Managing content on social media platforms can become time consuming. Social media is something we at RMS deal with on a daily basis for our internal purposes, recruiting purposes, ViewPoint Research Panel, and clients. Through our work, we have come up with strategies to tackle managing social media accounts that could be applied to your business.
Below are 5 tips for organizing social media efforts for small businesses.
- Have one, or only a few “cooks in the kitchen”
Too many people working on the same social media account leads to confusion. This often creates duplicate content and poorly timed posts. If used strategically, social media can enhance the branding and reputation of your business. If your organization is able to use social media effectively, you will notice an increase in awareness throughout your community, target audiences, and industry.
- Create your kitchen
Once you have made the decision to limit the number of people who can post on your social media platforms, you now need to create a place for employees to communicate quickly and easily with the account administrator(s). Creating an email account specifically for passing along suggested social media content is an easy way to create a dumping ground for content. This enables employees to communicate important events and content that the administrator(s) may not be aware of. In other words, all content goes to one centralized place for the cooks, like a kitchen.
- Create a recipe
One of the most important reasons for organizing social media accounts is to understand what is being posted and when. Redundancy is one of the easiest ways to lose followers and likes. This makes it important for the administrator(s) to post the right content on the right platform at the right time. Have a plan and stick to it. Some social media administrators turn to social media management software like Hootsuite and Buffer for assistance. These applications help administrators view multiple social media platforms at once, post on multiple accounts at once, and schedule future posts.
- Understand what utensils and appliances to use
In order to understand what to post on a particular platform and when, the administrator(s) first need to understand the differences and objectives of each social media platform. Each platform has specific audiences, and all of which need well thought out strategic posts. In order to understand what to post where, you will need to evaluate current and potential followers, and what types of content these audiences are looking for. Also, make sure you are using the correct social media outlet to reach this audience, and that you are creating posts appropriate for that outlet. So in summary, you could cook a steak in a microwave, but is that really the best platform to obtain the best result?
- Quality not quantity
Focusing on what you are posting instead of how often you are posting is key. Another way to lose followers and likes is to post dull content, or content that is non-applicable for the audience on a specific platform. For tips and examples on how to revamp social media posts click here. Ultimately, you need to aim to cook relatable content. Quality content in small bits is much better than mediocre content that is posted all the time.
Research & Marketing Strategies (RMS) is a market research firm located in Syracuse, NY. If you are interested in learning more social media tips or would like to conduct a social media assessment contact Sandy Baker, Director of Business Development, at SandyB@RMSresults.com or by calling 1-866-567-5422.
