Effective Social Media Management and Your Brand
Managing a brand's social media presence can be a demanding and time-consuming endeavour for companies. Since it has well and truly become an integral part of almost all brands' digital presence, managing the ever-growing social presence is now a full time job. From managing the daily content marketing to monitoring and mediating interactions between fans and your brand, to actively running advertising on your social network of choice - it is understandable that many brands often report feeling overwhelmed with the hive of activity that is social media today. Luckily, there are tools as well as professionals out there that will be able to help your brand get the most out of your social profile while ensuring that the interactions that happen on this platform all go swimmingly.
Tools and analytics
If your brand has just been inducted into the realm of social media, it is necessary to familiarise yourself with useful tools that will make the daily management of your social responsibilities run smoother. Scheduling tools are one of the top ways many brands choose to stay ahead in the game - allowing brands to work on a coherent and comprehensive social strategy in one sitting which can then be implemented over time. The popularity of scheduling software means that there are hundreds to choose from and each offers different solutions in terms of what can be posted when. The latest scheduling software has looked into planning triggered updates - which are only fired off when the company reaches some kind of milestone. Facebook however has recently launched its own integrated scheduling system which allows page administrators to do a lot of the work straight from their brand fan page.
Scheduling updates means that social media or brand managers have one less thing to actively implement on their pages, but while it does save time and effort on that front - an automated system can never be considered a substitute for active, cognisant social media management.
Social media management: Calling in the professionals
Many companies - especially those with large followings - will need to consider sharing the responsibilities of running their social presence with an agency that specialises in digital marketing. As mentioned above, social media has gone way beyond merely posting on your Facebook page every now and then. In the digital age, social is a dynamic community of active users that need constant attention. Social media is also fast becoming the centre where most consumers head when they are in need of customer service, so turning a blind eye to your brand's social media pages could not only be ill-advised but potentially disastrous.
Even with constant attention lavished on a brand page, the possibility still remains that controversies and issues may arise - and it is in those times that brands will do well to have experienced, social media-savvy staff to handle and solve the problem at hand.
Loyalty and engagement lies at the heart of any social media strategy, and while tools and analytics may help brands to maintain a grip on the fast pace of their social network it is only through diligent planning, management and constant attention that their social presence will benefit their brand.
