The Benefits of a Managed Social Media Marketing Solution
You’re on social media because you want to connect with your customers on a daily basis. You’re also able to leverage social platforms for highly-targeted advertising that drives leads. All of which is great, except that social media marketing is time-consuming, especially if you’re a time-poor entrepreneur. Here’s where a managed social media marketing solution can be invaluable.
1. You can get the most out of your social media presence
What are the best ways to engage my Facebook fans? How can I integrate customer service into my Twitter account? How do Pinterest’s pins and boards work? A social media pro has the answers to these questions, and helps businesses maximize their business advantage from social. You don’t have to expend massive amounts of time navigating your way through the best practices, trends, creative methods and latest social channels. Let a social media agency equipped with the knowledge of and experience in all things social handle your campaigns, and deliver the impact and results you seek. Another advantage of a managed social media presence is the ability to post at the best times of the day. A dedicated account manager can get your posts out on time every time through manual or automatic posting. He/She can also track and answer to replies, comments, follows and retweets throughout the day.
2. You don’t have to fall foul of customers by being unresponsive or late to respond
Buying decisions are based on 20 per cent logic and 80 per cent emotions. If you struggle to show the human side of your brand on social, your customers may abandon you sooner or later. One way to show fans and followers that you care is to keep the conversation going and connect with them on a daily basis. A monitored social media presence allows you to respond to customer appreciations and criticisms quickly or even in real-time. It enhances your brand’s feel-good factor and encourages your social media community to keep engaging and sharing.
Also keep in mind that people expect to hear back from a brand within an hour of them posting a problem. A managed presence can be really useful in appeasing disgruntled customers, and avoiding negative WOM.
3. You can leave content creation to the experts
Great content is the cornerstone of a successful SEO and social media strategy. You may have the time and energy to write two or three high-quality long-form posts a week to share on your social channels. But will this be enough? There’s a variety of non-promotional social media content – from infographics, videos and memes to photos and articles – that brands leverage to drive effective engagement and social shares. By entrusting a social media agency with content, you can rest assured that you’re presenting an authoritative face before your audience.
4. Keep track of outcomes more efficiently
A successful social media strategy is not about amassing ‘x’ number of fans and followers. You need a holistic view of results, taking into account such metrics as website traffic, sales, leads, retention, referrals and customer satisfaction scores. A managed presence streamlines all aspects of your social media strategy, from setting goals, and deciding metrics and tracking them, to analyzing outcomes, and reviewing the strategy.
Yes, there’s a lot of free advice on social media management from top experts in the field. But getting to grips with the vast landscape of information and getting down to create and implement a strategy is always challenging. If you don’t have a dedicated social media manager on your team, a managed solution is worth every bit of your investment.