In today’s fast-paced digital world, if your company isn’t on social media, it’s practically invisible. But managing social media isn’t just about posting pretty pictures or catchy captions—it’s about building a brand that stands out and connects with your audience. For Nigerian businesses trying to scale up, the right social media management strategy can make all the difference. Whether you’re a local fashion designer in Lagos or a tech startup in Canada, social media is your gateway to reaching the right customers, growing your brand, and boosting your sales. But how exactly do you go about it? Let’s break down important steps to help you manage social media like a pro
Key Points
- Know your company’s identity—mission, values, and tone. This guides your social media strategy to ensure consistency and connection with your audience.
- Understand who your customers are and where they spend time online. Tailor your content to the platforms they use most to increase engagement.
- Define specific, measurable goals, like growing followers or boosting engagement. Clear goals help track progress and improve strategy.
- Actively respond to comments, ask for feedback, and run giveaways. Engaging with your audience builds trust and keeps them loyal to your brand.
How to Manage Social Media for a Company
If you want to manage social media for your company or for personal reasons, the following steps will guide you:
#1. Understand Your Brand
Understanding your brand is key when managing social media for any company. A brand encompasses your company’s identity, including its mission, core values, logo, and customer experience. Knowing what your company stands for and how the public perceives it is essential. When crafting social media strategies, always ensure that your brand’s voice and message are consistent across platforms.
#2. Know Your Target Audience
For effective social media management, knowing your target audience is crucial. This means understanding who your company is trying to reach with its services or products. By tailoring your content to speak directly to this audience, you increase engagement and improve return on investment (ROI). For instance, focusing on what social media platforms they use most frequently or their age group ensures you’re speaking their language.
#3. Set Goals
Goal setting plays a significant role in how you manage social media accounts. To keep your efforts on track, use the SMART goal framework:
- Specific: Define clear social media objectives.
- Measurable: Use metrics (like engagement, reach, or conversions) to track success.
- Achievable: Ensure your goals are realistic and within your resources.
- Realistic: Set practical goals based on the company’s current capabilities.
- Time-sensitive: Give each goal a deadline for better accountability.
#4. Create Accounts on Multiple Platforms
To maximize your reach, creating accounts on multiple platforms is essential. For most companies, the popular ones include Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Being on more than one platform allows you to diversify the content you post and ensures your brand connects with a wider range of customers.
#5. Engage With Your Audience
Audience engagement is a vital part of building strong customer relationships on social media. By interacting directly with followers, you create a more human experience for your brand. Here are some ways to do this:
- Responding to their questions and comments
- Asking for opinions through polls or posts
- Running contests or challenges
- Offering exclusive deals or promotions
- Sharing user-generated content to show appreciation for customers.
#6. Create Quality Content
Your target audience is more likely to engage with high-quality, creative content. You’ll want to tailor your content based on the platform—for instance, videos work well on YouTube and Facebook, while photos perform better on Instagram. Assigning dedicated team members for different aspects of content creation is a good idea, including a content manager, creator, and editor.
#7. Develop Advertisements
Developing an effective advertisement strategy can help reach a wider social media audience, generate leads, and deliver a strong return on investment (ROI). Most platforms like Facebook and Instagram provide built-in features to create ads and monitor their performance, making the process simpler for marketers.
#8. Analyze Social Media Metrics
To gauge the success of your social media activities, analyzing metrics is crucial. Some key metrics to track include:
- Engagement: The number of likes, comments, and shares your content receives.
- Impressions: How many times do users see your content?
- Conversions: How often do users take a desired action, like making a purchase, after interacting with your posts?
- Response Rate: How quickly your social media team replies to comments or messages.
Why is Managing Social Media Important for Businesses?
Effectively managing your company’s social media presence is crucial for shaping how your brand is perceived online. Here’s why it matters, especially for Nigerian companies trying to scale in a competitive market:
#1. Cost-Effective Marketing
Imagine a small fashion brand in Lagos. Instead of spending millions on billboards, they can use Instagram stories to showcase new designs and run targeted ads at a fraction of the cost, reaching thousands in just days. Managing social media is a budget-friendly way to connect with existing customers and attract new ones. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are free to join, and since many Nigerians are active on these platforms, your target audience is already there.
#2. Global Reach
Social media gives businesses the ability to expand beyond their local market and tap into a global audience. Through well-planned campaigns, Nigerian brands can engage with customers abroad, boosting international awareness. A tech startup could post its success story on LinkedIn, connecting with potential investors and clients from Europe or the US who are looking for innovative solutions from Africa.
#3. Establishing Brand Identity
Maintaining an active social media presence helps businesses shape their brand’s identity and voice. The way you interact with your audience, from posts to responses, defines how people perceive your company. A food delivery service like Jumia Foods could use Twitter to engage with customers in real time, ensuring their queries are addressed promptly while also reinforcing its reputation for reliability.#4. A Powerful Marketing Tool
Social media isn’t just for interacting; it’s a proven tool for lead generation and sales. Many platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer ad services and analytics that help you target the right people and measure your campaign’s success. For example, a Nigerian real estate company could use Facebook’s advertising tools to target Nigerians in the diaspora, offering them real estate investment opportunities back home. With detailed analytics, they can track engagement and adjust their campaigns for better results.
Top 10 Tools to Manage Social Media
The top 10 tools to manage social media include:
#1. Buffer
The best social media management tool for creators and small businesses. Buffer offers a free plan for up to three channels, making it accessible for those just starting out. Its paid plans begin at 10,094 naira ($6)/month/channel and also include a 14-day free trial.
Buffer’s Create Space has incredible organization options like tags and a Kanban board layout, allowing you to store social media post ideas that pop up in the shower or while walking the dog. The app is smooth, accessible, and easy to use. Another standout feature is the Buffer Remix app, which gives a glow-up to any URL, converting it into an Instagrammable image. You can also customize your Start Page to replace boring link-in-bio tools, creating a landing page that’s authentically you.
Pricing Plans:
- Free plan for up to 3 channels.
- Paid plans start at 10,094 naira ($6)/month/channel with a 14-day free trial.
#2. Hootsuite
Renowned in the social media management world, Hootsuite does not offer free plans, but its paid plans come with a 30-day free trial. Pricing starts at $99/month for 10 social media channels. Hootsuite is particularly known for its powerful social listening feature, which has improved significantly after acquiring Talkwalker. You can analyze location-based topics with detailed reports on public sentiment. The AI assistant offers copywriting formulas for posts and repurposing existing content, although its outputs often require refining. However, the home dashboard can be overwhelming despite its feature richness.
Pricing Plans:
- 30-day free trial.
- Paid plans start at 166,560 naira ($99)/month for 10 social media channels.
#3. Tailwind
Dedicated solely to Pinterest, Tailwind offers a free plan for one account and five posts per month. Tailwind allows you to schedule pins at preset intervals and manage your Pinterest account seamlessly. With a browser extension, you can create new pins from anywhere and save them to relevant boards. The SmartGuide feature monitors your Pinterest activity and alerts you to recommended best practices.
Tailwind is perfect for those looking to grow their following on Pinterest exclusively, providing the ability to transform your photos into fantastic Pin designs in one click—like having a personalized Canva for Pinterest. However, the free version is quite limited, allowing only five posts per month, which may not be sufficient for serious Pinterest marketing.
Pricing Plans:
- Free plan for one account and five posts/month.
- Paid plans start at 33,631 naira ($19.99)/month for 400 posts/month on one account.
#4. SocialPilot
Designed for agencies, SocialPilot does not offer free plans, but a free trial is available for all paid plans for 14 days. SocialPilot provides separate dashboards for clients, allowing for whitelabel customization with colors and logos, providing a premium experience. It features a simple approval process that shares personalized, shareable links requiring no client sign-up, along with automated performance reports that send clients personalized and branded reports automatically.
SocialPilot is ideal for managing multiple clients, allowing for different sub-dashboards for organizations. While its basic features like scheduling, reporting, and an AI assistant are solid, standout features cater more to agency needs.
Pricing Plans:
- 14-day free trial.
- Paid plans start at 50,472 naira ($30)/month for one user and 10 social media accounts.
#5. Zoho Social
Efficient for scheduling and report creation, Zoho Social does not offer a free plan, but all paid plans come with a 15-day free trial. Zoho Social integrates with Zoho products, providing seamless management across various Zoho services like CRM and Desk. Its customized social media listening dashboard allows you to track brand mentions and stay on top of trends while automating posts to schedule them at set intervals without intervention. While Zoho Social may not have standout features like Buffer or Hootsuite, it is particularly beneficial for companies already using Zoho products, providing integrated solutions for social media marketing and customer service.
Pricing Plans:
- 15-day free trial.
- Paid plans start at 28,173 naira (€15)/month for one user and 10 social media channels.
#6. Sendible
Perfect for agencies, Sendible stands out with its strong client management features and a user-friendly interface. Sendible enables seamless integration with various platforms, including social media channels, blogs, and email. The ability to manage multiple clients through a single dashboard is a key feature that makes it highly efficient for agency work. The content calendar allows users to visualize their posting schedule, making it easy to plan and manage content across all platforms. Additionally, Sendible offers automated reporting, which saves time on generating performance reports for clients. You can create custom reports tailored to each client’s needs, showcasing their social media performance effectively.
Pricing Plans:
- 14-day free trial.
- Paid plans start at 48,790 naira ($29)/month for one user.
#7. Agorapulse
A comprehensive social media management tool, Agorapulse is great for businesses looking for a balance between ease of use and powerful features. Agorapulse allows you to manage multiple social media accounts from one place, providing features like scheduling, monitoring, and analytics. Its social inbox is particularly useful, consolidating all social media messages and comments into one feed, allowing for efficient responses. Another standout feature is its reporting dashboard, which provides in-depth insights into your social media performance. You can easily create reports to share with your team or clients, showcasing engagement, reach, and other key metrics.
Pricing Plans:
- 28-day free trial.
- Paid plans start at 132,911 naira ($79)/month for one user.
#8. Sprout Social
An all-in-one social media management platform, Sprout Social is designed for businesses of all sizes. It does not offer a free plan, but a 30-day free trial is available. Pricing starts at 166,560 naira ($99)/month per user. Sprout Social provides comprehensive features, including social media scheduling, analytics, and engagement tools. The Smart Inbox feature aggregates all messages and mentions across platforms, enabling streamlined communication with your audience.
Pricing Plans:
- 30-day free trial.
- Paid plans start at 166,560 naira ($99)/month per user.
#9. CoSchedule
A unique marketing calendar tool, CoSchedule is perfect for teams looking to streamline their marketing efforts. Although it doesn’t offer a free plan, a 14-day free trial is available. CoSchedule focuses on integrating your marketing efforts by providing a centralized calendar that includes social media posts, blog content, and other marketing activities. This ensures that all team members are on the same page regarding upcoming campaigns and deadlines.
Pricing Plans:
- 14-day free trial.
- Paid plans start at 48,790 naira ($29)/month.
#10. MeetEdgar
Specializing in evergreen content, MeetEdgar is great for businesses focused on reusing high-performing posts. While it does not offer a free plan, it provides a 7-day free trial. Pricing starts at 31,966 naira ($19)/month. MeetEdgar allows you to automate your social media posting, ensuring that your best content continues to be shared without manual intervention. Its content categorization feature enables you to group posts into categories, ensuring a diverse posting schedule.
Pricing Plans:
- 7-day free trial.
- Paid plans start at 31,966 naira ($19)/month.
How Can Social Media Be Maintained?
Show your face and be relatable. People want to see people – they’ll trust you more and engage with you more if you show who you are and that you like to have fun too. And remember to update those photos regularly.
How Do We Control Social Media?
Reduce the number of social media platforms you regularly use. Work with a partner. Take on this challenge with a partner who can provide encouragement and motivation and hold you accountable. Set aside a specific time, with a time limit, to use social media (and use a timer).
How to Manage Social Media Use?
Set limits and boundaries for yourself. Limit the time you spend scrolling and take breaks from social media altogether. Recognize what you’re viewing isn’t reality; it’s a positively skewed curation. Use social media as an opportunity to engage and connect rather than as a place where you compare yourself to others.
How Do I Stop Social Media?
Regularly disconnecting from social media can help prevent you from becoming too consumed with it. Try taking a few days off a week or month to truly disconnect and focus on other things. Delete the apps from your phone. Deleting the apps from your phone and/or tablet will limit your access to social media.
Conclusion
Managing social media effectively for a company involves careful planning, knowing your audience, setting measurable goals, and maintaining consistent engagement. Following these steps will help you build a strong online presence and grow your company’s brand across different social media platforms.
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