You already know this, but your friends, neighbours, and even your neighbours’ dog – pretty much everyone – are on social media. What you probably don’t know is that as of the end of 2018, Facebook alone has over 2.32 billion monthly active users.

Last we checked, that’s larger than China’s total headcount, which is about 1.386 billion. For reference, China is the world’s most populous country, while Facebook 

Given the sheer number of users, it’s safe to assume that your audience and competitors are using social media. The question is: are you? Because if you have a social media presence, it’s not enough to merely have an intern post your blog’s content regularly.

You need to hire a social media manager. Here’s why:

You need a social media strategy

You can’t just jump into social media without a plan and expect great results. In fact, having no strategy might even be bad for your brand.

To achieve the results you want, you’ll need a social media manager who will create a detailed plan that considers various key factors such as:

• Your company’s target market
• Trends in your industry
• The type of content your site produces
• Your audience’s peak hours

Developing and executing this plan successfully will also require your social media manager to collaborate with other departments (e.g. the content and marketing teams), to ensure that your online promotion efforts are unified and work well together.

Social media rules are always changing

Back in 2016, Facebook announced that in addition to bringing family and friends together, their news feed is designed to inform and entertain. This changed in early 2018 when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said they’re focusing more on promoting more meaningful social interactions.

Also in 2018, Twitter announced that posting similar content on multiple accounts is no longer allowed.

The point: social media platforms change. They introduce new features, phase out old ones, and change how things work. If you’re serious about your online presence, you need a remote virtual assistant to keep track of everything for you to remain competitive.

With a social media manager, you can monitor these developments and have your organisation adapt quickly.

So you can focus on your business

If you run a small business, you need social media. It’s an effective yet inexpensive way to establish your brand online, among various benefits. 

But managing your offshore virtual assistant services budding company’s social media presence is time-consuming. Facebook has myriad rules and quirks; so does Twitter or LinkedIn. You need social media to establish credibility and compete in your niche, but not at the expense of your core business.

If you hire a social media manager, you’ll have someone who can take care of matters like growing your online following and scheduling posts on a full-time basis, enabling you to focus on what you do best.

To engage with and help your audience

One of the most effective ways to develop your companies that hire virtual assistants’ reputation online is to engage with your followers on social media. Why? Because customers now demand a relationship with brands and ignoring your audience in social media is bad for business.

But unless you can answer questions and help your audience with their concerns on a daily basis, you need a social media manager to do it for you. This isn’t just a matter of freeing up your time, however. You need an accomplished specialist who knows how to:

• Deal with irate customers.
• Use the right tone and language in social media communications.
• Connect effectively with your audience.
• Manage social media crises.

Effectively generating leads for your company

With the right social media manager and an effective strategy in place, you can improve your company’s sales through content distribution, paid advertising, and brand recognition.

But don’t take our word for it. Here’s proof:

• 24% of businesses reported that their revenue increased when they used social media for generating sales leads.
  
  
• Back in 2012 (when social media wasn’t as huge as it is today), 58% of marketers who have been using social media for over 3 years report that it helped them improve sales.

Monitoring your your social media efforts

Your social media campaigns won’t work if you don’t have data to help guide it. That’s where a social media manager comes in – they can look into your analytics for each social network then adjust existing strategies. For instance, they can:

• Deactivate underperforming ads.
• Conduct A/B testing to see which content, ads or calls to action are more effective in driving engagement.
• Monitor SEO and suggest improvements to the content.

An intern isn’t enough

Having a offshore assistant manager at the helm of your social media efforts can lead to great ideas, brand agility and ultimately, growth for your business. Someone who can put in this kind of work and specialised knowledge will lead to far better results than an intern posting random content ever will.