Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Why Your Business Needs a Social Media Manager

if your that person in your own business and you got the time. You can easily be that person in somebody else business and get paid for it.

The benefits of having a social media manager in today’s connected world are great. Not only do social media managers maintain a business’s positive reputation within the online community, but they also have the power to oversee updates of both the company and its followers, acting as a go-between. Here are six reasons why you should consider hiring a social media manager.

You’ve already got one. Most companies already have an employee who’s a social networking wiz. By hiring within the company, you’ll be able to save time and money, and you’ll have an employee who is already familiar with the daily activities and mission of your business.

They’re dedicated. If you have identified your social media expert, they have probably already displayed a high level of consistency and steadfastness. Having them apply their skills to your business’s social networks will attract many more fans and followers, further popularizing your business and keeping it top of mind.

It’s a low-cost endeavor. Not only will this be a fun and entertaining position, but the cost of having a social network media manager should be low. You could even delegate this job to an intern or a public relations hire fresh out of college.

They make connections. Many people already use social media tools for the purpose of making business connections and working the virtual room. By having a dedicated employee on the job, you’ll never miss an opportunity to make an important connection. You never know where your next business deal may come from.

They keep things current. Utilizing the power of social networks is a big undertaking -- a social media manager must constantly give updates, furnish responses, and look for new opportunities and prospects to remain relevant. By filling this position, your company will always be current and up-to-date, thus keeping your eager audience returning for more.

They’re always ready. With a dedicated moderator and the ability of anyone to access the network from almost anywhere, you’re never far from making new connections or letting everyone know that something big is about to happen. Conversely, if something goes wrong, this person will be able to respond quickly and put out the fire.
Here are five job duties your social media manager should fill:

Monitoring: The number-one duty for a social media manager is to make sure there are no fake accounts created with your company’s name and to spot malicious users looking to degrade your company’s reputation with negative posts, pictures, video, or other media. Although the networks should be a place to freely comment and share information and ideas, it shouldn’t turn into a place that is hurtful to either the business or other users. Before hiring, make a list of what is and isn’t acceptable, then go over it with your social media manager.

Making announcements: Popular social networking Web sites like Twitter have allowed anyone to turn their computer into their very own PR agent and post their “press releases” for the world to see. That is exactly what your new social media manager should be doing. What better way to make an announcement of an upcoming sale or newly in-stock item to the public?

Communicating: Being involved with social networking is like having a huge party in which you’re able to spend time with everyone no matter how big it gets. Your newly hired advisor can now answer frequently asked customer questions, give advice on popular topics, express concerns over issues plaguing users, or just chitchat on the day’s news. Having a dedicated person there to fulfill a client’s needs will go a long way.

Building and recruiting: Another one of your new manager’s duties will be to gain fans by searching various communities. By recruiting followers, you’ll be getting customers that you might have never noticed, along with fresh demographic data. What’s more, by making connections with other people in your industry -- even at competing companies -- you’re one step closer to landing top talent if they get laid off.

Updating features: There are many useful and fun ways to engage people on a social network. Games, quizzes, and puzzles are only a few of the many popular applications out there. With a dedicated manager implementing these onto your company’s network page, visitors will find the site useful and entertaining and will want to return. These days, there’s nothing worse than stale Web pages.

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