7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Media Managers

Scott Sims

A few years ago, you could’ve easily managed three or four social networks without any problem. Today it’s a bit trickier – there’s more competition out there than ever before and people are paying less attention to your brand’s messages.

The best way to get customers to pay attention and to help your brand stand out from the crowd is to develop the right habits. Here are seven habits of highly effective social media managers:

Habit # 1: Set Clear Goals

The biggest mistake you can make with social media is to not set specific goals. Without goals, you’re going nowhere. You’re wasting time.

While that might sound obvious, it’s alarming how many of us can’t identify what we really want to accomplish with social media. Many people can’t even identify the business impact each of their daily tasks have.

It’s like the great Earl Nightingale says: “People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.”

Here are three tips for setting clear, actionable goals:

1. Be as specific as you can. It’s much more effective to say, “I want to get 4,000 followers next month” than just, “I want to get more followers”
   
2. Start small. Small improvements build giant communities.
   
3. Set goals that directly benefit your business. How would 4,000 new followers benefit your bottom line? How does increasing your reach drive more sales? Answering these kinds of questions will help you determine whether your goal is worth setting.

Habit # 2: Handle the Hard Things First

Popular belief states you should handle the easiest things first (e.g., responding to questions, sharing new content, commenting on an image.) However, successful people do the opposite.

Several studies have demonstrated that your willpower is higher in the morning (or at the beginning of your work day). In other words, the beginning is the best time to do the things you don’t want to do. Then, once your willpower has waned you can focus on the simpler tasks.

This schedule will help you increase productivity, which means you’ll be saving time.

Habit # 3: Keep Everything Organized

Again, this might sound obvious, but staying organized is key to effectiveness. In fact, that’s exactly why there are so many “productivity” tools online focused on organizing your workflow and social media tasks.

Organizing your activities helps you stay focused on important things and invites accountability, which ultimately leads to results. Make sure you and your team are using tools like Trello or Slack tocommunicate, share ideas, and organize tasks.

Habit # 4: Become a “Social Listener”

It’s funny: social media managers often forget to be social.

When you don’t hear what people are saying online you miss a tremendous opportunity to grow. On the other hand, when you constantly listen your audience, you can find great insights about content they want to read, what they think about your brand, and the language they use to describe their problems.

To develop this habit, you can use tools like Mention.net or Google Alerts to receive an email notification every time a person mentions your brand or important keywords on social networks.

In addition, try to set aside a specific time every day to respond to your audience’s questions and interact with them.

Habit # 5: Connect with People Every Day

Strong relationships are the key to success, not only in business, but in everything you do. That’s why you need to constantly engage with your audience and build new relationships with industry influencers.

The best way to build a relationship that lasts is by serving others. Start giving more than you receive by sharing other people’s content, giving them ideas, and commenting on their posts. When you take this approach, you’re creating a more loyal community in the long run.

Habit # 6: Share Great Content

Great social media managers know their audience so well that they know what kinds of articles will perform best. (This is why habits #4 and #5 are so critical.) The better you know your audience, the better information you can give them.

Once you know the types of articles your audience loves, you should create a list of go-to resources to quickly find fresh content to share. Since content curation is one of the most time-consuming processes of social media marketing, this list will save you tons of time.

Habit # 7: (Constantly) Track Metrics That Matter

Last but not least, you need to learn how to measure social media success. Although it’s pretty straightforward, you can get lost if you don’t know what metrics are really worth tracking.

You need to track metrics that are directly related to your main business goals. For example, if one of your goals is to get X number of followers next month, you should be tracking metrics like reach, new followers, and engagement.

On the other hand, if you only want to get more sales, you should be tracking metrics like referrals, click-through-rate, and conversions.

Whatever your goal is, try to identify metrics that are directly correlated. This way, you can make more efficient and effective decisions.

Conclusion

Most people focus their attention on learning new tactics, but highly effective people focus their attention on developing new habits. Tactics change over the time while habits become a part of your personality. And the more your practice, the more natural they will become.

What are your favorite tips for becoming a more effective social media manager?

Original article was on the Buzzlogix Social Media Blog.

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