If you hire or work with a social media manager, you want to make sure they are doing a good job. But how can you measure their performance and impact on your brand, audience, and goals? Here are some of the most effective ways to evaluate a social media manager.
The first step is to define what you want to achieve with your social media strategy and how you will measure it. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, you might want to increase your followers by 10% in three months, or generate 50 leads from your Instagram stories in one month. By setting SMART goals, you can align your expectations with your social media manager and track their progress.
Performance Against Objectives Content Quality and Relevance Audience Growth and Engagement Social Listening and Response Time Adaptability to Trends and Changes Analytics Proficiency ROI and Conversion Rates Brand Consistency Collaboration and Communication Innovation and Creativity Adherence to Compliance and Guidelines Problem-Solving Skills Continuous Learning and Professional Development Feedback from Stakeholders Self-Reflection and Improvement
When partnering with a social media manager, it is crucial to equip them for success by aligning on goals and providing helpful resources. Simply stating your objectives is not enough - managers need relevant content and guidance to effectively execute campaigns. During onboarding, offer sample posts & captions tailored to your goals as references. Provide messaging frameworks, approved images & videos, brand guidelines, and target audience profiles. Clearly define what success looks like for each goal - is it impressions, engagement, conversions? The more context and guidance you offer, the better equipped the manager will be to strategically create content that moves the needle.
1. Metrics Analysis: Assess key performance indicators (KPIs) such as engagement, reach, and conversion rates. 2. Content Quality: Evaluate the relevance and quality of social media content in line with the brand's messaging. 3. Audience Growth: Measure the growth of followers and community engagement over time. 4. Response Time: Monitor the social media manager's responsiveness to comments, messages, and inquiries. 5. Campaign Performance: Review the success of specific campaigns and their impact on overall goals. 6. Adaptability: Gauge the ability to adapt strategies based on platform algorithms and industry trends.
The second step is to use analytics tools to collect and analyze data from your social media platforms. Analytics tools can help you monitor metrics such as reach, engagement, conversions, traffic, and sentiment. You can also compare your performance with your competitors and industry benchmarks. Some of the most popular analytics tools are Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, and Hootsuite. By using analytics tools, you can see how your social media manager is performing and where they can improve.
The third step is to review the quality of the content that your social media manager creates and shares. Content quality refers to how well your content matches your brand voice, style, and values, as well as how relevant, useful, and engaging it is for your audience. You can review content quality by checking factors such as grammar, spelling, formatting, visuals, tone, and consistency. By reviewing content quality, you can ensure that your social media manager is delivering high-quality content that reflects your brand and resonates with your audience.
In my experience, it is crucial that you regularly check content. Why? I find that messaging and tone may need a little bit of tweaking.
The fourth step is to ask for feedback from your social media manager and your audience. Feedback can help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your social media manager, as well as the needs and preferences of your audience. You can ask for feedback by conducting surveys, polls, interviews, or reviews. You can also use social listening tools to monitor what people are saying about your brand, products, and services on social media. By asking for feedback, you can gain valuable insights and suggestions to improve your social media strategy and management.
The fifth step is to assess the return on investment (ROI) of your social media strategy and management. ROI is the ratio of the benefits you gain from your social media activities to the costs you incur. To calculate ROI, you need to identify and quantify your benefits and costs, such as sales, leads, conversions, revenue, expenses, and time. You can also use metrics such as cost per lead, cost per acquisition, customer lifetime value, and customer retention rate. By assessing ROI, you can determine if your social media manager is delivering results that justify your investment.
The sixth step is to communicate regularly with your social media manager. Communication is key to building trust, understanding, and collaboration. You should communicate with your social media manager by setting clear expectations, providing feedback, offering support, and celebrating achievements. You should also communicate with your social media manager by using tools such as email, phone, video, chat, or project management software. By communicating regularly, you can foster a positive and productive relationship with your social media manager.
One crucial element of a social media manager is they should have an understanding of the, WVTP, written, visual, technical and people. As social media is a learned and the instinctive collaboration of these important facets, it is a good base on which to build on and be judged on. From having a pulse of the latest trends to being flexible to what the client is expecting is a major factor of evaulation. So the best you bring these synergies to execution the better. Then continuing the learning everyday, adding value to it every chance you get, then elevating it to a level where all parties are satisfied is a great guide of excellence.