Social Media

D o I Need a Social Media Manager?

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Nick Cotton May 30, 2014

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The question of whether or not your business needs a presence on social media has already been answered: It is a venue that no modern business can afford to ignore. But perhaps you’ve wondered if it’s better to hire a Social Media Manager or just do it yourself.

The “do it yourself” approach is seductive. You’d save money. You’d save the headache of finding someone you trust with your business’s fragile reputation. And, if you’re that rare breed of entrepreneur that can answer the questions below correctly, then you’d be right.

Ready to find out? Let’s get started:

1) Do you use personal social media accounts?

No? You can stop right here. You need a Social Media Manager. A business is not the place to learn the basics. That’s what friends and family are for.

2) Have you ever made a friend over the internet?

No? Then you are missing one of the key skill sets of a Social Media Manager: To make and maintain friends you’ve never met. This is completely different than networking at a cocktail party, or building trust in the boardroom . If you have yet to translate your social talents to the virtual world, hire someone who has.

3) Do you love reading about social media?

No? Then you need a Social Media Manager, or you’re going to get left behind. Doctors have to brush up on medicine. Lawyers have to read up on new legal precedents. The industry of social media is constantly changing. Facebook shifts its algorithms, Google adds new features, Twitter redesigns its profile pages. All these tweaks to the social media ecosystem can tank your current strategies if you’re not paying attention.

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For the uninitiated, this part of the job can feel like drinking water from a fire hose. However, if you’re the kind of person who eats tech news for breakfast, lunch and dinner, you’re going to be fine.

4) How many platforms do you use?

You use two of them? Good, but you still need a Social Media Manager. Four and you’re getting closer. Truth is, you have to be wherever your audience is and know what they expect from you once you’ve got their attention. Each platform has its own culture, style and tools. Each has its own set of best practices.

You should know them all then whittle it down to the four or five platforms that give you the best results. Be honest with yourself, will you have time to maintain multiple social networks on top of everything your business demands?

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5) Do you love data?

No? Then you’d be wasting your time in social media. It’s not enough to post. You have to track the results. You have to graph them in comparison to similar posts based on time, length, subject, phrasing, format and any variable specific to your product or customer base. Remember this if nothing else:

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6) Have you ever made a:

  •        GIF
  •        Infographic
  •        Online Quiz
  •        YouTube Video
  •        Vine
  •        Blog Post
  •        ebook
  •        SlideShare
  •        Kickstarter

Blog Posts, GIFs and Infographics are the bare-bones minimum that you need to function as your own Social Media Manager. The rest can be arrows you add to the quiver as you go. But you’ll need them all eventually. Every tool you’re unfamiliar with is a missed opportunity.

It may not look like it when you scan down the average Facebook feed, but an online presence is more than status updates and selfies. There are an ever growing array of tools  at your disposal, and a talented Social Media Manager is fluent in all of them.

7) Are you a good communicator?

Yes? Then you are an ideal candidate for getting the most out of a Social Media Manager. Good communicators are good delegators.  And as you might have gathered from this article, managing your business’s social media is an enormous time suck. If you’re good at managing people, then bringing on a Social Media Manager will be the gift that keeps giving.

8) Do you experience poster’s remorse?

Trick question. Everybody gets anxious until they see people responding to their posts. Social Media Managers especially. Being nervous before posting is as natural as being nervous before speaking in front of an audience. As long as you’re willing to face the fear, there’s no reason to let it restrict you.

9)  Do you have a high tolerance for ambiguity?

Tolerance for ambiguity is one of the top five characteristics of a successful entrepreneur. Do you have it? Congratulations! You definitely need a Social Media Manager. This trait may be great for building a business but it’s terrible for the detail-driven needs of tracking multiple marketing campaigns.  You wouldn’t want your accountant to tolerate ambiguity, would you?

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If you think you have a good personality to be an entrepreneur, then you probably don’t have the best temperament to serve as your own Social Media Manager.

10) Do you post in the comments section?

No? Then you aren’t the right person to manage your business’s social media. People who post comments on articles have a personality type suited to online interactions. If it never occurred to you (or you never even bother to read comments), then encouraging engagement on your own site is going to be a steep climb.

So how did you do?  

Are you invigorated to take on the challenge of being your own Social Media Manager, or are you inspired to flex your power of delegation? Whether it’s to improve your SEO, speed up your customer service, or reach new potential customers, social media is the go-to resource to get the job done. Be sure you have the right person for the job.


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