Social Media is not Community Management!

“The social media strategy is all taken care of, we already have a community manager”. In some shape or form, we hear this a lot, from brands as well as agencies, and not only from small ones. What brands need before the community manager, is a specific and detailed Social Media Strategy and Plan. Why is having all your social media dependent on a single person not enough? What are the keys to a successful social media strategy? How do I build tailored strategies for different clients from different industries and with different needs? We asked our Director of Communications and mastermind behind many of the strategies for our clients, Natalia Zuazo, to take some time off from her hectic daily routine  to give you a better picture of what we do at InPulse Digital that sets us apart from the competition. “Social media today is a 24/7 endeavor, requiring constant measuring and data analysis, to get the best results possible”, says Zuazo. Demanding clients usually come with demanding deadlines, ROI expectations, and constant reporting and follow-up needs for which just having a community manager will not do. “Having a diverse team with people coming from communication, journalism, media optimization, and technology backgrounds, among others, is a huge advantage when it comes to giving each client the team with the right profile for its needs”. According to Zuazo, when you plan your Social Media Strategy you shouldn’t only consider the budget. “Strategy is the most important investment you can make. It’s about investing in your goals, through lasting contents and experienced professionals that will help you reach those goals.” Of course, having specific and realistic goals is one of the musts for any strategy that will have a real shot at success. Part of what it takes to realize if those goals are within reach is putting yourself in the shoes of your audience and asking: would I do what I’m asking these people to do? Would I be interested? Would I be interested enough to take action? If the answer is “yes”, you still have a couple of challenges ahead that only a qualified team will solve. The copy is probably one of the most important and most underestimated components of success in social media. Creative people who can write really good copy are hard to find, but they will make the difference between truly connecting and bringing in the audience and annoying users who can’t figure out what you want to say. The other vital issue, and it is linked to the copywriting, is never to underestimate content. Content, in all its forms is, was, and will likely be king in social media for quite a while. “Great ideas will always work regardless of the current trends, good content will always be good content. Of course video is the number one content right now, being massively consumed in all forms from YouTube, to Vine, to Netflix and so on.” According to Zuazo, even though video has been very strong for years, consumption trends have changed. “With increased connectivity, we now have to change our strategies to adapt to an audience that consumes contents through different devices, at all times, and in different places.”