Social Media Management: The Ultimate Guide

Social media guidance is nan process of overseeing each item related to your brand's societal media presence. To turn consciousness and link pinch your target audience.

Social media managers are typically nan individuals responsible for this. And their main tasks whitethorn include:

• Developing a societal media strategy
• Creating and posting societal content
• Responding to comments and messages from followers and different users
• Monitoring societal channels for marque mentions and applicable conversations
• Identifying and collaborating pinch influencers
• Setting up and managing paid societal media advertizing campaigns
• Tracking cardinal capacity metrics and creating reports
• Continuously optimizing strategies based connected capacity data

Some businesses person a dedicated societal media head aliases a squad handling these activities. Others outsource to freelancers aliases societal media trading agencies.

Below, we’ll talk why societal media guidance is important for your brand, your options for societal media management, and really to negociate your societal media beingness if you opt to do it yourself.

Social media guidance ensures you’re moving toward squad objectives that lend to your company’s larger goals. 

Specifically, it tin thief with:

• Building marque awareness
• Fostering community
• Driving postulation to your website
• Generating leads
• Cultivating customer loyalty

Let’s opportunity you’re looking to turn marque consciousness crossed societal media by a definite percentage. To support your business’s gross maturation goals. 

Now, see that much than five cardinal people usage societal media. 

If you usage societal media, you tin pat into valuable opportunities to scope and prosecute your target audience (i.e., group who are apt to bargain from you).

For example, Wendy’s has 3.7 cardinal followers connected X (formerly Twitter).

Their posts regularly scope hundreds of thousands of people. And make tons of comments, shares, and likes.

They besides actively respond to users. 

All this creates a batch of affirmative attraction for Wendy's. Which tin thrust group to their restaurants.

On nan different hand, poorly managed societal media accounts tin nonstop antagonistic signals. Suggesting that a marque is retired of touch aliases indifferent to its audience. 

This cognition tin push imaginable customers toward competitors.

In short, societal media guidance helps you support a affirmative marque image and build relationships. Which tin construe to business success. 

Choosing betwixt in-house and outsourced societal media guidance depends connected your company's needs and resources.

In-house societal media management gives you complete control, makes implementing changes quick, and ensures posts and comments are ever aligned pinch your brand. But it tin return clip to create expertise, and nan basal devices and hiring tin beryllium costly.

Outsourced societal media management gives you contiguous entree to skilled professionals and frees you to attraction connected much pressing matters. But it removes immoderate of your control, often involves delays, and tin quickly go costly depending connected nan services you need. 

If you're a mini business looking to turn your beingness without a immense upfront investment, hiring an in-house societal media head could beryllium a bully start.

But if you request specialized knowledge aliases want to standard quickly, an outer agency aliases freelancer whitethorn beryllium a amended choice.

You tin negociate societal media utilizing nan devices disposable connected nan societal platforms themselves. But galore businesses usage third-party social media guidance tools to consolidate their efforts successful 1 spot and summation further insights.

Below, we’ll screen strategies for societal media guidance success. And societal media guidance package solutions you tin usage for each step.

1. Set Goals

Setting societal media guidance goals gives you guidance and ensures you enactment connected way to scope institution goals.

Your goals should beryllium specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

For instance, alternatively than a vague extremity for illustration "increase engagement," a SMART extremity would beryllium "increase nan mean engagement complaint by 20% wrong nan adjacent 2 months."

This clarity guides decisions astir what formats to create, what topics to attraction on, etc. And ensures you usage your clip and resources efficiently. 

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Understanding your target assemblage can thief you take nan correct platforms, create compelling content, and prosecute pinch users much effectively.

Start by gathering insights astir your existent societal media followers by looking into your societal media analytics. 

Platforms for illustration Meta supply assemblage insights. Such arsenic age, gender, and location breakdowns.

Next, usage Semrush's One2Target to analyse your target audience.

Open nan tool, take your location, and participate nan domains of up to 5 competitors. Then, click “Analyze.”

Check nan "Demographics" tab (which you’ll scope by default) to study astir nan audience’s age, gender, and location data.

Go to nan "Socioeconomics" tab to spot nan audience's family size, income level, employment status, and acquisition level.

Finally, click nan "Behavior" tab to spot nan interests, instrumentality types, and societal platforms that are astir celebrated pinch this audience.

Use these assemblage insights to prioritize your societal media guidance efforts.

For example, if nan information shows nan assemblage is mostly group betwixt nan ages of 35 and 34 who activity afloat clip and for illustration YouTube, you mightiness attraction connected creating short-form societal videos.

You tin negociate societal media accounts connected 1 aliases much platforms. But nan correct platforms for your marque dangle connected who you’re trying to reach. 

For example, galore group usage Pinterest to get location decor inspiration. So it’s awesome for brands for illustration IKEA. 

And they get much than 10 cardinal views connected their Pinterest boards each period (as of February 2024).

Whereas tons of tech lovers bent retired connected Discord. So brands for illustration Samsung are coming there.

Revisit nan accusation you recovered successful One2Target to place nan champion platforms for you. And see doing moreover much investigation into your competitors’ societal media presences.

Their follower numbers springiness an thought of imaginable scope (or nan full number of group who perchance spot their content).

While views, likes, comments, and shares show engagement potential.

Once you’ve created your database of imaginable societal platforms, you request to prioritize.

Use these tips to help:

• Start small: It’s amended to negociate 1 level good than respective platforms poorly. Start pinch 1 aliases 2 accounts and build your beingness complete time. To trim nan consequence of spreading yourself excessively thin.
• Play to your strengths: Start connected platforms you’re acquainted with. And instrumentality to nan contented formats that suit them.
• Pick akin platforms: Repurposing contented crossed aggregate platforms tin prevention you time. The much akin nan platforms you’re using, nan easier this is. 
• Do a proceedings run: As a test, create a week’s worthy of contented for nan level you’re considering. This should springiness you a bully thought of nan resources required.

4. Create and Optimize Your Social Media Profiles

Now, it’s clip to create (or optimize) your brand’s profiles.

The process differs by platform. But present are immoderate champion practices to support successful mind:

Choose Appropriate Social Media Handles

Many societal media platforms require you to take a handle. This is nan othername your marque goes by connected nan platform.

Intuitive and accordant handles make it easier for group to find your brand. And tag you successful conversations.

For example, Semrush goes by “@semrush” connected YouTube, X, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Creating aggregate accounts? Use Namecheckr to spot what handles are available.

Want to alteration 1 of your existing handles? Check retired nan respective societal platform’s support conception for guidance.

Use Appealing Profile Pictures

Your floor plan image is nan main image associated pinch a societal media account. And consistency crossed profiles makes it easier for group to admit your brand. 

Most businesses usage their logo.

If you’re building a individual brand, you could usage a high-quality headshot instead.

And cognize that immoderate platforms let you to upload other floor plan images (e.g., nan header image connected X).

This tin besides beryllium a awesome measurement to beforehand your latest campaign.

Write Compelling Bios

The bio is nan short explanation that appears connected a societal media profile. Which you tin usage to explicate what your business does and why personification should travel you. 

For example, Semrush’s Pinterest bio uses societal impervious and an emoji to drawback users’ attention.

And capable successful immoderate different fields, specified arsenic your website URL and interaction details. To make it easier for societal media users to study astir and prosecute pinch your brand.

Try looking astatine your rivals’ bios for inspiration. 

Complete Verification Steps

Social media verification is nan process of proving that your marque relationship is authentic. That it really belongs to you aliases your business (and isn’t being tally by an imitator).

Most societal media platforms show a “Verified” badge connected verified profiles. Like this:

If you tin get verified, you should (just statement that verification connected X requires a paid plan). To build spot pinch users. 

Modify Your Privacy Settings

Check each platform’s privateness settings to guarantee anyone tin find, follow, and interaction your brand.

For example, “Public posts” are visible to group connected and disconnected X. And are eligible to look successful X hunt results and Google hunt results.

Meanwhile, “Protected posts” are only visible to your X followers.

To protect (or unprotect) your posts, spell to your relationship settings. And click “Privacy and safety” > “Audience, media and tagging.”

Then click aliases unclick nan checkbox beside “Protect your posts” and “Protect your videos.”

You tin besides make it easier for group to privately connection you for customer work reasons. By going backmost to your "Privacy and safety" settings. And clicking connected "Direct messages."

From there, you tin configure who tin connection you nether "Allow connection requests from." And moreover select retired low-quality messages.

Remember to reappraisal privateness settings connected each your societal media accounts. If you request help, cheque retired each platform’s support pages.

5. Post High-Quality Content

The cardinal to occurrence connected immoderate societal media level is consistently posting high-quality contented your target assemblage finds helpful, interesting, and/or entertaining. 

So, strategically scheme your societal contented to gain followers and move them into loyal customers. Here’s how:

Create a Posting Strategy and Schedule

Developing a posting strategy and schedule helps you prevention clip and enactment connected way toward your goals.

To start, database nan contented formats disposable connected your chosen platforms. This will thief you brainstorm bully ideas.

For Instagram, your database mightiness look for illustration this:

• Reels (videos up to 90 seconds pinch an facet ratio of 9:16)
• Photos (aspect ratio betwixt 1.91:1 and 4:5)
• Carousels (up to 10 videos and photos successful a azygous post)
• Stories (photos and videos that vanish aft 24 hours)

Next, travel up pinch nan types of contented you could create for each format. Such arsenic lawsuit studies, tutorials, aliases merchandise demos. (Get much ideas from this database of social contented types.)

Narrow it down to nan champion ideas by considering why your assemblage will find that contented valuable and really you’ll create it.

Keep your notes together successful a document.

Let’s opportunity you’re doing societal media trading guidance for nan camera marque GoPro. The commencement of your Instagram strategy mightiness look for illustration this:

Format	What	Why	How
Photo	Customer photo	Inspire	Ask customers to stock photos utilizing #GoPro
Reel	Extreme sports videos	Entertain	Sponsor utmost sports athletes
Carousel	Top tips	Educate	Use image editing software

Here’s an illustration of a resulting post:

To find retired what contented performs champion successful your niche, effort Social Tracker (part of Semrush Social). 

The “Top Content by Channel” conception showcases posts pinch nan champion engagement. (From competitors’ profiles and your own.)

Next, determine really often to station connected each platform. And astatine what times.

Go to nan “Activity” tab for applicable societal media platforms successful Social Tracker to find retired erstwhile your competitors post. And really engagement varies by day.

And deliberation astir cardinal points successful your target audience’s day. For example, professionals mightiness cheque LinkedIn earlier they commencement activity for nan day. 

Creating and scheduling contented successful beforehand makes it easier to execute nan following:

• Prepare for upcoming events for illustration trading campaigns and nationalist holidays
• Maintain a accordant posting schedule
• Post a assortment of content

It besides gives societal media managers much clip to attraction connected organization engagement each day.

The champion measurement to enactment organized is to usage a social media contented calendar. Which lays retired what you’ll station and when.

Our free societal media almanac template includes nan pursuing columns: 

Channel	The societal media level you’ll station on
Day	The time of nan week (to lucifer up pinch nan date)
Status	Whether your contented is planned, successful progress, scheduled, aliases published
Date	The publishing date
Time	The publishing time
Post Topic/Type	The station type and topic
Copy	The matter that will beryllium utilized successful your post
Visual Type	The circumstantial visuals (e.g., GIFs, videos, and still images)
Visual (Drive Link)	Links to your visuals erstwhile you’ve created them
Link to Assets	Links to immoderate related assets, specified arsenic blog posts aliases products
Link to Published Post	The station URL erstwhile it’s published

Once you person your template copy, populate nan almanac pinch ideas. 

Try to usage a assortment of contented types from your societal strategy. And return upcoming events into account.

Let’s opportunity you wanted to stock GIFs and New Year’s Day is coming up. You could create an animated “Happy New Year” greeting for your followers.

Create Your Posts

Next, bring your ideas to life.

Use AI Social Content Generator to quickly create engaging posts—including videos, images, and carousels—for various societal media platforms. 

Open nan app and group up your relationship by providing specifications astir your brand.

Once done, prime "Text to Post" arsenic nan type of station you want to create.

Add nan taxable you want to attraction on. And make nan punctual elaborate to guarantee nan champion imaginable output.

Next, prime nan type of station you need, nan input and output language, and take your ain assets aliases fto nan AI do it for you. 

Once you’re done, click “Generate.”

The instrumentality will make your societal media posts. And they’ll beryllium stored successful nan "Content Library."

Once your posts are ready, nan last measurement is scheduling them.

Semrush Social’s Social Poster instrumentality allows you to simultaneously schedule posts connected up to six societal media platforms: Facebook, X, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google Business Profile. (Google Business Profile isn’t strictly a societal media site. But you tin station updates to your profile.)

Just take nan due platform(s) for your post, adhd your content, and click “Schedule” to take erstwhile nan post(s) should publish.

6. Engage pinch Your Audience

In summation to scheduling content, show activity successful your niche utilizing societal media guidance platforms to place conversations you tin beryllium a portion of. And prosecute pinch trends that tin boost your visibility.

Here are a fewer ways to prosecute pinch your followers: 

Monitor Brand Mentions

You should cognize erstwhile group are talking to (or about) your brand. So you tin respond efficaciously and make adjustments to your strategy.

This is called “social listening.”

To get alerts erstwhile personification addresses your marque directly, usage nan Social Inbox instrumentality successful Semrush Social to spot Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn mentions successful 1 place.

You tin moreover nonstop responses here. It’s an businesslike measurement to negociate aggregate accounts.

You tin besides move connected notifications successful your individual societal media accounts for nan following:

• Tags: Someone tagged your @handle successful a station aliases comment
• Replies: Someone replied to your station aliases comment
• Direct messages: Someone messaged you privately
• Comments: Someone commented connected your post
• Reactions: Someone reacted (e.g., “Liked”) to your station aliases comment

And thing other that’s applicable connected nan platform.

To cognize erstwhile personification mentions your marque without tagging, get automatic updates pinch nan Media Monitoring app. 

For example, here’s a study for Amazon that includes marque mentions connected TikTok:

The app besides indicates whether mentions person positive, negative, aliases neutral sentiment. Which helps you find whether to intervene—and how.

Always respond to antagonistic comments first. Addressing issues quickly, politely, and efficaciously tin forestall them from escalating.

Resolve backstage and analyzable matters via nonstop connection (or different backstage channel).

If personification posts thing positive, responding (or reacting) tin fortify your narration pinch them. And tie others’ attraction to their praise.

Like Robinhood did here:

Join and Start Conversations

To support way of conversations successful your niche, travel competitors and influencers. Who you tin find by searching applicable keywords connected each platform.

And subscribe to applicable topics aliases hashtags, if possible. 

For example, spell to “More” > “Topics” connected X. And click nan “+” icon connected immoderate topics you’re willing in.

Then, return immoderate clip each time to place awesome talking points (and celebrated posts) successful your feed. And get progressive erstwhile you tin adhd value.

On TikTok, galore brands remark connected different users’ videos (especially those going viral). To summation vulnerability and build a personable marque image.

But commencement conversations, too.

Simple questions and prompts tin boost engagement and get group talking. And references to trending topics show you’re portion of nan community. 

On TikTok, brands pat into trending sounds and memes to make engagement. The site’s Creative Center tin thief you find what’s hot.

Amplify Others

Sharing personification else’s contented makes them much apt to prosecute pinch your post. Which tin get you successful beforehand of their assemblage to turn marque awareness.

They mightiness moreover return nan favour astatine a later date. By sharing your contented from their account.

For nan champion results, amplify influencers successful your niche. Meaning group pinch a target assemblage you want to pat into.

Repost their contented alongside your commentary. Or, stock contented from elsewhere (e.g., blog posts) and tag nan creator.

We urge pursuing these guidelines erstwhile amplifying personification else’s content:

• Share contented from creators who make consciousness for your marque (i.e., creators successful a akin niche aliases creators who straight mention your marque aliases product)
• Amplify a assortment of creators
• Continue to dedicate astir of your clip and resources to producing original content

7. Expand Your Reach pinch Ads

Social media advertising allows you to scope a targeted assemblage beyond your integrated followers connected nan platforms you’re already using. Putting you successful beforehand of much group who are apt to beryllium willing successful what you offer.

One elemental measurement to get started is by boosting your regular societal media posts.

Create a regular post. And past salary to “boost” its visibility successful much people’s feeds. Which tin thief you execute run goals pinch contented you already have.

These "boosted" posts person a "Sponsored" aliases “Promoted” explanation to signify that they’re ads:

You tin besides create dedicated ads.

Before you get started, summation immoderate inspiration from competitors’ campaigns utilizing nan AdClarity app. It shows you:

• Which platforms they’re advertizing on
• Which advertisement formats they’re using
• How overmuch they’re spending
• How galore impressions they’re getting
• Which of their ads execute best

Use this accusation to pass your ain campaigns.

Now, here’s an overview of immoderate celebrated platforms and nan format and targeting options for each:

Meta Ads

Facebook and Instagram connection a scope of advertisement options:

• Image and video ads successful users’ feeds and successful stories
• Carousel ads pinch aggregate images aliases videos
• Collection ads that showcase products
• Messenger ads that commencement conversations
• Augmented reality ads that let group to "try on" products

You tin target Meta ads based connected demographics, interests, behaviors, and different attributes. You tin besides create lookalike audiences that see group who stock characteristics pinch your existing customers.

X Ads

X offers respective advertisement formats, including:

• Image and video ads
• Carousel ads pinch up to six images aliases videos
• Vertical video ads that return up nan users’ afloat screen
• Collection ads that show a group of related offerings successful a azygous view

X's targeting options see keywords, interests, and behaviors. You tin besides target circumstantial accounts' followers aliases create civilization audiences.

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn provides advertisement options like:

• Sponsored messaging sent straight to users' inboxes
• Text and move ads
• Video ads
• Event ads to beforehand your LinkedIn events

LinkedIn lets you target based connected company, job, education, interests, and different attributes. You tin besides upload interaction lists.

YouTube Ads

YouTube offers respective video advertisement formats, like:

• Skippable and non-skippable in-stream ads that play before, during, aliases aft a video
• Video find ads that look successful hunt results and adjacent to related videos
• Bumper ads—six-second, non-skippable video ads
• Masthead ads that look astatine nan apical of nan YouTube homepage

You tin target YouTube ads based connected demographics, interests, and behaviors. You tin besides show ads to group who’ve interacted pinch your videos aliases YouTube channel.

TikTok Ads

TikTok offers respective advertisement types, including:

• In-feed ads that look successful users' "For You" feeds
• TopView ads that look erstwhile users unfastened nan app
• Branded hashtag situation ads that promote personification participation
• Branded effect ads that let brands to create civilization filters and lenses

TikTok's targeting options see demographics, interests, behaviors, and devices. You tin besides create civilization and lookalike audiences.

Pinterest Ads

Pinterest provides advertisement formats like:

• Static and video Pins that look successful users' feeds and hunt results
• Carousel ads pinch aggregate images
• Shopping ads that characteristic products
• App instal ads

Pinterest allows targeting based connected interests, keywords, demographics, and customer lists. You tin besides retarget group who’ve engaged pinch your pins aliases website.

Further reading: A Guide to nan Best Advertising Platforms for Your Business

8. Collaborate pinch Influencers

Influencer marketing involves moving pinch societal media influencers to beforehand your brand. 

It allows you to pat into an established audience. And subordinate your marque pinch a celebrated personality.

Influencers autumn into 3 categories:

• Micro-influencers person less than 100,000 followers. They’re awesome for targeted campaigns because they often person a beardown relationship pinch their audiences.
• Macro-influencers person betwixt 100,000 to 1 cardinal followers. They thief summation marque consciousness owed to their larger assemblage size.
• Celebrities person complete 1 cardinal followers and tin importantly boost your brand’s visibility. Although, they’re nan astir costly to partner with.

Use nan Influencer Analytics app to hunt for perfect influencers. 

Open nan tool, spell to "Influencer Discovery," and prime nan level you want to attraction on.

Next, usage filters to constrictive down nan database of influencers based connected your requirements and budget. 

You’ll past get a database of results you tin review.

Click connected an individual influencer's floor plan for further data. Including their interaction specifications (if available).

The app besides has influencer recruitment, collaboration, and analytics devices to thief you tally your full influencer trading campaign.

Once you’ve identified nan influencers to partner with, scope retired to them pinch a proposal. Here are immoderate communal collaboration types you tin spell with:

• One-time sponsored posts: The influencer creates contented featuring your merchandise aliases service
• Contests and giveaways: The influencer promotes a title aliases giveaway featuring your merchandise aliases service
• Long-term ambassadorships: The influencer consistently beforehand your marque complete an extended play of time

Micro-influencers are typically nan astir affordable, but immoderate influencers are unfastened to negotiation. Especially for semipermanent partnership.

Further reading: How to Find Influencers for Your Brand

9. Measure Your Results

Monitoring and analyzing societal media results shows you what’s moving and what isn’t. So you tin amended your societal media guidance and support growing.

One cardinal metric to show is assemblage size—the number of followers aliases subscribers you person connected each platform.

View everything astatine a glimpse (including your competitors’ follower counts) successful nan Social Tracker instrumentality wrong Semrush Social.

But it’s besides wise to attraction connected expanding engagement. (The number of interactions specified arsenic likes, comments, clicks, and replies.) 

Engagements are affirmative signals that you’re doing thing right. And engaged followers whitethorn beryllium much apt to go customers.

Measure your engagements successful Social Tracker arsenic well. You’ll find competitors’ information successful nan overview tab. Which tin supply context—and springiness you thing to purpose for.

To show nan occurrence of individual posts, caput to nan “Posts” study successful nan “Facebook” aliases “Instagram” tab. Or nan “Tweets” study successful nan “Twitter” tab.

Engagement complaint (“Eng. rate”) is simply a cardinal metric for comparison here. (Visit our knowledge guidelines to learn really it’s calculated.)

Click connected nan file caput to benignant from highest to lowest. That way, you’ll spot which posts performed champion successful your chosen clip period. Then, look for trends successful station types, hashtags, and times.

Findings present will thief you refine your contented strategy. 

Let’s opportunity your photograph posts outperformed matter posts connected Facebook. Next month, you tin put much clip successful imagery. And spot if it improves your wide engagement rate.

Further reading: 18 Social Media KPIs (and How to Track Them)

Semrush Social saves you clip connected societal media management. And provides insights to amended your brand’s strategy.

Whether you’re a societal media head aliases tally societal accounts for your ain business, you tin usage nan toolkit to schedule posts, way performance, and more.