As we dive into the social media world, it can start to get a little overwhelming. For example, I have a Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, two blogs, Snapchat, Instagram and plenty of other platforms. On a daily basis, my notifications are through the roof. It is a lot to keep track of and it can get very confusing. Add in the responsibility of being a social media manager for a company, and you may as well glue your laptop to your hands. So how do people keep it all straight? And how do we make sure that our “updates” are appropriate for different platforms and situations?
Mashable.com gave out awards for the five social media management tools. You can look at them here:http://mashable.com/2010/10/21/social-media-management-tools/. The five tools listed here take all of your platforms and combine them into one place. Some of these sites focus on businesses and keeping things professional, while others are free and for your own personal use and sanity. I, personally, have not used any of these tools. But I think it is a lifesaving idea. To have all of your social media in one place and at the tip of your fingertips saves time, energy and confusion.
For businesses, there is also the issue of deciding to manage your own social media or hire someone to do it for you. I think, that if a company is large enough, it is vital to hire someone to monitor social media. The internet never sleeps and takes a full-time job, if not more, to keep up with it all. This article talks about all of the stresses that can be put on someone managing social media for a business: http://www.forbes.com/sites/capitalonespark/2013/03/19/should-you-outsource-social-media-or-do-it-yourself/. They need to be posting frequently in your business’ behalf, checking on what other people are saying about your business, and commenting, sharing and “liking” on statuses that apply to your business. It just simply is too much for one manager to handle on their own.
It's true, there are so many platforms to keep track of, and it is super important to have a good business presence on every platform. I wouldn't want to do it!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many platforms available to us today and more will be created in the near future. If there is a way to manage all of your platforms in one place, you should do it.
ReplyDeleteI agree, sometimes social media can be OVERWHELMING! But with aggregators and preparation one can succeed in managing effectively.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Kels!!! Makes me seriously think about getting an aggregator to help things be organized and to save time!!
ReplyDeleteI agree... companies should hire someone to monitor their social media. Companies that don't hire social media employees often aren't active enough to address issues that come up.
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