There are a ton of different places to add value with your company online, from Instagram and Facebook, to Tik Tok, Youtube, Pinterest, and Snapchat. Taking care of posting to these platforms can take a person hours. Beyond the time it’s going to take to post to these platforms, getting the content itself can take days!
Keeping your brand message consistent and and building brand awareness is a great way to use social media but staying true to your brand ethos can be tough when outsourcing the work. Whether you’re planning on bringing in a social media management agency, hiring another staff member, or introducing this task to someone on your team to take care of your social media presence, there are many things to think of before you pull the trigger.
Trust is a major factor when giving up access to your social accounts. Make sure you set out exactly what you are expecting your social media channels to look like when you give up control.
Do you have a standard operating procedure written up? Its always a good idea to have reference material for whoever is going to be posting on your social media platforms for you. A quick guide to what you are looking for on your social media, things like dos and don’ts. For example, do post product pictures, do post pictures of customers interacting with the product. Do not post pictures or videos of anything political. Do not reply to negative comments. Setting clear expectations will make sure you are satisfied with your social media manager as you delegate the task.
A few more things you can have written down before you hand over the reigns.
- How often are you going to have this person posting on social media?
There are many social media posting tools out there like Hootsuite.com or Later.com. Their scheduling tools are great for collaborations with a team or to use as a screening tool before actually posting on social media. Many things about the social media algorithms are mystery, we do know that posting regularly is always a good practice. Being there for your customers when they are expecting you is a great way to build trust.
- What is your message on social media?
If you have a healthy snack company you’re going to want to make sure you communicate that message with all your content. If you run an amusement park, your going to want to make sure you keep things light and fun. Your captions and messaging should always match your brand values.
- Are you going to use social for customer service?
While social media is a great tool for communicating with customers, it’s also a great way for customers to get a direct line when making complaints. It’s inevitable that one day you’re going to receive a negative comment, it is the way of the internet. Make sure the person who is running your social knows how to respond to a criticism!
Content is king and getting eyeballs on your company is always something to strive for. Building a social media presence is a tough task but worth it in the end. Like most areas in business, a well planned strategy will make things easy for everyone on the team. With proper planning and good execution your company can have an active and healthy presence on some of the best sales platforms on the web!
