Management
Good social media messaging is the product of planning and a consistent ‘voice.’ “Consumers are perceptive and appreciate the consistency of a uniform point of view and presentation,” says Harris. Achieving this level of consistency is the responsibility of a social media manager, and the position requires specialized skills. To begin, the role and its responsibilities should be clearly defined and managed as a marketing/sales support position, rather than a clerical or intern task, or a secondary responsibility assigned to a tech-savvy, but already busy salesperson.
Job requirements start with a thorough understanding of your business philosophy and unique selling point (USP). Computer literacy is a must, including a broad understanding of HTML and search engine optimization (SEO) concepts, sales and marketing, and customer support. The person in this position is responsible for developing and executing your social media guidelines and policies. This includes defining content categories and relevancy, handling post edits and deletions, processing negative comments, and setting and documenting administrative activities. Crucial to the success of managing your social media presence is an understanding that it’s a real-time environment. Immediacy drives engagement—comments, feedback, and responses have to be processed today. Tomorrow is too late. For businesses too small to support a dedicated, full-time staff position, consider a single-focused, part-time position or a contract with an established professional.
