Is your Social Media Manager managing your media or just being social?
A little over a decade ago, the role of a social media manager was probably not one of your job titles around the office. Today, however, nearly all companies have a page, nearly every employee is involved in social media professional, personally or both. Some businesses even use social media sites like Facebook as their only business website.
With the majority of businesses today having an online presence, along with employees conducting their personal and professional lives online, having a social media policy is critical in today’s marketplace.
Furthermore many companies share information with their shareholders through their websites and reports, these communications can struggle to hold consumers’ attention. More than 70% of the US population owns at least one social media account, and the number of social media users is expected to increase to 243 million by 2025.
Most “ESG Experts” believe that using social media and podcasts are often better able to communicate ESG metrics and accomplishments, engage with stakeholders and the community, and foster a positive brand reputation.
This is increasingly important with younger generations, who are driving the growth of ESG investments—and who obtain most of their news and information via social media
Beyond that, ESG investors follow social media accounts to stay abreast of the latest offerings in the ESG community and, in many cases, go beyond simply being an observer. They can engage more directly with the issues, communicate their expectations of brands, and voice disapproval of companies and others that fail to commit to ESG issues.
So what should a Social Media Manager do exactly? There are 1000’s of websites out there with checklists, infographs and podcasts telling you how to work in a vacuum. Truth is, the list can be as long as you want it to be. However, there should be a handful of entry level social media expectations.
Social media managers establish an organization’s online presence and brand value by promoting the company and its products or services through the use of videos, photos, infographics or text posts on social media platforms.
A day in the life of a social media manager would typically include:
- Planning and developing social media campaigns
- Crafting compelling content or getting it developed
- Posting content across social media accounts
- Engaging with customers on different channels
- Analyzing running campaigns
- Being on top of the latest social media trends
This is more than a full time job actually, that is if a company wants it done sustainability. Sustainability requires strategy.
A social media manager is actually a combination of a customer service rep, writer, photographer, film maker, content strategist, online media buyer, content administrator, SEO curator, social trend researcher and online analytics analyzer.
I left out a whole bunch more details and duties that used to be a person’s entire career. Twenty years ago newspapers used to have full time employees that just wrote headlines – which is a legitimate art, talent, skill and job. Now headlines are which media outlet can out-exaggerate each other the most all the time until infinity. Photography used to be a professional craft and companies had a strategic, planned media strategy. Does yours?
With more than eight in 10 Americans consuming news from their digital devices, social media provides an accessible and efficient way for companies to put their ESG initiatives in front of the masses.
Your employees are your company’s greatest asset, especially when it comes to spreading the word about your ESG impact. Social media is the way people share and spread information, so get employees involved with your ESG communications and make it easy for them to want to talk about it.
ESG University recently ran a news release featuring a “Social Media Procedure Deal” between TrainND Northwest and The Industrial Forest.
TrainND Northwest and The Industrial Forest have signed a major deal to create a new social media procedure that will incorporate new voices in the workplace, ideas to promote inclusion and a diversity of employee requirements.
The training organization and modern media company have agreed that creating a “social media procedure” will allow companies and employees to have a professional training option as well as updating their own social media policy.
One of the tasks currently underway is to identify social media policies currently in use and conduct meetings with professionals, groups and task forces to ensure diversity and equality are represented as well as mental health considerations.
Once the procedure is complete, TrainND Northwest will look to help guide business and industry in their development and adoption of their own social media procedures. This effort will add Social Media Training to their already existing business training options which include Project Management, Leadership, and various computer and application trainings for companies.
“We feel that this social media procedure project is timely and vital in ensuring that the TrainND Northwest organization and employees receive valuable guidance in how to best navigate social media and ensure that employee social media participation is used for moving the mission and vision of TrainND Northwest forward.” said Kenley Nebeker Executive Director of TrainND Northwest. “We are proud and excited to be leading the way in developing social media procedures in North Dakota and look forward to advising any other entity that may want to provide similar guidance for their employees and organization as a whole.”
The Social Media Procedure is scheduled to be finished by October and will also be presented at the Minnesota Schools Public Relations Conference Oct 27.
Having a basic Social Media Policy or Procedure with strategic messaging and ESG best practices can go a long way in getting your employees engaged in what your company is doing.
Questions or Comments? Do you have an ESG University story idea or Screenshot Submission? Email: info@esgu.org
This article originally appeared and published by ESG University
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