If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you already know that social media platforms require regular and consistent engagement to be successful. This will often require careful planning and a schedule of some sort. For instance, there are daily activities that need to happen, like posting to your Facebook and Instagram, as well as less frequent updates in the form of blogs and newsletters. Larger social media campaigns—think big contests and other events—may only happen a few times a year, but they’ll generally need to be planned out well in advance. You’ll also want to keep track of online comments and reviews related to your brand. You may be surprised by how much time this takes!
Social media provides you with an unparalleled opportunity to communicate with your audience that more traditional marketing methods can’t touch. It’s essential to take advantage of this connection, but if you’re putting in extra hours every week to tackle your social media calendar, it’s easy to start feeling resentful towards the whole process. Fortunately, there’s a better solution—delegation! Delegating the social media tasks associated with your business will free up your own time in the office and enhance your use of social media as an important marketing medium. But where do you begin?
First things first….
Outsourcing these social media responsibilities is a possibility, as there are numerous companies willing to handle the minutiae of online engagement for you. However, there are some key advantages to keeping social media management an inside job! For a start, it gives you complete control over the timing and content of your posts. A lot of what makes social media special is that it tends to happen in “real time.” If an issue comes up or something requires your immediate attention, you won’t need to wait for a third party to respond on your behalf.
You also know your own calendar better than anyone. You’ve got years of insight into when you tend to be busy, when you expect things to be slow, and when you have special events planned. This lets you adjust the time you spend on social media output accordingly. That kind of flexibility is especially helpful when it comes to content that’s not time-sensitive, since you can plan ahead! If you do decide to delegate these tasks to your own team members, you’ll want to start by creating an action plan.
An action plan for effective delegation
An action plan clearly defines the goals you have for the activity at hand and outlines the specific steps that will be required to achieve them. In an ideal situation, you will already have a thorough understanding of your social media practices and be capable of passing that knowledge on to the designated team member. However, developing a working knowledge of social media marketing may itself be one of the tasks they are assigned.
Either way, you’ll be working closely with this team member as they learn the ropes, so it’s imperative to choose someone you can trust to get the job done! Look for team members who have a good understanding of your brand, a can-do attitude, excellent organizational skills, and the ability to communicate clearly, as these are all essential when it comes to successful online marketing.
Prioritizing your social media tasks
Once you have your action plan in place, determine what you want to prioritize in your social media marketing. Are you looking to
- strengthen the relationship you have with your current clients?
- connect with a wider audience?
- develop deeper ties within your community by partnering with local organizations and businesses?
- all of the above?
Work with your chosen team member to ensure they are clear on what social media outcomes are most important to you. Encourage them to research which social media platforms perform best in your area and with your target audience, with the goal of creating a schedule that will outline what type of content needs to be created, along with when and where it should be uploaded.
Be sure to allot enough time for creating relatable content, monitoring and interacting with various social media channels, and crafting social media campaigns with impact. Plan on budgeting about 2-3 hours each week specifically for social media marketing, although a bit more time may be required initially. If Neon Canvas isn’t writing monthly blogs for your brand, add another few hours or so each week to give your designated team member plenty of time to research, write, design, and post one to your website.
Be disciplined (…but patient!)
Anything new comes with a learning curve, and this is compounded by the ever-changing landscape of social media. It’s important to put your best foot forward in any marketing strategy, and that includes social media. Unfortunately, this approach is often the first to fall by the wayside when things get busy around the office! This reduces the effectiveness of your message, and you’ll want to convey this to your social media point person. It’s essential to build flexible time into their schedule to get social media tasks completed in a timely and productive manner.
Patience is an important part of this process, too, however. Remember your long-term goals but set mini-goals from the outset to help celebrate milestones. Be clear about what success will look like for your brand and encourage your team members to be creative in how they help you accomplish that!
If you’re having trouble defining what you want from social media marketing or feel uncertain about delegating these tasks, our team is happy to help you work through your doubts. Passing the social media torch to a well-trained team member will allow you to make the most of the medium without taking time away from your daily workload. We’d love to give you the tools you need to succeed!
Kyle Fagala, DDS, MDS
C0-Founder, Neon Canvas