10 reasons why businesses need a Social Media Manager
We all know why social media is important for business. But do you think you need a social media manager for your business?
One thing we hear regularly from our clients is that while social media is a must-do and a huge part of their marketing strategy, it's more often than not the last thing on their daily to-do list. And we can understand why, when you're running a business you've got a million things on your mind, without even thinking about social media strategy, target audiences, analytics, content creation, community management - the list goes on. And yep, that all falls under the umbrella of the 'social media manager'.
But while you're ticking off your daily tasks to keep your business running, you may be neglecting the one thing that has the potential to take your business to the next level - social media.
Why is professional social media management important?
Firstly, the person managing your social media accounts is effectively the ‘voice’ of your business. If you wouldn’t put that person in front of 1000 people to promote your business on your behalf, you shouldn’t put them in charge of your social media voice - which potentially reaches a far greater audience on a daily basis.
Secondly, strategy, quality, consistency, engagement and innovation are the keys to social media success. Without these key points, your social media efforts will be in vain. By outsourcing the ongoing management of your social media channels to a dedicated strategist, you can ensure your business is not only utilising social media in a strategic manner designed to produce real results for your brand, but they're producing high quality content and distributing it a consistent, targeted manner, aimed at increasing engagement and reach for your business. (Or in other words, getting you 'seen and heard' online!)
Here are 10 reasons why businesses need a Social Media Manager:
- To develop a social media strategy. Without a great social media strategy in place, your efforts may be in vain. Your social media manager will set out a strategy for you that is geared towards achieving success online.
- To create amazing content. In 2017, your social media manager is no longer just that, (or at least at Melbourne Social Co they're not!) They are photographers, writers, stylists, publicists, community managers - you name it, the list goes on. And as part of our role, we will create and source amazing content for your brand. Because let's face it, in the crowded social media market place, you need amazing content to stand out from the crowd.
- To boost SEO (search engine optimisation): A Social Media Manager understands search engines (or knows someone who does!) and can create content that is optimised for this purpose.
- To communicate in a unified voice: A Social Media Manager will get to know your brand, define your audience and create a unified social media message to appeal to your target market.
- To manage the online community: The Social Media Manager acts as a 'brand ambassador' by listening to your customers on social media and responding in a timely manner. Social Media Managers can also be excellent PR agents, by reaching out to news outlets and bloggers who can help your business grow.
- To save time: Social Media Management takes time. Having people contribute to the process without a defined schedule or strategy won't help your marketing efforts and is often an afterthought. A Social Media Manager is dedicated to managing the digital marketing of your business - it's his/her job.
- To handle social media automation/scheduling: A Social Media Manager knows how to get the most out of social media by using a variety of tools and techniques. These methods can help grow the business and save money in the process. Do you know what is the best time of day to post particular content online? Your Social Media Manager does and can schedule posts accordingly.
- To have someone with business knowledge: Social Media Managers not only know social media, they also understand all facets of your business. They know what's important and which trends to follow because they interact with the various departments. They can confidently act as the 'voice' of your business as they are on top of what's going on.
- To track campaigns: A Social Media Manager can measure and track campaigns to see what works and what doesn't, and then adjust as necessary.
- To stay abreast of trends and technology: People who know the basics of social media may not be as informed as a person who works in social media marketing day in and day out. Just because you post on Instagram daily and love to use Pinterest doesn't necessarily mean you will be able to strategically manage your businesses online profiles.
So, now you know why a Social Media Manager is important, what should you do?
If you're looking to outsource your social media management, we can help.
We'd love to chat to you about your digital marketing needs, so that we can put together a custom full-service solution for you.
Please contact us for more information: [email protected]
4 Reasons Your Business Should Be On Pinterest
One of the fastest growing platforms, Pinterest, has become an essential part of any digital marketing strategy, with its powerful Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) benefits, ability to increase traffic to your business website and an opportunity for pinners to become creatively interactive with your business.
Not convinced? Here are 4 reasons why your business should be on Pinterest.
Your target market is using it:
A recent survey announced that more than 100 million people are on Pinterest, which means there is a large consumer base just waiting for you to connect with. The target market is typically females under 40-years-old, who have broad interests in a range of topics including pets, fashion, food, travel, fitness, creative DIY, business and more.
Pinners want to engage with businesses:
According to Pinterest, a recent study has shown that when pinners were asked if they’d rather follow a celebrity or business, 83% said they would rather follow a business. This means Pinterest encourages active audiences who are keen to know about your product or service and engage in your business inspirations and interests.
Your pins last forever:
There’s no secret that social media and content marketing is gold for Search Engine Optimisation and Pinterest is no exception. Unlike other forms of SEO strategies, your pins on Pinterest last forever. That means that as search and discovery are at the forefront of what makes pinners engaged, your content will always be there, available and searchable so they can be pinned, clicked on, liked and shared for many years to come.
Pinterest drives traffic:
If one of your main social media objectives is to get people to click through to your website, then Pinterest is the place to be. When you pin an image from your website, it allows pinners to then save that image onto their own boards, or simply click on that image to be taken to your business’s website for more information or to purchase your products or services.
Do you know how to strategically use Pinterest to boost SEO, increase website traffic and create an active online following for your business?
If not - Melbourne Social Co has a range of social media account management and training packages available for your business now.
Contact us for more information: [email protected]
Building A Following On Instagram
Are you thinking about Instagram Management for your business? If not, you should be - as one of the fastest growing social media platforms in Australia, Instagram could be your next great marketing tool.
By using Instagram, you can showcase your products/services in a visually appealing manner, take followers behind the scenes of your organisation, (making your business more personable) and you can take advantage of the growing number of users looking for great images to like and share.
So now you know why it’s an important platform for business, here are some of our top tips on Instagram Management for your brand:
- Post good quality images. Instagram is after all, a social media platform for people that love visuals! So to ensure maximum engagement, make sure you're posting high resolution images that are both on-trend and visually appealing.
- Post often. Building a big following on Instagram is a balancing act: You need to post often enough to keep your followers’ attention but not so often that they feel spammed and block you. 2-3 posts per day is a happy medium that seems to appeal to users. Remember - consistency is key and regularly posting good quality images will go along way to helping you build your profile.
- Strike a balance between strategic and fun posts. It is also important to strike a good balance between business (strategic) posts, and fun/lifestyle images. Instagram is not about hard selling - you want all sales messages to be subtle and appealing to your followers. Where possible, tell a story with your image and if you are utilising the image strategically to tell users about a service or product, use your caption to talk about your message and direct users to your website (by including a relevant link in your profile and using the #linkinprofile hashtag) for more information.
- Follow & interact with others. Follow and interact regularly with like-minded brands and influencers within similar industries. This encourages these users to follow back and like/share your images.
- Get to know Instagram's filters. Instagram offers more than a dozen automatic image filters, but they’re not all created equal. Choose a filter that not only looks good, but leaves you with a sharp, clear , professional looking image.
- Experiment With Video Clips. To give it a try, use the movie camera icon within Instagram to record up to 15 seconds of footage and then apply a video-specific filter to improve its look.
- Now try Stories. Recently, Instagram introduced 'Instagram Stories' as a way to share all the business moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile. Swipe right into the camera to take a photo or video. Create anything you want, from product sneak-peeks to your worst selfies. Unlike your timeline posts, these photos and videos disappear from your feed after 24 hours, so there's less pressure to maintain your aesthetic, allowing you to have a little fun with your content!
- Introduce Key New Employees. Whenever you hire a key new employee, take a photo of him or her and post it to Instagram. Doing so helps your followers to build personal relationships with your team, while also filling your feed with content that isn’t directly self-promotional.
- Use Relevant Hashtags. Hashtags are incredibly important on Instagram. It’s a good idea to regularly search around for similar content to see which hashtags are likely to lead to the most awareness and engagement. We recommend posting 10-20 good quality hashtags in the first comment on your post - this seems to generate the best results for content.
- Host Competitions. One of the best ways to quickly build followers is through competitions. Check out Instagram's blog for some examples of successful competitions and for tips on the best ways to run these competitions on Instagram.
Need Help?
Tailored specifically to your businesses needs and goals, our team are experts in social media strategy, content creation and audience engagement, and would be more than happy to discuss managing and building your Instagram profile on your behalf.
Need help creating beautiful imagery for your social media channels? Eye-catching images are key to engagement and success on Instagram, but do you have time to source and create beautiful images on a regular basis? Our creative team can take care of this for you!
Our Instagram Management Packages start from $599 + GST per month.
Contact us for more information – [email protected]
Want to get a feel for our style? Follow us on Instagram @melbournesocialco
Building A Professional Personal LinkedIn Profile
Not sure where to begin when it comes to LinkedIn?
Here's our checklist for building a professional personal LinkedIn profile:
- Create an informative headline
Your LinkedIn headline is one of the first things people will see on your LinkedIn profile so make sure it is direct, clear and to the point. It’s important that your headline includes your job title and industry keywords that will be instantly recognisable for people searching.
- Choose a professional photo
Having a high quality and professional headshot for your profile’s photo is a great way to personalise your LinkedIn page.
- Add important contact information
This means your email address, website, business/company name and other vital information people will instantly be looking for when browsing your profile. It’s also a great idea to edit the URL of your LinkedIn page to include your full name for professionalism and search optimisation. Find out how to do this here.
- Create a catchy and engaging profile summary
This is a chance for you to show off your skills and experience. Your profile summary should resemble the first few paragraphs of a well-written cover letter, ensuring it is concise and direct, pin pointing your goals, passions, qualifications and experience. Make sure your profile summary is easy to read and not too long. Bullet points or short paragraphs are a great way to easily highlight these key areas.
- Fill in your education and experience sections
Similar to your resume, this area on your LinkedIn profile is where you add in your qualifications, education and experience. You don’t have to list them all! Just select 3-5 past work vocations with short summaries on your job description, roles, achievements and skills.
- Show off your skills
This area is a great chance for you to show off your skills and get colleagues, boss or friends to endorse your specific skills and abilities. Make sure you include general skills as well as industry specific skills to show a great variety of capabilities.
- Add media
Now that you’ve got the basis of your LinkedIn profile complete, it’s time to make it visually appealing! A great way to do this is to show off your past or current work by adding website links, images, documents, presentations, videos and more to enhance your profile. Go to your selected experience section, click the pencil on the right hand side and click add media.
- Connect!
An easy way to start networking with people on LinkedIn is to connect with people already on your email database. Simply go to the top menu and click connections, add connections, type your email address and LinkedIn will pull up all of your contacts from that email address who have a LinkedIn profile. If you want to connect with potential or current clients, businesses or agencies, you can search them in the top menu, click on their name and request to connect.
- Join A Group
LinkedIn is a great platform for you to join groups with people from likeminded businesses or industries. You can search the groups in the top menu, or if you need a little inspiration, search for a client and see what groups they have joined on their profile and join! Now that you’ve joined, why not post something relevant or comment on a status update by the group? This will help make your profile more visible and will start the networking process.
- Update
All the basics of setting up your LinkedIn profile are done! Now all you need to do is update your status a minimum of once a week. The best days of the week are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before work 8:00am - 8:30am, or towards the end of the work day 4:00pm -6:00pm.
Updates could include:
• Links to your company blog
• Interesting and relevant articles
• Events you’re attending
• Recent projects
• Industry tips and business news.