Written by: Kimberly Farmer | The Center for Professional Development

Do You Need a Professional Social Media Manager?

While engaging personally on social media is a [usually] fun past time, successfully marketing a business on a social media platform like Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, to name a few, is involved, expensive, and strategic. Using social media personally is like being a home cook who is able to bring a yummy casserole to a family reunion – just because you make a great Thanksgiving dinner at home doesn’t mean you could handle a day as a gourmet chef in a restaurant. Such is the difference between a social media user and a social media pro.

The question that must be answered is “How important is social media to business success?” Andrea Emerson, Brand Journalist & Content Marketer observes, “…if consumers can’t find a solid brand presence, it takes one click to jump ship to a competitor.”

This is why small and large businesses alike are relying on a hired professional Social Media Manager (SMM) to handle all their social media marketing and ads. A SMM works practically around the clock creating posts that fit the new (and ever-changing) algorithms, growing followers, engaging with visitors, tracking, reporting, adjusting, spending allocated advertising dollars as wisely as possible, and understanding what will make your business stand out – in a good way.

Here are some benefits to bringing on a SMM.
from Marie-Helene Di Benedetto, Social Media Strategist and owner of Moondust

Experienced Marketing – Social media is just a tool; the important thing is that the tool needs to be used by an experienced marketing professional. Being a social media user in your free time doesn’t make you an experienced marketer, so you’ll never get the best results on your own.

Time – A SMM saves you time, because social media is not a 5 minute job you can do during lunch break.

Maximizing Resources – A SMM keeps up with the changes and can help you chose the best platforms and create the best content that is currently working well and that your audience/viewers are most reactive too.

Customer Service – A SMM can be available to handle online customer service around the clock, if needed.

Great Impressions – 2017 figures show that social media is the second mean people use (after search engines) to get information about a business, which means that your social media presence needs to look as good as your website.

“If consumers can’t find a solid brand presence, it takes one click to jump ship to a competitor.”
– Andrea Emerson

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