In Digital Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Social Media

“It’s been great having you launch our social media marketing accounts, but we’re planning to get a college student to take it over from here since we just need to post cool pictures, right?”

::deep breath:: 

It’s not the first time we’ve been asked this. We get it, though. It’s easy to compare managing social media to how you might use your personal social media accounts to watch funny videos or share your own thoughts. We’re here to tell you managing social media for a business is exceptionally different and requires a particular set of skills and experience to make it a valuable business tool. 

As of 2022, there are 3.96 billion social media users across all platforms, and the average user spends about 95 minutes a day scrolling through their feeds. From learning about new products to making first impressions of your businesses, the value of social media on users is well-documented, making it well worth the investment in a team of social media marketing professionals. 

Here are the most notable advantages of social media marketing professionals on your team.

1. Strategic, effective planning

The main objective of social media marketing is to grow awareness of your business or its products through engaging content. But, before you begin posting, it is essential to work from a well-defined social media strategy. Your strategy should detail your goals, audiences, specific tactics, and messaging themes. This level of planning is where an intern or college student can’t match the deep expertise of a social media marketing team. This especially matters in generating the right kind of buzz to optimize your return on investment. 

2. Brand consistency and reputation

Social media marketing requires artful consistency in content creation, brand voice, and design style to convey your business story powerfully. Without this effort, it’s easy for your social community to grow stale. You need an expert who will dedicate 100% of their time to your business and social media goals, not a student with competing priorities. This will support getting the most meaningful results.

In addition to consistency, customers are taking to social media to voice both concerns and compliments. Given this, the experience of a social media professional is vital to your business. A professional will reassure you that your customers are cared for and that your business is being represented in the best light, as well as help you respond to negative reviews in a way that advances your brand goals.  

3. Smart reporting and insights

Posting content and engaging with your social community is just as important as measuring the performance of these efforts. Otherwise, how will you know what is working and what is not? Without frequently evaluating stats like engagement rate or follower growth, you risk wasting time and resources on ineffective content. What’s especially beneficial in hiring social media marketing professionals versus an amateur is their analysis of social data to measure your ROI. In doing so, they can better connect the dots to other aspects of your overall marketing strategy, inform you about necessary adjustments to your business, and refine your content based on what performs best on your feeds. 

A social media marketing pro brings invaluable experience 

The role of social media is no longer about interns or students posting random content to social accounts. You can now see how social media marketing has evolved to support your business’s ability to reach new audiences and grow your customer base when handled by a professional. Need help with your social media marketing? Reach out for a no-cost, no-obligation exploratory call today!