Guide to Social Media for Businesses

How do you create a social media position in your company or how do you get started in the field of social media???

Many of you reading today's blog are business owners. The resources you have to devote to communication initiatives may be limited. I hope that today's blog's insights will help you leverage the power of social media to grow your business wherever you find yourself today.?

Tips for Determining the Essential Functions of a Social Media Position in your Company?

• Determine your existing social media strategy.?
• What essential functions of a social media professional will help fill in the gaps that exist in your current social media strategy??

The first place to start when wanting to hire someone within your company to manage social media is to examine whether your company is active on social media and what is currently working. The exploration of what is currently working will help you to launch toward where you want the company to be in the future.??

Next, you want to explore on the surface what gaps in your current social media strategy exist. Obviously, once you hire a social media practitioner, they will be able to go deeper in developing a well-thought-out social media strategy, in which determining gaps is a crucial part. My rationale behind examining the gaps on the surface is that doing so will help you determine the essential functions of the position. For example, are you looking for a candidate who is proficient in multiple platforms or a specialist in one or two? Another question to consider when developing your social media strategy is do you desire that the candidate have a background in video production? Lastly, will the ideal candidate have other responsibilities than managing your company’s social media? Determining other essential functions of the position is crucial. It allows you to clearly outline the company’s expectations so that there are no surprises, and you are able to find the best candidate for the position. In my experience, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to finding the ideal candidate for any position within your company. You must find candidates who have relevant experience, but it is also crucial to find a candidate that adds value to the established culture of your organization. The culture of your organization is shaped by not only what you do but also your core values. If there are gaps in a candidate’s core values or their experience, it could lead to more headaches than growth opportunities.?

Tips for Getting Started in Social Media?

• Gain experience or develop a budget line to help employees further their knowledge and experience.?
• Utilize user-friendly creative tools.?
• Develop clear aims related to how you will harness the power of social media.?

Experience Matters?

Imagine getting into your car for the first time without first taking a driver's education course in tandem with gaining practical experiences behind the wheel. In the same way, if an individual desires to utilize the power of social media to grow their influence or their companies, they must first get their feet wet. You will not automatically become an expert when you create social media content for yourself or your business. The beautiful part about social media is anyone can start creating content and begins with an idea, and the tool that most of us have in our back pocket is a cell phone. When individuals put themselves in a position to gain experience on social media, they can level up the tools in their toolbox as they gain more knowledge by creating social media content.?

The fact is in the social media realm, communication curricula offered by colleges and universities have not fully tapped into preparing students to build their influence on social media or help companies to do so post-graduation. For this reason, if you are a business owner, I would encourage you to offer internships, apprenticeships, or training programs to allow students to gain practical experience in the field. In my experience, gaining real-world experience shifts an individual's career trajectory, especially when starting.?

Utilize User-Friendly Creative Tools?

There are many creative tools to help people harness the power of social media. My favorite tool is Canva.com. Canva is an innovative tool that can be used for creating graphics, flyers, electronic books, business cards, videos, and professional presentations, to name a few. The best part about Canva is that it is FREE. Once you start using Canva regularly, you can upgrade your subscription to the paid version, which unlocks additional features such as developing a brand kit, which includes your brand colors, fonts, and the ability to resize a post to be compatible with the various platforms on which you or your company are active.?

Another free creative tool I utilize frequently is called OBS Studio. OBS Studio allows users to record videos on their computer or livestream to various platforms. Advanced users of OBS studio can also incorporate graphics, text, and multiple inputs and outputs to run a seamless production.?

The Adobe creative cloud suite of products is the third and final tool you may desire to add to your repertoire when starting out in social media. The Adobe creative cloud subscription is costly. Therefore, I would create with Canva and OBS studio, or even iMovie, a video editing software built into Apple products. The social media applications themselves are relatively user-friendly. When I want to get a message out quickly, I will utilize the features built into many social media applications such as Instagram. My key piece of advice is to keep it simple. Do not overcomplicate your social media strategy, which includes the tools you utilize until you become comfortable with what you currently have in your toolbox.?

Develop Clear Aims?

I mentioned the importance of developing clear aims in another one of my blog posts about social media. If an individual desires to obtain a role in the field of social media, they must have clear aims associated with three primary targets:?

• What do you want to do??
• How can you, as a social media professional, add value??
• Do you have the tools and knowledge needed to do your best work??

In order to do your best work, it is crucial that you understand what you want to do. The best thing you can do today is invest in yourself regardless of whether you are just starting out in life or are a seasoned executive. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to success on social media. You must develop a target to define what success using social media looks like for your specific brand. If you do not know what your company needs or how you can help brands grow their influence using social media, then over time your passion, resources, and energy will begin to dwindle.? The final target is to examine the tools in your toolbox, identify any gaps that exist, and then fill the gaps identified through exploring new tools and gaining experience through continuing education related to social media and other means. YouTube is a free resource with a plethora of tutorials related to the various tools mentioned in today’s blog. When an individual takes time to investigate these three primary targets, the likelihood of achieving their aims on social media is high.?

What experiences and qualifications do you think are necessary to be a successful social media practitioner? What is the current state of social media within your brand? How can you use social media, and various tools to create content to take the positive impact of your brand to new heights in 2022 and beyond???

I would love to hear your thoughts and insights related to the thoughts and questions presented above. As a consultant and organizational champion, I help individuals and organizations navigate what I have coined “specialized challenges.” We all have them, and one of mine is Cerebral Palsy. If I can help you, your team or the attendees at your next event take their positive impact to another level, please do not hesitate to reach out.?

Thank you for reading. I hope you all have a peaceful and joy-filled day.?

Mason Metzger??