Two weeks ago, Community Manager Day went by unnoticed, even though this role is increasingly in demand in today’s job market. We know the social media landscape has changed and, fortunately, some people believe this role is not just about posting and spending all day on Twitter.
Social media is not the “future”: Facebook, the social network that changed the way we meet each other, turned 10 yesterday. Social media is in the midst of change, and the outlook remains one of growth and great importance for every eCommerce, at levels we can’t yet pin down.
Being able to comment on and rate stores, how they work, the buying process, the price and so on is increasingly important. An online store without social media integration makes no sense. But neither does creating your online store and having no content on the social networks it links to.
Besides projecting a poor, careless image of your business, if your social accounts are inactive people may think your business no longer exists.
Once you realize how important it is to create and maintain your social media, the next step is to hand over the login details to your sister, your sister-in-law or that friend who shares everything on Facebook. But watch out! Social networks are free (for now), but your image and reputation have a price, and they can cost you dearly without a good strategy. They can cost you dearly or be completely useless without a plan to turn your social media into a customer service channel and, in the long run, a new conversion gateway. Managing social media yourself can end up like joining a gym: at first it’s fun and you’re motivated, but little by little you lose steam.
That is why, given the importance of the social channel, you should get advice from an expert who knows how to:
- Analyze the competition on social media and define a communication plan for users and potential followers.
- Build your brand image across the many different social channels available.
- Improve your score against competitors with tools that help your content go viral.
- Anticipate problems that may arise and make your social media a productive, dynamic channel.
- Be patient. An angry CM who can’t handle criticism can trigger the so-called “Streisand” effect, or a snowball of complaints and outrage, as recently happened to the moving company Gil Stauffer.
Given that fan page posts are losing visibility, and after several reports predicting that Facebook will die in 2018, stop crossing your fingers and take action with the help of a social media expert.
