Social Media Manager: Do You Need One?

One of the hottest jobs right now is a social media manager. Businesses are hiring like mad because of the apparent need to get on the social media bandwagon. The question is: are they justified in doing so?

Written Aug 10, 2011, read 2681 times since then.

One of the hottest jobs right now is the role of a social media manager. Small and large businesses alike are busy hiring like mad because of the apparent need to get on the social media bandwagon.

The question is: are they justified in doing so?

The simple answer is yes, yes, and yes! Let me explain.

For the sake of this article, let’s assume the social media manager you hire is competent and is actually going to do what you hire them to do. Let’s also assume that every company needs some sort of social media involvement specific to their particular industry and just plain makes sense to be there.

Now, what does a social media manager even do anyway?

Well first of all, the term social media means more than just Facebook and Twitter. A lot more. The term really extends to anything where user generated content is concerned. This includes social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter to be sure but it also includes forums, wiki’s, blogs, social bookmarking sites, and basically any web space that allows anyone to add their thoughts. This even includes sites such as Amazon.com and BestBuy.com that allow user reviews.

So, if you have a social media manager, he or she is not only posting your latest status updates, he/she is also tracking your brand online, monitoring your industry, and making sure your content (possibly even created by them) is getting distributed across the internet. It’s a lot of work and it takes a lot of skill.

And that leads me to the next point…

A good social media manager knows how to position your business

Social media isn’t about pitching your products or services. A good social media manager knows that it’s all about conversation and creating a company culture. Social media just isn’t set up for old fashioned ad campaigns.

A business must add value first. That’s just how it works in the new online climate. Add value, solve someone’s problems, make life more inspired or happy or funny and your company will enjoy a natural viral effect compounded by the infinite nature of the internet.

A social media manager acts as a communication portal

With the internet, every aspect of a company is tied somehow to what’s happening online.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you recently had a bad product go out. It was a total accident but now people tweeting not to buy your stuff. How are you going to manage this? Do you even know about it? Maybe you don’t and for some reason your sales are drastically dropping and you don’t know why.

This is a very feasible scenario. Even worse, what if someone made a video about your product or service saying some less than friendly things and it went viral. That could really hurt you.

The question is, without someone managing your social media, how would you even know any of this until it was too late?

A social media manager can act as the go-between with your customer service. But it doesn’t stop there. They will also interact with your operations, sales, and especially marketing.

People are talking about you and your company online whether you’re listening or not. You might as well be listening. A social media manager will act as your digital eyes and ears and report back to you.

These are all things a social media manager would spend his/her time doing for you. Yes, every company needs at least one social media manager.

What's your experience with social media managers?

Learn more about the author, Sean Marshall.

Posted by Taylor Ellwood, Portland, Oregon | Aug 15, 2011

I think it depends on the size of a business. Not everyone can afford to hire a social media manager, and may not even need one if it's a mom and pop shop. If someone is going to hire a social media manager, I recommend hiring them in-house, as opposed to going through an agency. Otherwise you have to wonder how many other clients that person is helping.
Posted by Kimberly Gauthier, Marysville, Washington | Aug 15, 2011

This is a fascinating article, because you pointed out things that I never think about when considering the position of social media manager.

I write a photography blog and I'm in a perfect position to do my own social media. I receive offers from local small businesses to help them with their social media and I've been tempted to say yes, but I want to stay focused on my blog and I'm glad that I made that choice, because I think I would have been doing these businesses a disservice.

Although companies may not be able to hire a full time consultant, I think it would be worth their investment to speak with someone. I encourage everyone to at least speak to a consultant about the various aspects of our business, because it's amazing what you can learn in 60 minutes.

Thanks for the article. Kimberly, http://www.kimberlygauthier.com
Posted by Sean Marshall, San Francisco, California | Aug 17, 2011

Thank you Taylor for your thoughts. I agree that the size of the business has a lot to do with hiring a SMM or not. If you have the budget, then by all means hire someone in-house - but make sure they have the right qualifications and proof of results first!

Even the smallest of businesses can benefit from social media, whether they hire someone to do it for them or not.
Posted by Sean Marshall, San Francisco, California | Aug 17, 2011

Kimberly, I think you're spot on with at least speaking to a consultant. While there's a ton you can learn online (like here at Biznik), it really helps to speak with someone who does it everyday professionally.

Good luck with your blog and great looking website by the way!
Posted by Deborah Drake, Bellevue, Washington | Aug 17, 2011

Sean,

For me the GOLDEN point you make is:

People are talking about you and your company online whether you’re listening or not. You might as well be listening. A social media manager will act as your digital eyes and ears and report back to you.

In the case of a solopreneur or smaller company it might need to be you (at first or for some time)...and truth is you know your company best of all (we hope).

Training someone to write and respond like we might is not always viable or easy. And in larger companies the company's voice best be consistent.

I know of one literary agency with two partners who have completely different "voices" and tones (that send mixed messages to a new reader--in my experience). And I understand they really are that different in person too. A unified voice and company culture strikes me as a smart strategy.

Some aspects of Social Media Management are more easily delegated and some are best done with the brain and the creativity and spontaneity of the founder.

And if it needs to be you, then give it some attention as regularly as you can schedule and commit to. Being consistent has built up a FB Fan Page I have from 1 to over 1600+ with gentle daily effort on my part. And that makes me want to give my "project" time each day. And best of all sometimes I get to respond in REAL TIME.

I believe it need not be a painful chore. I personally think it can be fun. Cultivating awareness, conversation, and community is for me at least.

And if you are delegating SMM duties to another, may they be as excited about your service or product as you are.

BTW, I love being reminded of the business basics from the perspectives of so many different Biznik voices.

And I agree:

Even the smallest of businesses can benefit from social media, whether they hire someone to do it for them or not.

Thanks for the article Sean!

Deborah Drake

Authentic Writing Provokes
Posted by David Busby, Seattle, Washington | Aug 18, 2011

I've read (see link for one source) that Social doesn't count as much as thought.

http://www.webpronews.com/study-says-social-media-sucks-at-driving-traffic-2011-08

Consistent with what I see in traffic reports from numerous clients.

Edoceo - Business Technology
Posted by Annastacia Tooke, Gastonia, North Carolina | Aug 18, 2011

I disagree David. I have seen social media used well and it does count. The best example is our local cable company had a twitter account for technical help which was manned during the day. I saw better response with that than I have ever seen with calling customer service. It wasn't about driving traffic to the website it was about getting a response from the company communicating with them. Right now I see Anderson Cooper's new show using social media in a highly responsive way and it works, and they do drive visitors to the site because it is done well. Just tweeting random stuff, or posting random posts on Facebook isn't going to create any kind of social interaction, you have to actually communicate with users, and the millenials and the younger people use social media to a larger degree as they grow up we need to grow with them..... It is about having a conversation with them. I think folks need to stop reading about how Social Media sucks and how it isn't going to work and really look at how to use it effectively. I have seen it evolve over the past 13 years and it is astounding to me it has only exploded in the past few years with the opening up of Facebook to non students.
Posted by Sean Marshall, San Francisco, California | Aug 18, 2011

Thank you David for the link to the article. Certainly an interesting read with a clever title. While this article isn’t totally relevant to the point of my particular article, there are still some valuable points to be learned.

So, does/can social media drive traffic? According the article, “the king of traffic referrals is, of course, Google”.

Naturally. It’s a search engine!

Now with the advent of social media, there’s a way to actually interact with your target customer base. It’s a two-way conversation now! This is something that even the mighty Google is still trying to catch up with and compete in.

With social media, not only can you drive traffic to your site but it can be highly targeted traffic. What’s more, it’s traffic that wants to see what you have. By its nature, social media is a place for you to follow/friend/like/etc what you’re interested in.

The kicker is for companies to use that in the correct way. Not selling. Just sharing. Value first. Sell later, if ever. Or, drive traffic with social media to your website and let the website sell.

According to the same article, Facebook is #4 on the list of traffic sources to content pages! It makes sense then, to spend some quality time on Facebook. Right?

Before jumping into social media there are still some bigger questions to answer. Who is your target audience? Where do they hang out online? How you can test and track the results of a small campaign to gauge ROI? What social media platforms are you going to use? What successful social media campaigns can you model in your industry?

Can social media be misused and come across too salesy? Of course it can! Social media is not a replacement to the yellow pages.

You need to have a certain finesse and know how to build relationships. It’s not as simple as throwing some money at it and hoping the phone will ring. All the more reason why you need a great social media manager.

About 2 ½ years ago, I tested the effectiveness of Twitter specifically to drive traffic to a website where I was selling a product as an affiliate. I set a small goal of $500 using nothing more than Twitter for traffic. The result? After 30 days of using only Twitter, I was just short of my goal at $450.

Since then, Twitter has evolved a bit and many advertisers (now "social media experts") have jumped on the bandwagon viewing Twitter (and other social media platforms) as new places to pitch their goods. This is simply a misuse of social media.

Obviously nobody likes to be sold and social media isn’t the place to do that. But if you can demonstrate your value and supply good information first, then the sales will follow. As evidenced by my mini experiment over 2 years ago.

Back to the point of my article, do you need a social media manager? Absolutely. Whether that person is a full or part time employee, partner, or outsourced agency it doesn’t matter.

What does matter is marketing your business online and social media plays a HUGE role in that…including driving highly targeted traffic to your website.
Posted by Sean Marshall, San Francisco, California | Aug 18, 2011

I appreciate your views Annastacia. I really liked how you pointed out that social media can be used for more than simply driving traffic to a site. You mentioned customer service which is huge!

You also mentioned it as a new form of communication with a rising generation – very important if you plan on being in business for any amount of time.

You nailed it when you said it’s about conversation.
Posted by Robin Dilley, Phoenix, Arizona | Aug 18, 2011

I am Psychotherapist in Phoenix Arizona and I have hired a Virtual Social Media Assistant in California to help me encourage and give hope to people by promoting my book. It has worked well for me. Social Media Marketing has helped me a lot in terms simple promotions and just being online everyday.
Posted by Kimberly Gauthier, Marysville, Washington | Aug 19, 2011

I love the example of the local cable company, because it reminds me that I was able to get a refund from 1 company thanks to a blog post that I wrote and promoted on social networks AND I was able to get a great deal on cable service from another company at the same time.

People are listening so why not talk to them?
Posted by Sue Cartwright, Worcester, Worcestershire United Kingdom | Aug 25, 2011

Hi Sean,

This is a great article which clearly highlights the need for (and benefits of) engaging a Social Media Manager. My approach is that whether you take on the role yourself as a solo professional, appoint the role to someone in-house or use an external agent, the key thing to consider is that effective social media management requires a combination of different skill sets, knowledge and experience to encompass the numerous tasks required to deliver favourable results. These encompass the following areas:

1) Cultural (alignment to corporate vision, mission, values, brand, style, policy, level of investment) 2) Strategic (research, alignment to business plan, product and service development plans, marketing plans) 3) Operational (resources, recruitment, training and implementation schedules) 4) Managerial (best practice, quality standards, procedure, support, motivation) 5) Technical (site set up, links, website and blog design, plugins, hardware and software, mobile connectivity, licencing, filtering) 6) Team (authors, copywriters, posting, checking, engagement, listening, responding, monitoring) 7) Analytical (metrics, measurement, reporting, ROI)

All of the above tasks need to be properly addressed in order to plan, set up, deliver and integrate successful real time communication systems (internal and external), social media campaigns and online customer services. It is therefore a position not to be taken lightly and, depending on the size of the company, one which requires corporate governance, a management team and team players.

However daunting this may seem, especially to those who are new to social media, it is essential that company owners have a clear understanding of what is involved so that they can make informed decisions when organising their social media activities, particularly when it comes to hiring, recruiting, training and delegating these roles and responsibilities.