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Cape Town - There are critical skills that social media executives must have in order to drive a company's brand, according to Carla Potgieter, knowledge officer at Red & Yellow.
The proliferation of social media demands that companies employ people with the right skills in a swiftly moving and largely uncontrolled medium.
Here are the nine key points to keep in mind as a social media practitioner.
The Head Cheerleader
It's your job to cheer on the brand, and to encourage engagement online. This isn't just limited to responding to the community’s comments, but also being proactive about encouraging engagement.
The Customer Service Liaison
You are also responsible for answering customer complaints, queries and addressing their online grievances before these spin out of control. Don't be afraid to be a human behind the brand. The more human you are the more trust you build.
The EQ Extraordinaire
Always remember, it is not just about the sales, it’s about building connections, building trust, and great customer service. You will have to be able to give the audience what they want - and balance it with what the client wants.
The Punching Bag
Dissatisfied customers are never fun to deal with. Characteristics needed are patience, and the ability to remain objective. Always remember the audience is not attacking you. They are attacking the brand and you need to stay calm and professional.
The Grammar Boss
Spelling mistakes makes the brand you are the social custodian of look bad. But this doesn’t mean that there are no opportunities for creativity. Even more important is to bring across the brand personality.
The Researcher
You need to be able to adapt - social changes quickly. Try to go to events for your brand – live tweeting is fun and you build connections yourself. Also try to blog about any topic. It keeps your game up, and builds your confidence.
The Scientist
Try different content formats, experiment with the various platforms' functional features; try out latest features: It is all about testing to see what works and improving your efforts - and looking at the story told by your data.
The Strategic Mastermind
Social strategy is an interface for the entire business online: You need to have context and not just see yourself as an add-on. This is crucial if you want your audience to be able to get the most value out of what your brand does online.
The Time Management Expert
Social media can get chaotic, especially if you are managing more than one brand, across multiple platforms. It will be hard to be efficient if you don’t plan at least part of your day. You need to know what you’re working on, what your goals are and how to accomplish them.
Ultimately, a social media representative is the face of a particular brand and is a crucial component of a communications team.
Facebook says that around 100 million Africans are on the platform and if companies want to create meaningful engagements with consumers, it is critical that they develop effective social media strategies rather than viewing social media as simply a sales channel.
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