How to Build a Social Media Dream Team
By Sam Milbrath
Source: Hootsuite
Every team is different, but there are always a few key players you need to be successful. This is as true whether you want to win a trophy or a customer.
When Hootsuite’s social media team first started out, we had one person playing the role of social media manager, content creator, and community manager. As our community grew and the need to scale intensified, the roles and responsibilities broke out and a team was born. Growth relies on a fine balance between need, resources, and scalability.
Whether you’re a social media dream team of one or many, two things will rarely ever change: strengths required and responsibilities. We talked about the eight qualities of a kick-ass social media team:
- Creativity
- Collaboration
- Flexibility
- Agility
- Curiosity
- Detail-oriented
- Social
- Sense of humor
Now that you know what strengths and qualities your social media team needs to have, it’s time to take a closer look at the roles and responsibilities of the individual people on that team—though in some cases, one person may fulfill all of these roles. We sat down with Hootsuite’s own social media team to break down the components of a social media dream team.
The 5 mix n’ match roles of every social media dream team
1. Social media management
Often, all roles and responsibilities related to social media roll up into this one person. Social media managers are responsible for developing and marketing strategies for the business’ social media channels. Whoever is in charge of social media management must oversee all communications and control governance. In a team setting, this person controls who has access to publishing, listening, and passwords.
Looking beyond a social media manager’s job description, this person must follow industry trends and create new strategies for meeting the business’s ever-changing needs.
2. Analytics and strategy
To that point, creating new strategies and following trends relies entirely on statistics. Hootsuite’s social media team monitors for increases in traffic, impressions, reach, share of voice, click-through rates on links, engagement (such as likes, comments, and shares), and new customer signups.
Understanding what metrics and analytics matter to you—and how to pull them—is key to success. Metrics show you how healthy your social media channels are. You can see how people respond to certain content or campaigns and see what’s working (or not) for your audience.
Social media changes so quickly that you must constantly test and change your strategy. Whoever’s in charge of your analytics must monitor for positive and negative trends in your statistics, launch tests, and adjust strategies accordingly. Test things like hashtags, types of content and media, message phrasing, and time of day for publishing.