How To Be Your Own Social Media Manager In 6 Easy Steps

July 26, 2019
By
Hugh Stephens

Need to get started with your social media strategy? Find out how you can become your own social media manager with these easy steps.

78 per cent of businesses have dedicated teams for managing their social media.

Every cent of your marketing budget can make a difference as you reach out to new customers. So why waste away that valuable budget on a team or outsourcing when you could become your own social media manager instead?

With a few smart strategies, you can make the most of your time and your budget.

Of course, it's not necessarily for everyone – you might simply not have enough time, or your business might need the added value of a specialist.

However, sometimes doing it yourself is a good way to start – adding experts down the track as your business grows.

Like many other fields, social media management isn't 'simple' or 'easy' – social media specialists exist for a reason. There are some basic principles that you can follow to get yourself off to a great start.

Here are the six steps you need to become the best social media manager for your business.

1. Start Community-Building

The first step to social media success is to surround yourself with a strong community.

If you already have your accounts created, spend a little time exploring on each platform. Determine the other members who make up your niche industry. Then, reach out!

Sparking a conversation with other accounts can help you create an online community.

Your shared interests will make it easier for you to generate an audience. People will notice as you retweet and share content from these accounts. Then, their audiences will start to follow you, too.

Building your online community will also help you attract people who want your content. As they begin to recognise your value, these people will keep an eye out for your posts. Then, they'll share your posts with their followers, allowing you to reach a bigger audience.

2. Know Your Audience

Across 39 countries, a median of 53 per cent say they use online social networking sites. Becoming a social media manager is a global strategy. Why?

Well, that's where your customers are.

As you're working to become a social media manager, consider your audience.

What problems do your customers experience? What value can your company offer them?

Knowing your audience tells you:

  • What content they're looking for
  • Where they spend their time online
  • How you can spark their interest

Check on social media to determine who your customers already follow. What content do they like the most?

This can help you create engaging, eye-catching content in the future. After all, it has to get your on-the-go audience to stop scrolling thru hundreds of posts.

Knowing your audience can help you get them talking, too.

Engage your followers in conversations. Ask them questions, post polls, and generate a buzz for your business. You can also use these strategies to drive more traffic to your website.

3. Manage Your Time

To become a successful social media manager, you need to manage your time wisely.

There's Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok—and the list keeps growing.

Heading online for every single post probably isn't the best use of your time.

Instead, create a social media schedule beforehand. Use previous analytics to determine when your followers are usually online. Then, schedule your posts to optimise your social media for peak engagement.

These times might differ for each social media account.

Developing a social media calendar for posts can free up your time. Instead of giving social media round-the-clock attention, you can try other social media strategies, too.

For example, our Regram App for Instagram can help you schedule your regrams ahead of time, and slot them in around your own creative content.

Scheduling apps like Sked Social can streamline your workflow. A little organisation can help you use your time more efficiently.

That way, you can balance work as a social media manager along with the rest of your responsibilities.

4. Budget It Out

As a social media manager, you need to manage your money.

Paid social media ads can give your digital marketing strategy a major boost. If you're using paid ads, consider how much you're willing to spend each month. Then, break that does into a daily budget.

Social media ads often use a cost-per-click strategy, which means you pay each time someone clicks on your ads.

However, the cost per each click can depend on your industry. You might need to use trial and error to determine your average cost-per-click. The good news is that you can start with a small budget to get some initial intel, and to identify if social media advertising will work for you.

5. Sharpen Your Skills

It's not enough to just post online. As the company's social media coordinator, people will rely on your strategic know-how.

To stand out from the crowd, you need to do your research.

Sharpening your skillset can make a big difference. To start developing the skills you need, head online. Make sure to stay up-to-date with the latest social media trends.

Facebook and Instagram have constantly-changing algorithms. These formulas determine which posts make it to the top of specific hashtags.

Keeping up-to-date with these algorithm changes can alter your entire social media strategy. That way, you're staying ahead of competitors (and in front of future customers).

Your research can also tell you what your customers are searching for. Make a list of 10 hashtags that are relevant to your business based on these searches.

You can even tie in your social media strategy to your search engine optimisation strategy. Together, these strategies can give your content a major boost.  

6. Analyse and Strategise

As the company's social media manager, your job requires more than just uploading a few posts.

Once they're up, check the stats! Determine the content your customers love. Then, post more!

Analyze which posts get the most likes, retweets, and shares. You can even use your website analytics to see which social media platform generates the most traffic.

Of course, it's table stakes to make sure your website is mobile-friendly. That way, people can head from your social media post to the website without a problem. A mobile-optimised website can improve your social media (and vice versa).

The more you post, the more you learn! [But don't take this too far and spam your followers!]

Online Mastermind: 6 Steps to Becoming Your Own Social Media Manager

With these six easy steps, you can become your own social media manager in no time! Get strategic with it and boost your business with these social media marketing tips.

Discover Sked Social today and learn how to make the most of your social media marketing strategy.

Spend less and get more with Sked Social

Get everything social schedulers are missing without writing a blank check for an enterprise platform. AI-integrated tools, custom collaboration and approval workflows, deep analytics and insights, and real auto-posting to more platforms — it’s all here.

Get Started for FREE

Contents

What to read next

Visual marketing

The Best AI Image Generators To Speed Up Your Social Media Workflows

December 14, 2023

Ready to create phenomenal AI-powered images?

Visual marketing

The 10 Best Social Media Photo Editing Apps

October 10, 2023

We’ve pulled together the 10 best social media photo editing apps. What do you think of this list?

Get the visual content planner for visual brands and agencies