In the United States, people spend an average of 2 hours and 13 minutes per day on social media. Worldwide, in 2021, social media usage grew at a rate of 13.5 new users every second. With staggering numbers like those, companies have learned the value of having a social media presence.
In the window film industry, dealers often struggle with finding the right staff member to fill the role of social media manager. So, what skills are best to look for when it comes to identifying someone to run your social media channels? Here’s a look at some of the skills and job duties involved.
No. 1: Must be a Good Writer
Being able to write is a critical skill for social media managers. After all, you want your audience to understand the posts and replies that are being made by your company. This means having a good handle on how to use proper grammar and punctuation.
But good writers also craft attention-grabbing copy and clever comments and replies. They should be able to write concise text (after all, tweets are limited to only 280 characters) that draws emotion from your audience. Your social media manager should know how to change his or her writing style to match different audiences and channels.
No. 2: Must be a Good Communicator
Social media is a communication platform, so the staff member who is running your social media channels should have solid communication skills. This includes both written and verbal skills.
Beyond writing, communicating on social media also includes the use of emojis, video, GIFs, images and anything else to get the message across in a clear and engaging manner.
Your social media manager also needs to be able to effectively communicate verbally with your company’s administration and team. Administration will need to know about customer sentiments, the overall social media strategy, content distribution plans for certain projects (like new product launches or new services) and the impact social media has on the tint shop’s bottom line. (Afterall, you want to make sure that you have a solid return on investment for the time involved in implementing a social strategy.)
A social media manager also should be able to train staff, as needed, on various social media channels. For instance, customer support can help to answer social comments, and sales can certainly respond to sales inquiries. Sales also can use LinkedIn as a tool to expand their network and gain more leads.
No. 3: Must Be Creative
Creativity is a must-have for social media managers. Being able to think outside the box can lead to innovative social campaigns that are memorable, fun and engaging.
Creativity also plays a large role in producing visually appealing content. We all know that pictures speak a thousand words, and captivating photos and videos can stop people from scrolling.
Some social media managers are able to lead internal teams in brainstorming sessions to gain ideas for campaigns. It’s also good to have a sense of humor, which can then be transferred into the company’s voice on social media.
No. 4: Must Be Organized and Efficient
One cannot manage social media without managing time wisely. The truth is that social media quickly can become overwhelming if it is not organized at the outset. After all, it takes time to develop fresh, engaging content. It also takes time to monitor social media for comments and respond when necessary.
To help with the overwhelming feeling of managing social media, your staff member should create an editorial calendar to help plan. An editorial calendar is essentially a calendar that is marked with what content needs to be published on what date and time. The calendar can include as much detail as necessary, including actual post language, hashtags and photos/videos – or as less detail with just themes identified. A calendar goes a long way in helping with organization and time management.
Scheduling tools like Hootsuite, Buffer and SproutSocial (or Facebook’s Meta Business Suite for both Facebook and Instagram) can help assist a social media manager with time management.
To avoid burnout, social media managers need to know when to stop monitoring and responding to social media inquiries. He or she should be able to set personal boundaries. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are all 24/7 platforms with customers liking and sharing at all times – even in the middle of the night. Businesses tend to close their doors at 5 p.m. It should be 100 percent okay if social media posts aren’t responded to when business hours are closed.
No. 5: Must Exhibit Customer Care
Often times, the posts that your social media manager creates are the first impression people get of your tint shop. This person must have strong skills as it relates to customer service.
According to a SproutSocial study, 33 percent of consumers prefer to reach out to companies via social media rather than picking up the phone to call. Your social media manager should not only be creating content, but managing the response to customers’ inquiry (whether that is answering it directly or working with your customer service team to answer).
No. 6: Must Be Flexible
Being able to quickly pivot is an important trait for social media managers. Trends are consistently changing. The social media landscape seems to always be offering new tools (five years ago, no one had heard of TikTok). Meanwhile, the public’s interest is always shifting, as are customer concerns.
Staying abreast of trends and adjusting strategies to meet those trends are an important skill for a social media manager. This includes consistent listening and staying informed. This also means being flexible when the environment or landscape changes.
No. 7: Must Be a Trusted Business Leader
Your social media manager should be seen as someone who has earned a seat at your C-Suite table and someone you trust. Because social media is often the first interaction someone might have with your company, your social media manager has a lot of power when it comes to building relationships with your customers. They control the online voice of your company and help shape your company’s reputation.
As a business leader, he or she also should be someone who can help develop social strategies that support your overall business goals. Social media can be a tool in the toolbox to assist with sales, customer service and marketing. Because of its broad reaching impact on your company, your social media manager should have the skills necessary to think beyond just a single post – but how posting on social media can positively impact your overall bottom line.
Your social media manager should also be someone comfortable to bring up concerns and ideas during business planning meetings because your team also trusts him or her.
No. 8: Must Be Data Centric
Social media managers should not only create end-of-month reports, but they should always be looking at data for changing trends and ways to improve.
All of the social media channels provide quantitative analytics. For example, Facebook Insights gives a breakdown of audience demographics, what time of day posts are seen and impressions and reach for each post. This type of information can be valuable in understanding your customers and their interests. What types of posts are working well? What time of day is best to make a post? Answers to these questions can help tremendously in growing an engaged social media audience.
Monitoring social media also provides qualitative data. This is found in reading reviews, comments and threads where people are talking about your company, brand or service. This kind of data will give you insights into the current customer sentiment.
Social media managers need to be able to report these insights to administration. Administration often can use this type of data to make important investment decisions – like whether to launch a new product or new service or wait another six months before making a change.
Marketing Assistance
Running a tint shop is a busy operation, and it might be difficult for 3M™ Window Film dealers to find a social media manager with all of the necessary skills described above. However, there is training out there for those employees who might be lacking in some areas.
With social media now an integral part of the American way of life, it’s hard to ignore it and choose not to be engaging with customers digitally. Finding the right person with the right set of skills will help your social media strategy soar – and can result in a better bottom line.
One of the added value benefits of working with Accent Distributing is that it can put you in contact with a full-service marketing agency for free consultation. Reach out to your local sales representative or email Inside Sales at [email protected].
