By The Pollack Group
Social media is integral to growing a business in 2021. Yet, many social media managers are too often left out of the loop on a company’s strategic goals and the planning needed to achieve them. Senior leaders must find ways to ensure social media managers are involved from the ground level, as seen in the Forbes Agency Council’s latest piece, ’14 Ways To Involve Social Media Managers In The Overarching Business Strategy.’ View the original article on Forbes. The No. 7 contribution is from agency president Stefan Pollack.
7. Don’t Put Social Media Managers In A Silo
Establish a central, real-time communications hub and shared asset platform where all members of the organization can share assets and information with social media managers. Remember that email alone may not be sufficient. Utilize platforms designed for collaboration, such as Slack, monday.com or Microsoft Teams. – Stefan Pollack, The Pollack Group
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1. Clearly Define Goals And Provide A Daily Structure
Social media is as or more dynamic than the stock market. As leaders, we lead by example. Clearly defining the goals you want to achieve through social media and your vision for the company is important. This needs to be communicated to the social media manager along with a structure they can follow daily. There should be follow-up based on set goals, and data-driven practices and keeping a close eye on the competition are strategies that must be applied. – Aman Swetta, id8 Media Solutions
2. Provide Message Maps
Message maps are helpful tools to get everyone “singing from the same song sheet” when it comes to the brand messages of a company. At the center of a message map should be a “key message” that boils down to a seven-second sound bite, and you would put the supporting messages or proof points around the key message. When management provides message maps, it helps the social media team tremendously. – Nancy Marshall, Marshall Communications
3. Empower Managers With A Brand Book
For social media to work effectively for a brand, it must be authentic. Leaders need to work closely with social media managers to make sure they understand the brand mission and purpose. It’s easy to get tactical with social, but it’s critical to do the work upfront regarding brand voice and tone. A brand book can serve as a guide, empowering managers to respond quickly to real-time events. – Scott Harkey, OH Partners
4. Set KPIs And Schedule Recap Meetings
Your social media efforts should reflect your evolving strategic goals. To accomplish a symbiotic approach, ensure your social media manager is informed about your plans for the company and set the KPIs to measure success. Schedule recap meetings so that your teams are aligned across the entire company. Give your social manager creative freedom to test and learn different strategies. – Emilie Tabor, IMA – Influencer Marketing Agency
5. Check In Monthly To Find Ways To Improve CX On Social
It goes without saying that social media managers should be briefed about business goals and KPIs. I recommend having a cohesive customer experience workflow for each market segment and connecting the dots between customers’ pain points, brand offerings, messaging and outcomes. Monthly check-ins to identify opportunities to improve customer experience and conversations on social are essential. – Alana Sandel, Marketing For Wellness
6. Think Of Social As Your Own Media Outlet
Whether they are chosen or not, all marketing efforts—news pick-ups, sales, offers, initiatives, corporate social responsibility events—should be considered as viable, sharable content. Think of social media as your own media outlet. Push out messages you want to get out by communicating the rationale and strategy to your social media managers, who can craft the messaging, post it across social platforms and monitor success. – Michelle Abdow, Market Mentors, LLC
7. See Above
8. Have Monthly Social Strategy Meetings
Establishing monthly meetings that are at least partially focused on your brand’s social media strategy is crucial. Be sure to review trends, analyze market reports, see what other brands are attempting and keep your social media manager briefed on goals and updates. The important thing is consistent communication so that ideas keep flowing. – Lion Shirdan, UPRISE Management
9. Include Them In Quarterly Strategy Meetings
Strategic goals are typically set quarterly. Those responsible for managing the social channel must be in the room when decisions are made so that they will understand the background and nuance behind those decisions. This way, they’ll be better equipped to guide social communications, which are among the most important means by which brands communicate with their audiences. – Robert Finlayson, Bold Marketing and Communications
10. Always Provide Them With The Full Context
When I was a spokesperson for a government agency, I was in the room when decisions were made so that I could explain them in the best possible way and, in some cases, provide input. Today, the social media manager has that role. They need to have context in order to thrive. If you’re just telling them what to post, you don’t really have a social media manager. – Jim Tobin, Carusele and Ignite Social Media
11. Let Them Sit In On As Many Meetings As Possible
The effectiveness of any social media manager is only as strong as their involvement in the day-to-day business of the company. From stand-up calls to brainstorms to strategy huddles, let your social media manager sit in on as many meetings as possible. This ensures that their output will be authentic, compelling and in line with your company’s evolving strategic goals. – Danielle Wiley, Sway Group
12. Invite Them Into Executive Strategy Sessions
Invite the social media managers into executive strategy sessions so that you can understand their approach and perspectives on social media and how it shapes strategic goals. Social media managers usually have excellent insights into the company’s audiences and how they will react; these insights can be used to avoid disasters and help you optimize strategic goals for successful campaigns. – Jonas Muthoni, Deviate Agency
13. Meet Regularly To Outline ‘Wins’ And Discuss Trends
Leaders need to know the metrics and where the social media market is heading in terms of updates and features. Regular team meetings are a must, not only to outline “wins,” but also to discuss trends that should be considered to make the biggest impact. There should always be a new format to test when it comes to content and measuring the engagement that is moving the needle along the customer journey. – Bernard May, National Positions
14. Help Them Bridge The Gap Between Customers And Leadership
Since social media managers are communicating directly with end customers on a daily basis, it’s critical they also have line of sight to senior leadership. Companies that only have one hierarchy model will struggle to connect with customers, as they rely on a broken, “telephone game” chain to get messages out. Set up regular meetings between your leadership and social teams to remove the distance. – Darrell Keezer, Candybox Marketing
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