Social media managers have gotten a bad rep for having an easy job. If you are one of us, you know the struggles of planning and creating interesting content, monitoring accounts, engaging with followers, and so on.
On Tuesday, Social Media Today held a Twitter chat called "Juggling Multiple Social Media Accounts". We chatting with a group of marketers that are in charge of managing anywhere from 5 to 50 social media accounts daily. We shared our experiences, our struggles and our best tips for success.
This recap of our conversation will help you see how all marketers approach social media management differently, but there are plenty of ways we can learn from each other.
Here is what we learned.
1. Organization is key.
Whether you are juggling 5 or 50 accounts, you will always need a content calendar to stay sane. Organization is key in social media management.
Q1: I currently manager nine channels for various clients and growing. It can be a challenge but having a good content calendar helps. #SMTLive https://t.co/DN6BKfcWtl
— Sarah Shanahan (@SarahLShanahan) February 12, 2019
Sounds like a master class on organization! Are you working with internal accounts or are they all from external brands/companies? #SMTLive
— Christine Delaney (@ChrstineDelaney) February 12, 2019
There are plenty of tools available to help you stay organized and productive on the job. Here are a few:
- Tools for management
- Tools for productivity and coordination
- Tools for improved content insights
- Tools for better analytics
2. Content delegation depends on the team.
There are are a lot of people managing all these accounts on their own. Props to them!
For the others managing small to medium size teams, content delegation varies by team and brand.
A2: Our art team makes most assets with our guidance, the digital teams helps for special requests, and then all copy is written by Consumer Marketing. I monitor all platforms. #SMTlive
— Keith McCall (@KeithMcCall20) February 12, 2019
this only works if you have a team! when there's no one to delegate to, you have to pick and choose which ideas you run with and which you put in the parking lot. #SMTLive
— Jaclyn ???????? (@jaclyn613) February 12, 2019
A2.2: There is a lot of idea sharing between account managers in case there are collaboration opportunities. Larger initiatives/campaigns are usually led by the social media manger (aka me) and executed conjunction with account managers. #SMTLive
— Christine Delaney (@ChrstineDelaney) February 12, 2019
3. Creating interesting, high-quality content is hard.
We ran a poll to see what was the most difficult part of the job. The majority said "all of the above" which includes content creation, monitoring and engagement and tracking ROI. Of the three, though, content creation came out as the most difficult part of the job. More specificity, the time it takes to create all the content.
I think content creation is the answer for me, but not the ideas or strategies, but the TIME needed to plan content for various accounts and brands. #SMTLive
— Jaclyn ???????? (@jaclyn613) February 12, 2019
A5: Content, campaigns, and reporting...oh my! #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/bEn4TF6ipp
— Christine Delaney (@ChrstineDelaney) February 12, 2019
People also said that they struggled to find good images.
Images can be tricky! Even if you have people to take photos, if they're not used to what works for social, you might still be lacking in imagery. Over the years https://t.co/EqY9LLyZZN has become my go-to for stock images that aren't quite so stock looking #SMTLive
— Christine Delaney (@ChrstineDelaney) February 12, 2019
5. Keep your tone, voice and audience plan close by.
There's nothing worse than a brand that doesn't know their voice. Know your brand, be deliberate about the content you create and make sure it is specificity crafted for your audience. Never post just to post.
I keep a playbook for each account that spells out the voice/tone, the media mix we aim for, the content pillars, the purpose of each channel... I ensure the content fits the playbook, not just content for the same of posting. content pillars differ by platform #SMTLive
— Jaclyn ???????? (@jaclyn613) February 12, 2019
Even if you are managing content for one only brand, your tone will most likely vary per-account. Your notes will help you stay on brand.
Agreed! In addition to audience, it's important to consider the platforms you're using. The best way to format a post/the language used in a post will be different based on platform specifics & features (ex: LinkedIn vs. Twitter). #SMTLive
— Christine Delaney (@ChrstineDelaney) February 12, 2019
6. There are 5 simple questions to ask yourself before posting content.
Authentic content is the goal. It's simple as long as you keep your audience in mind and stay true to your brand tone and voice. While creating content, ask yourself these questions.
These are the most honest and helpful questions regarding social posting ????Thank you, Jennifer! ???? #SMTLive https://t.co/F53j4kIL3o
— Robin Selvy Re (@RobinSelvy) February 12, 2019
7. Stick to your strategy. Plan ahead. Be flexible. Stay calm.
#SMTLive pic.twitter.com/4HV3Nrw2HS
— Sarah Shanahan (@SarahLShanahan) February 12, 2019
Q5: Everything is fine. #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/lP1mDmXkg4
— Robin Selvy Re (@RobinSelvy) February 12, 2019
At the end of the chat, everyone shared their best tips for social media account management. Check those out here!
Join us for our next Twitter chat: RSVP here.