BEST Tips for Effective Social Media Management

Want to be a super effective social media manager?

Whether you’re managing the social media account for your business or someone else’s, I have some tips and secrets that will elevate your social media performance.

Managing a social media account for business is a form of digital marketing, which is an ever-changing skill and practice.

If you want to:

• Get more followers
• Build good brand recognition
• Boost sales

Then I have the tips for you. Let’s get to it.

Why Should You Listen to Me? My Experience as a Social Media Manager

I took an online Social Media Management (SMM) course and worked as a freelance Social Media Manager as a side hustle to my teaching career.

I initially started by running my own SMM business but eventually, I decided to move away from offering SMM services to others and started my own (separate) business that I began running the social media accounts for.

Using all the tips and tricks I’d learned previously, I was able to grow a following of genuine followers who were interested in and engaging with my content.

As a current social media manager, I continue to stay updated on social media trends- what worked 10 years ago no longer works today.

That’s the tricky thing about social media management -whatever you learn now may be very different in a year or two from now, which is so important to stay up to date.

A note for those running their own business as a social media manager: If you’re working as a social media manager for other businesses (or want to,) I recommend joining Facebook communities of others doing the same thing. I’ve found these groups to be a supportive place to get support and stay current with changes. This Social Media Managers group is the most active and a place where many SMMs are supporting each other.

Social Media Management Checklist

If you’re short on time, here are the 4 main things to walk away with from this article about social media management that works

✅ Knowing, understanding and empathizing with your audience
✅ The 80-20 rule
✅ The 5-5-5 method
✅ Assessing what’s working and what isn’t

#1 Tip for Effective Social Media Marketing

1. Follow the 80-20 rule

If you don’t scroll any further in this article and only read this – then remember this; the most important role in effective social media management.

So, what is the 80/20 rule in social media? It goes as follows:

• 80% of what you post on social media will be informational, educational or entertaining
• 20% is sales and promotions

You don’t ever want to only post sales or promotional content. If everything you post is salesy, then it will not be very engaging, and could be a slight turn off to.

People don’t follow social media accounts to see just advertisements. They follow them to:

• be entertained
• engage with the brand
• learn a bit more about the brand, or topics related to it
• stay updated on news and announcements

Here are some ideas of fun, non-promotional content to post on your social media:

• An introduction post – tell people who you are, or who the business owners are. You can be as vague or specific as you want. Often, people like to see the face behind the brand
• Ask for opinions This can be in polls, or posts. People love to share opinions, it makes them feel included
• Behind the scenes posts – show people the process of you creating your products, or a glimpse of what a day at work looks like
• Share a relatable opinion on something, such on a current event, or something relatable to your audience
• Shout-outs to other businesses in your area (be sure to tag them!) Sometimes they’ll return the favour, but not always. Do it anyway. Keep your audience in mind – if you’ve found something worthwhile to share, then share it

The Don’t Make It Weird: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Being Human on the Internet by Colleen M gave lots of ideas of ways to engage your audience on social media, and ensure that not all your posts are promotional.

Important Tips for Effective Social Media Management

✅ Pick the right platform for your audience. Know who your customer tends to be -what gender, and age they typically are, and then make sure you’re active on the platforms where they tend to spend time (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, etc.)

✅ Use video. Algorithms favour video right now. So, doing at least some video content (such as reels and shorts) will rank you higher in the algorithm.

✅ Assess what is working for you. I do share video content, but I find that it’s my ‘posts’ (especially ones that are more personal, and show my face in them) get more engagement from my followers. Thereafore, I make sure that I keep sharing those kinds of posts because I see that it works for my audience.

✅ Don’t forget the ‘social’ part of social media. (Don’t post, and then ghost.) Your posts are important, but so is your engagement with your audience. To do this:

• Create quality content for your social media page using the 80-20 rule
• Spend time interacting with others’ posts and content. This has to be done carefully, as you want it to be a genuine interaction and not spammy. The 5-5-5 rule is highly recommended by social media experts, and I’ll elaborate below.
• Like or respond to all comments and messages that you get (especially in the beginning.)

What is the 5-5-5 rule for social media? The 5-5-5 rule is about liking 5 different posts from different accounts, and then commenting (genuine, non-spammy, and thoughtful comments on 5 different other posts from different accounts. This engagement with other brands is apart of the ‘social’ in social media and it will allow you to get some followers, comments, and people returning the favour. When you’re just starting out, it’s a good rule of thumb. Read more about the 5-5-5 rule and implementing it here.

✅ Don’t try to be on every platform at once. If you are trying to manage social media for your own business, then choose 1-2 platforms that you can commit to fully and then go all in with those platforms. Spreading yourself too thin across all platforms makes it hard to commit to the above tip (being truly ‘social’ on there.)

✅ Choose a consistent posting schedule. Consistency is important for most social media platforms. Choose a posting frequency that works for you (once a week, twice a week?) and commit to it. This leads to the algorithms trusting you more, and showing your posts in more people’s feeds.

✅ Show behind-the-scenes. This is a part of the social part of social media. It helps to go beyond simply showing your product. People want to see the face behind the product, and know that it’s a human behind the business that they can relate to.

Ideas for Engaging with Other Brands

So I mentioned above the 5-5-5 rule and how engaging with other accounts on social media can benefit your own account. Here are some tips for doing that:

• Follow relevant brands and accounts. For example, if your business account is about selling homemade bathbombs and other products, you could follow
• Follow your fellow local businesses in the area. Give other businesses in your local area (whether they’re related to your brand or not) a follow.
• Tag businesses in shout-outs or appreciation. Grab a coffee from your local coffee shop to sip while working at your computer. Post and tag it in a story. Buying essential oils to make your products with? Give the essential oil biz a tag in a post. Some businesses will reciproacate by sharing your post or story in THEIR feed, and some won’t.
• Write genuine comments and questions on other posts. Try to keep them longer than 2 words, so it is non-spammy and shows you are trying to be genuine. For example “Gorgeous view. Where is this?” or “I have tried that flavour too, it’s my favourite!”

Social Media Tactics to AVOID

These things come off as insincere, spammy and are just not recommended for real, genuine, effective social media management in this day in age

❌ The follow-unfollow tactic

The follow-unfollow tactic is the oldest trick in the book when it comes to growing a social media following, but please don’t do it.

❌ Making it all about you

When you have a business that provides either a product or a service to other people, then you have to keep them in mind. They want to see themselves, their interests and needs reflected in your brand. All of your posts should be an effort to connect with them.

❌ Being tone-deaf

Always think about the perspective of your audience when you post things. Using the THINK method can help when deciding whether something is a good idea to be posted on social media:

• T- Is it true?
• H- Is it helpful
• I- Is it inspiring?
• N- Is it necessary?
• K- Is it kind?

Effective Social Media Management FAQ

Here are the most commonly asked questions about getting started on social media management

How do I start as a social media manager?

To start your own business as a social media manager, decide what kind of training you’ll undertake to learn all about the current practices. Choose a niche, and start to use social media to market yourself and your services to other businesses.

What qualifications do you need to be a social media manager?

There are no official requirements for becoming a social media manager. Each company or business will have different ‘requirements’ they’re looking for, (sometimes a background in digital marketing or advertising) but often though – you knowing and understanding their brand and niche is more important than having a degree in digital marketing or social media. Overall, social media managers should know good tips for effective social media management, which you can learn from this article as well as taking online courses.

What is the 50/30/20 rule for social media?

The 50/30/20 rule for social media is another version of the 80/20 rule; just a bit more specific. 50% of your posted content being ‘valuable (engaging), 30% being curated content (informational), and 20% being promotional content. You can read more tips about the 50/30/20 rule here.

Final Thoughts on How to Successfully Grow a Social Media Following

Social media is important for a business. It’s most people’s first impression of your business, and so worth getting effective at.

Managing a social media account seems easy – don’t we all do it with our own accounts? But really – posting your own personal stuff for your friends and family to see is different from trying to reach, engage with and inspire a larger audience.