Building a business online can be rewarding, but also very time-consuming. I have countless clients who all want to be more present on social media and in the online space. But they don't have the time to keep up with it. Many even lack the right tools and know-how to put an effective plan in place.
So… what can be done?
In a moment, I will share a "behind the scenes" snapshot of how I show up on social media. With the help of a social media manager (SMM), I'm able to be authentic with my audience, and show up consistently. You can
hop on over to my IG and see for yourself. When I tell people that I have an SMM, they are often surprised. It doesn't feel like anyone else is there but me.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
In about 6 months we have grown from 0 to almost 1,000 followers! This might seem trivial, YET, my analytics tell another story. See, I am a huge believer in QUALITY vs QUANTITY. I am more concerned about engaging with MY people - those who crave my content and services. An extra 5k followers won't mean anything to me UNLESS they're interested in my message and offerings.
By focusing less on my total number of followers, my engagement has been through the roof. People message me often about my services. I've connected with fabulous clients that value my services and vision. Together, I have helped many get hired by business owners looking to expand. More importantly, I've created MY tribe - a group of people who value what I am offering.
I captured analytics from my Tailwind account that shows my engagement scores.
Let's break this down so you understand what these numbers mean:
- Reaction Score- Tailwind divides the likes and comments on each post, by the number of posts and gives an average score. The reaction score captured is a summary based on posts across my Instagram account. This isn't only looking at one of my posts, it encompasses all. There is not a "system average" score. The sky's the limit!
- Engagement Score- I like to see how often my followers are engaging with my posts. The engagement score is found by taking the reaction score and dividing it by the number of followers. Tailwind gives a per follower perspective on how much they are interacting with my posts. Pretty cool, right? Remember, I am all about QUALITY, so this helps me understand how the content I post resonates with my followers.
- Engagement Rate- The engagement rate goes hand in hand with the engagement score. These two analyses are the fruit of my labor in social media. Posting content that is relevant, goal-reaching, and valuable is how I keep my followers engaged! How is this rate measured? The engagement rate is based on a percentage. 100% is the goal. This rate is found by taking posts with at least one engagement versus those that don't have any. My percentage rate is comprehensive of my content.
WHAT QUALITY ENGAGEMENT HAS DONE FOR MY BUSINESS
By focusing on quality vs quantity, I’ve absolutely monetized my presence on social media. I have found multiple clients this way. I’ve also found many stellar service providers like virtual assistants, social media managers, coaches, and more that I’ve been able to refer to my clients. As my network expands, the more value I can bring to my clients.
Here are some interesting stats to give you an idea of how lucrative Instagram specifically can be for businesses:
- 81% of users use IG to research products and services before buying.
- 130 million IG users click on shopping posts every single month.
- 50% of IG users will visit a website to make a purchase after learning about that product or service in Stories.
WHY DELEGATING HAS BEEN THE KEY TO SCALING
When I started my business, I knew I wanted to have a strong online presence. I also knew I wanted help. Since I was formerly a virtual assistant myself, I knew the value of working with a team early on to help me scale.
This is something many of my clients have a block with. “Why would I delegate things I am perfectly capable of doing?” The answer is simple… If you are the only person that does everything for your business, at what point will things start falling through the cracks? You will hit a ceiling on your growth because at the end of the day, you cannot do everything on your own sustainably.
So, I actually hired a social media manager not long after I created my IG business account. My business was still young, but I knew the value it would bring to my business.
It’s important to note that every time I brought on an assistant or team member to support my business, that was the moment my business took another step up. So really, every time I’ve hired, I’ve seen tangible results in my business. It’s clear that my ability to delegate is tied to my ability to scale.
"It’s important to note that every time I brought on an assistant or team member to support my business, that was the moment my business took another step up."
There are different people you can hire to help with your social media, but I knew I wanted a Social Media Manager and not just an assistant. Most SMM’s are following the trends, have experience in creating strategy, growing followings, and more. I didn’t just want someone to “manage” my profiles, I wanted them to grow.
A Virtual Assistant may not always be proficient in the world of social media like you need them to. There are VA’s who offer both services (SMM + VA), but it’s important to specifically look for someone who understands social media on a deeper level. SMM’s have likely taken courses, grown their own businesses on social media, and perhaps supported other business too.
It might seem like a great idea to recruit your niece who spends hours on IG. But does she know what keyword research is? Or hashtag etiquette? Does she know how to expand the reach of your business and grow your audience? Does she know what tools and programs are out there to automate different things? Is she familiar with creating content pillars and a monthly plan? What are her graphics like?
THINGS I DELEGATE WITH MY SOCIAL MEDIA
Hiring the right person could be the one thing that helps you feel like you can be present on social media. Here's how I do it:
- Creating Graphics. My SMM and I spend a lot of time dialing in my branding, messaging, and more. Once she knows the general topics I want to talk about each month, she will create a batch of graphics for those posts. I approve them or tell her what I want changed, then she updates them and drops them in my Tailwind account.
- Creating Copy Drafts. Every week we meet, we talk about my vision for that week’s posts so my SMM can start writing drafts. I will usually let her record our meeting as I am verbalizing what I want written down so it’s easier for her to take my words and turn them into copy. I often update them once it’s time for me to approve them, but I do better making edits versus starting with a blank page. So her notes inspire my ideas.
- Hashtag Research. Hubspot did a study that showed “Instagram posts with at least one hashtag averages 12.6% more engagement than one without." Hashtag research takes A LOT of time. It is beneficial to hire an SMM to manage this. My SMM does all the research for my niche and stores them in a database so we can refer back to it often.
- Scheduling Content. Once the graphics, copy, and hashtags are approved, she will schedule it in my Tailwind account to post at times when my audience is most active.
- Engagement Before & After Posts. We’ve noticed that people are more likely to engage with my content if we engage with them right before or after one of my posts goes live. So she will often start following new accounts that are in my target audience around those times. Then they have new content to see shortly after.
- Video Editing & Captions. If I can just show up to record my videos then pass them on to her to edit and put captions on, it feels far more sustainable. Tip: We are going to start using Preview to schedule out our videos. No app will let you fully schedule your videos, but with this, you can at least upload it to your Preview dashboard, add captions, add a cover, and put a date on it. Then you will get a notification to approve at that time. Once you approve it, then the video will get posted. This is way better than manually uploading and editing a reel every day, especially if we want to batch content beforehand.
THINGS I DON’T DELEGATE WITH MY SOCIAL MEDIA
- Recording my Videos- It's important to me for my followers to hear my voice and see my face. I record Reels, Tiktoks, and Instagram videos myself. Showing up, in a literal sense, for my followers allows me to build relationships. I will note that as we are upping our video strategy, there are ways for your SMM to help you create videos just by taking existing audio off of your podcasts, YouTube videos, and more. You can use Pexels, a free stock video resource then overlay your audio on top of it. This is a great way to repurpose content.
- Replying to Messages, Written and Audio- I make sure to respond to all personal messages. Whether my audience DM's (direct message) or sends me an audio message, I always respond on my social media. Of course, this can be delegated to an SMM. For myself, I choose to respond myself. I want my audience to hear my voice or see my written word. This is another way for me to forge relationships. There is NOTHING wrong with delegating this though! Over time, it might be something I do hand over.
- High-Level Vision & Branding- While my SMM and I collaborate often, I ultimately need to tell her what I like and don’t like. I’ve had to get very specific with fonts and colors so she has healthy parameters to work within.
- Weekly Strategy- I always have a lot going on in my head. I like to meet weekly with my SMM to express my thoughts and come up with a strategy for the next week's content. We discuss which social media platforms to post on, dial in the message I want to convey, and decide on videos to post. She brings her expert ideas and fills in the holes, but ultimately, I do need to tell her what I want her to do.
- Final Approval- I make sure to have the final run-through for all content before it goes live. I pride my brand on authenticity, so I want my videos, posts, and stories to have my personal touch. To each is their own on this final step, but for me, I want my eyes on the content one last time.
HOW TO FIND A SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU
Finding an SMM that you can build a great working relationship with can be worrisome. There are so many assistants and SMMs out there. How do you choose?
First, it's important to keep your vision and mission at the forefront of your search. Your business is center stage. The SMM needs to have a clear understanding of your vision. I also think it’s helpful if your SMM is interested in your product or service. If they are not, it might be harder for them to represent you in this way. This is a partnership. Once you find the right person, the possibilities are endless.
I can help! Did you know that I help business owners find assistants and SMM's that fit together? To date, I have supported business owners on 5 continents specifically to help them grow their teams. I have a vast network for assistants and social media managers especially. So if you are ready to explore this option for your business, get on my calendar and we can see if this is a good fit for you.
My goal is to make it easier for you to manage your business and keep doing what you love. This is truly what lights me up. I know it can be overwhelming knowing how to find the right person, how to work with them, and what even to have them do. I actually help you with all of this!
I offer coaching, recruiting, and assistant training to match business owners with the right people. The help doesn't end there. I also provide tools and resources to help support your business. The main objective is to ensure you are executing your vision.
I manage the entire process from start to finish. I oversee the application process, screening, and interviewing. Once we have our top candidates, I sit in on several interviews with you and these people so we can see who will be the best fit. It’s my job and responsibility to make finding an SMM as easy as possible for you.
Once you are ready to move forward with someone, I even help you two get set up. I conduct a Getting Started Call to ensure you are both on the same page, having crucial conversations, and have the right tools to proceed effectively.
Continuing to show up for your customers daily doesn't need to be difficult. You will build a strong, reliable brand that represents you and your niche'. All the while, making sure you have the right support on the backend.
The Business Matchmaker is a great first step to taking your business to the next level. Visit my website
https://www.meganlloyd.org/, book a call with me, and let's find the perfect support person for you!