience data gathered by any small business. Obviously, to deliver engaging posts, one needs to know what their target audience wants and how they want it.
For a business’ social media presence to be successful, one needs to create thoughtful and creative posts that drive maximum engagement. All of this can be achieved with a social manager in place. So, does this mean that a manager is better than the management tools? Definitely not! Both are equally important and have their own uses.
Small businesses usually start out with a limited budget. In such instances, a social management tool would serve the purpose since they are cheaper to maintain. On the other hand, if your business can handle sizeable expenses well, then opt for both the options.
Takeaways
Social media management is more than just creating and scheduling posts. It is also about identifying lucrative opportunities and bridging the gap between the target audience and the seller. With this in mind, your social media management plan should include tasks that allow for all of this to happen. For instance, daily monitoring of your followers and active social listening should play a huge part in your social management strategy.
Additionally, dealing with criticism and handling complaints should be a top social priority for all the small businesses. Obviously, not everyone is going to be dazzled with your services, this is why you need to work out a plan that encompasses the unpleasant side of social media as well.
Without social media marketing, there can be no management plan. That said, many entrepreneurs opt for social media to put their smaller enterprises on the map and to gain new customers. However, if your management techniques fail to accomplish your intended goals, then perhaps you could look into affordable SEO services.
As long as you are planning your social strategies carefully, you would not need to involve any third party. This is because, at the end of the day, social media management is not rocket science. All it takes is a little research and a lot of careful planning. That said, if you are considerate, thoughtful, and patient you can create a management plan that drives maximum revenue!
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