For me, Social Media is a healthy mix of managing for clients, consulting for those who want to learn themselves and teaching classes on the subject.

So I get a lot of questions around social media in the run of a day. Some of them are easy to answer.

“No, you can’t use images from google.”

“Yes, you can have a contest but you can’t ask them to share.”

“No you shouldn’t use images posted by your competitors.”

Some of them aren’t so easy. They require a bit of research to make sure my answer is up-to-date. They might also require a call to get all the facts.

While I sometimes wish there was a social media book with all the exact, correct, and always up-to-date answers—so far, no such book exists.

So as we muddle our way through 2020 and face down all the changes that come up, there are a few misconceptions I’ve come across online that I wanted to address. Not just for my business, but for all social media managers.

Since there are a lot of things that go on behind the screen for your social media manger, here’s a few things I’ve seen recently that we should all move to correct:

“If I have a social media manager, shouldn’t they be available to post something right away?”

In some cases, yes. When you hire a social media manager as an employee for your company who’s only job is managing social media from 9 am - 5 pm, then usually a few posts can fit around a strategy.

But when you’re working with a contractor (and skipping on those employee costs), the answer is usually going to be ‘No.’

This isn’t to be mean. There’s just a few factors that come into play. Things like:

What is the actual post that you are asking me to post right away?
Is it part of the strategy?
Does it relate to your brand/company?
Is it on brand?
Does it have the brand voice?
Is the picture of good quality?
Is it time sensitive?

And if you pass all those questions, you’d have to then check when the last time you posted was. On some platforms like Twitter or Instagram, a second post shortly after a previous post isn’t a big deal. But on Facebook? You’ll actually get penalized by Facebook and have both your posts that day perform poorly.

(So if it’s not a crisis, your post might have to wait until the next available slot to get online. It’s always a good idea to check with your social media manager BEFORE posting it yourself as well as they plan months in advance)

“Can my Social Media Manager make this post go viral?”

I honestly wish I could make something ‘go viral’ as a part of a social media strategy. I would be the most popular strategist online if I could!

Most often when a post goes viral, it’s actually a happy accident. Or it cost a lot of money for celebrity influences.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t hope for the best and plan around it. There are a few questions you can ask yourself about your viral-hopefuls:

Is this content viral worthy?
Does it align with your brand and values?
Are you prepared to deal with the aftermath of a post going viral?

In most cases, it’s better to aim for a strategy concentrated on relevant and quality content, rather than a one hit wonder. Afterall, you want readers all the time, not just when your post is featured.

“Can my Social Media Manager increase my followers by 1000 this month?”

Well, they can. But you won’t like how they do it.

If you find yourself in a situation where you’re being marketed a guaranteed increase in followers, you’re probably getting them from unethical methods such as buying followers, using comment bots, instagram pods, etc.

Not recommended.

Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to followers. Having 1000 followers that follow your every move and that would actually buy from you is much better than having 10,000 followers—with only 1,000 followers who engage with you online.

Gaining followers organically (aka real followers) does take time but it’s so worth it in the end. Engagement and building true relationships are the best way to grow and keep your followers tuned in with your brand.

“I’ve been told I need to be on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter/etc. Why doesn’t my Social Media Manager had an account for us on there?”

Saying this once more, for those at the back: “You do not need to be on every platform.”

Unless you have a budget and the staff to create content for 5-10 platforms, you do not need to be on all of them.

Being active and engaging on 2-3 platforms is much better than being on all of them and only posting once a month. Or worse, cross-posting all of your content.

Being on every platform takes a dedicated team of marketing professionals with little gain after the main platforms your audience uses have been addressed.

“Can my Social Media Manager get Celebrity/Influencer to share my post or talk about my business?

Short answer: Yes.

But like all too-good-to-be-true things, there are qualifiers to that affable ‘yes’.

Does that celebrity or influencer do paid promotional work?
Does your brand fit their vision and their audience?
Do you have a budget for it? (It might be more expensive than you think)
Are their followers real?
What’s their engagement rate?
Are they ethical or are they purchasing advertising spend with your budget for their post?
Have you paid attention to their work and know their demographic well enough to work with them?
Do other brands in your industry work with them?

So if all those stars align, and you need someone to broker a contract with the celebrity or influencer in question, most times the answer is “Yes.” but with a little “We can certainly try!” tacked on the end.

Will having a Social Media Manager directly lead to increased sales as soon as they start working for the company?

This is honestly the hardest question to answer.

While we can create great content about your brand, reply to comments and DM’s in a timely manner, build strategies and track metrics—sales still come down to audience and product alignment.

We can educate your audience. Attract more people to talk to. Get more people talking about your brand.

But Social Media is always the top of a sales funnel, and there are many steps involved in moving them to the bottom. So making sure you set your goals in accordance to this principal is key.

“What’s my Content Manager doing all day?”

Even with social media being around for 10 years now, a question I get in class a lot is around what a social media marketer actually does each day.

There are a few misconceptions about what a Social Media Manger does all day, which make it harder for those of us in the industry to do our jobs. Afterall, there is a lot more that goes into it than posting pretty pictures each day.

First, there’s making the pictures or conferring with a designer on what content is going to be needed for posts. But along with that, tasks include:

Engaging with followers
Liking, Commenting
Replying to DM’s
Creating new content
Adapting and recreating marketing strategies
Reports and sending out reports.

For every client, every day. Freeing up hours of time for them to focus on the other aspects of their sales funnel.

Social Media Management isn’t for everyone

If social media were for everyone, then there wouldn’t be any need for Social Media Managers! The amount of time and effort required to create a vibrant brand presence on social media would surprise most. But it’s well worth it at the end of the day when you can connect personally with your customers!

Looking for more support around your social media strategy? Sign up for my newsletter to find out when KA Social Media launches new classes and events!

5 Questions For Social Media Managers (And Answers You Might Not Like)