With people devoting billions of hours of attention to social media every year, it’s no wonder businesses are so keen on building a presence there. But achieving real business results on social media is a lot more complex than most people realize. That’s where social media managers come in. A social media manager is an employee with full access to your social channels, responsible for building customer engagement, netting you more followers, and building brand awareness over time. 

Not sure whether hiring a social media manager makes sense for your business? Here are five reasons why it may be time to make the leap:

1. You’re not sure what makes a good social strategy

Let’s say you have been posting on social media at least semi-regularly. Even if that’s the case, posting content for the sake of posting isn’t a legitimate social media strategy. When it comes to devising a strategy that works, two things are paramount: relevance and consistency. You need to make sure your content actually delivers value to your audience—and you need to deliver that value on a regularly-scheduled basis. 

Posting relevant, consistent content is at the heart of a social media manager’s job. They are well-trained to use social media in strategic ways that drive real results for your business—and real benefits for your customers. 

2. You want a better way to analyze your marketing efforts

Measurement is a crucial part of building a successful online presence for your business. But measuring performance on social media is far from straightforward. Social media metrics are unlike other digital marketing KPIs. For one, they vary greatly between channels, leading to confusion about which metrics matter on which channel, and what strong performance looks like on any given one.

A social media manager will know which data points are relevant to track, and how to go about doing so. More importantly, they’ll know how to interpret the data they collect—and how to translate it into actionable steps that will push your business forward. 

3. You don’t understand the ever-changing social channels

Even in the past few years, social media has changed enormously. No longer are Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook the only channels that matter. In fact, back in 2016, Small Business Trends published a list of no less than 40 (!) social media channels that can be useful for businesses. 

So for businesses looking to make a splash on social media, the problem isn’t a lack of options. The problem is knowing which channels are the best fit—and when, how and why to use them. For instance, some channels (Instagram and Facebook) reach nearly half the world’s population every day. Others—like Twitter, Flipboard, and BizSugar—reach only a tiny sliver of this group, but in a much more targeted way.

A social media manager will be well-versed in these and other differences between social channels—and the different posting strategies required for each. The end result? Fewer headaches and more engagement. 

4. You want to focus on other areas of your business

Any business owner knows that time is a valuable commodity. What’s less obvious is just how much time a social media manager can save you. After all, it’s only posting. Why not just leave it to your marketing team and save on the cost of a new hire?

While this may seem like a prudent financial decision, it’s almost always a missed opportunity. As we’ve discussed already, using social media effectively means much more than just posting. It also means making lightning-fast judgment calls, researching your target audience, measuring engagement through analytics, and keeping up with how channels are changing.

No wonder a social media manager is a full-time job! When it comes to saving time, hiring someone who can wear all these hats on a daily basis pays huge dividends—literally and figuratively.

5. You want to build brand loyalty

“Community” is a buzzword that gets thrown around a lot—seemingly with as many meanings as there are people who use it. But in the context of social media, community has a tangible meaning: establishing brand loyalty. This goes beyond just getting eyes on your content. It means creating an online environment where users feel compelled to track your brand’s every move, to spread the word to their friends and network, and to steer clear of your competitors. In other words, it means not just attracting users, but retaining fans.

Armed with a robust knowledge of user behavior on a variety of channels, a social media manager will know exactly how to get the conversation started around your brand—and how to keep it going for the long haul.