How To Start A Social Media Team

We all know that social media is a powerful tool for marketing and branding, but we also know that it can be confusing to manage. 

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by post ideas, strategies, and best practices. If you’re not careful, your efforts can end up falling flat. Here are some tips for making sure your social media team is set up for success:

Takeaways
1. Define clear roles and responsibilities for team members.
2. Consider the specific goals and objectives of your social media strategy.
3. Hire individuals with relevant skills in content creation, community management, analytics, and strategy.
4. Foster open communication and collaboration within the team.
5. Use social media management tools to streamline content scheduling and approval.
6. Develop a comprehensive social media strategy that aligns with your brand’s identity.
7. Provide continuous training and professional development opportunities for team members.
8. Regularly measure and analyze the performance of your social media efforts.
9. Adapt and refine your strategy based on data-driven insights.
10. Stay updated on industry trends to ensure your team remains innovative and effective.

Get Your CEO/Leadership On Board

Your CEO or leadership team needs to be on board with your plan for a social media team for it to be successful. They are busy people, and they have a lot on their plates. 

That makes it difficult for them to take time out of their schedule to manage social media accounts themselves, which is why they need someone else who can do this work instead. 

They also need to trust that you are capable of handling the responsibilities required by running an effective social media account, as well as having good judgment about what kinds of content should be posted on each platform.

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Plan Out Some Long-Term Goals

Long-term goals are the big picture. They’re what you have in mind for your social media strategy over the next six months, a year, or longer. 

You can think of them as “when I get there…” goals: when I hit 10k followers when we hit 100k impressions per post, or whatever other milestones may be important to you and your business.

Short-term goals are milestones along the way to long-term success that help you stay on track while reaching those larger targets. 

Short-term goals should be specific (such as “we will create two videos this month with a combined reach of 2k views”), and measurable (you need to know how well you did at hitting your target).

Achievable (it has to be possible for someone on your team with limited resources), realistic (no need to set yourself up for failure), and timebound (if it takes all day just to create one video then maybe it’s not feasible).

Define The Size Of Your Team

After you’ve identified your goals and needs, it’s time to figure out how many people you need to hire. This depends on the size of your company. 

A small company with only a few employees may be able to manage social media marketing efforts on its own.

But if you’re starting with a larger team or are looking at expanding in the future, it might make sense for you to hire social media specialists who can work remotely from home offices.

Once again, this can vary widely based on what kind of product or service you offer. 

If your business is seasonal (e.g., hotels), then chances are good that hiring someone full-time would be too expensive for these months when business is slow so perhaps having someone come in part-time during those times would be more practical instead!

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Hire A Dedicated Community Manager

The very first step you should take when starting a social media team is to hire a dedicated community manager. This person is responsible for overseeing all of your social media platforms (that would be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and more).

And creating content that will engage your audience. They’ll also be the person interacting with customers online in response to questions or concerns they may have about their products or services.

A good fit for this role has experience in community management, but that doesn’t mean they need to have worked at an agency before just looking for someone who has shown an interest in social media through personal projects or volunteer work. 

Ideally, they’re also a strong writer and communicator as well as skilled at listening and problem solving when it comes to dealing with customer inquiries online.

Assign Each Team Member A Channel To Own

Assign each team member a channel to own. Each team member should have an individual channel that they are responsible for, and the content and customer service needs of that channel should be theirs to manage. 

For example, if you’re working in the travel industry, you might have one person who is responsible for Facebook and Instagram, another person who is responsible for Twitter, one more person who manages YouTube videos and Pinterest boards, and so on.

Delegate accounts to your employees as needed based on their strengths or interests but make sure it’s clear who owns what account and how they’re expected to use it!

Establish A Social Media Calendar And Content Needs

Now that you’ve established your goals, it’s time to begin creating a social media calendar and content plan. This will help you figure out how often you should be posting, what type of content you should post, and even what type of content you should avoid.

Start by thinking about your audience. Where are they on social media? Which platforms do they spend the most time on? What types of posts do they like seeing from businesses similar to yours?

To start putting together your calendar and needs list:

• Determine how often you want to post per day/week/month (e.g., four times per week)
• Decide what types of posts fit with those frequencies (for example do not post twice in one day)

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Set The Tone For Your Brand’s Voice Across Channels

Your brand’s voice is defined by its values. These are the principles that guide your company and inform all of your decisions, from where to set up shop, to what products you choose to sell and how you offer them, up through marketing campaigns and public relations efforts. 

They help shape what kind of customer experience you offer.

Setting a tone for the overall culture of your brand is one way of providing consistency in verbal communication across different channels: 

Social media platforms, email newsletters (if applicable), websites or landing pages (if applicable), etc., can be helpful for both internal and external audiences. 

The tone should also be appropriate for each channel; if you’re using an informal medium like Twitter but want to convey professionalism at other times say in an earnings report you might still want it as part of a coherent strategy but shift into formal language when necessary.

Your ultimate goal should be authenticity being true to who you are as an organization while still being respectful toward others online.

And this requires plenty of thought about who’s involved in conversations about the company and what kinds of messages you want those individuals to hear from those interactions with other people on social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter (or wherever else).

Style Guides Are Important. Create One For Social Too

Style guides are important for maintaining consistency, preventing mistakes, and improving user experience. They can help you create brand consistency across all channels and improve your SEO by creating a consistent voice for your business. 

Style guides also help with conversions by making sure that what you’re posting online is easily understood by customers who are looking to make purchases from you online.

Style guides should include information on how to use photos taken by professionals or stock images; they should also include information about writing styles, tone of voice, and any other unique elements that make up the brand’s visual identity.”

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Define User Response Times For Each Channel (Customer Service)

When you’re setting up your social media customer service team, it’s important to define the response times for each channel. You also need to define escalation paths for each channel and a process for resolving issues, as well as the process for escalation and legal.

For example:

Response time: 5 minutes on Facebook Messenger; 15 minutes on Twitter direct message (DM); 30 minutes via email and Instagram DM; 1 hour via email or Instagram comment thread; 2 hours via Facebook wall post comment thread; 24 hours via website contact form submission.

Escalation path: If the issue has not been resolved within X amount of time, escalate to the manager or manager’s boss or someone else who can answer this question whether they know it or not yet.

Provide Training

Providing training to your team should be ongoing and ongoing. Training should be specific to each channel: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. How you deliver the training should be easy for people to understand, remember and apply.

Provide reminders: Reminders are great for keeping your team on track with their social media responsibilities. 

If you have a weekly email that goes out reminding employees of what they are expected to do over the next week then they will know what is expected of them without having those expectations constantly reiterated by their manager or supervisor(s). 

You can also create an ongoing status report where team members list what they did last week and what they plan on doing this coming week so that everyone knows how much time has been allotted for each task. 

This helps keep things organized and provides transparency in terms of who is doing what at any given time (and if there are any issues).

Set goals: Goals give structure to everything else within an organization because all goals support one another towards achieving its overall mission statement (or purpose). 

Setting up communication channels like Slack groups or Google Docs between teams makes it easier than ever before not only because everyone gets access but also because everyone knows who needs which information when various tasks arise throughout the day/weekend/etcetera.”

Outline The Process For Resolving Issues And Escalation Paths (Including Legal)

This is an area where you can save yourself time and stress. Since social media managers often operate under a lot of pressure, it’s important to outline the steps that need to be taken when running into problems. 

What happens if someone posts something wrong? Who will address this issue, and how? Will other people on the team get involved in sorting things out?

For example: If one of your employees posts something offensive on Twitter or Facebook, who’s responsible for resolving it? How will they handle it? 

And what about other types of issues that might arise like an unexpected influx of messages from unhappy customers or angry followers threatening legal action against your company (this has happened before!). 

Again, define who is allowed to post on behalf of the company without approval; through which channels; when approvals may be required (such as in times of crisis); who can provide such approvals; and define any escalation processes required if legal advice needs to be sought.

Have A Plan Ready If Things Go Wrong (The Worst Case Scenarios)

As a business owner, you know that things are never as simple as they seem. And if you’re going to be working with a social media team, it’s important to keep in mind that even the best-planned campaigns can end up falling flat.

The worst-case scenario is not having a plan ready if something goes wrong.

What should this plan of action include? First, define what the worst-case scenario is and how you would deal with it – then put together an action plan for how to deal with this situation and the fallout from it.

Decide How You Will Measure Success (And Roi If Possible)

You need to define success for your social media team. This will help you determine what metrics you should be tracking, as well as how much time, money, and energy are going into each aspect of your strategy.

Success can be measured in several different ways:

Business goals – Is the business making more money? How much more? How many new customers did we acquire through our efforts?

Customer satisfaction – Are customers satisfied with our product quality and service? Are they happier than they would have been without us? Are they returning again and again because they know they’ll get great service from us? 

Do they feel compelled to tell others about how awesome we are (or don’t want anyone else to know how awful it was)?

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Define Who On Your Team Is Allowed To Post On Behalf Of The Company Without Approval Through Which Channels, When Approvals May Be Required And Who Can Provide Such Approvals

Who can comment on behalf of the company and when (including customer service situations), how comments are approved before posting, and who can approve such comments/replies?

Who can delete, edit or hide user-generated content on branded social media channels, and when such actions are warranted

Conclusion

Social media is a great way to get your company’s message out there and connect with people who are interested in what you have to offer. However, social media is also an easy opportunity for things to go wrong and for your brand’s reputation to suffer. 

It takes time, dedication, and careful planning to create a successful social media team that will grow over time as well as provide value for your company.

Further Reading

Here are some additional resources to explore for further insights into building and managing effective social media teams:

Buffer’s Guide to Building a Social Media Team Discover how to structure your social media team, delegate tasks, and create a cohesive strategy for successful online engagement.

Planable’s Tips for a High-Performing Social Media Team Learn about optimizing collaboration, streamlining content approval processes, and boosting productivity within your social media team.

Indeed’s Career Advice for Working in a Media Team Gain insights into career development and advancement opportunities within media teams, along with strategies for effective teamwork and communication.

FAQs

How can I effectively structure a social media team?

Creating a successful social media team involves defining clear roles and responsibilities that align with your business goals. By designating team members for content creation, community management, analytics, and strategy, you can ensure a well-rounded approach to online presence.

What tools can I use to streamline social media team collaboration?

Consider utilizing social media management platforms like Buffer and Planable, which offer features to schedule, review, and approve content collaboratively. These tools can enhance team efficiency and communication.

What skills are essential for media team professionals?

Professionals working in media teams should possess strong communication skills, creativity, adaptability, and a solid understanding of various social media platforms. Analytical skills to interpret data and insights are also crucial.

How can I advance my career within a media team?

To advance in a media team, focus on continuous learning, staying updated on industry trends, and seeking opportunities to take on more responsibilities. Networking and showcasing your accomplishments can also help you stand out.

How does effective teamwork contribute to media team success?

Effective teamwork within a media team fosters collaboration, idea sharing, and efficient execution of strategies. By working together cohesively, team members can create a more comprehensive and impactful online presence.