What “The Office” Can Teach You About Being A Social Media Manager
Last update: 7 March 2023 at 09:53 am
5.00/5If you’re familiar with the US series “The Office,” then you probably know Michael Scott. He’s the show’s main character as a paper company’s regional director. The series is shown as a kind of docu-fiction about the daily lives of the employees. In this article, let’s look at this show and what it can teach you about being a social media manager.
One thing about “The Office” is that if the series had been made more recently, there would be another social media manager character. With how things have changed in building networks, advertising, and communication, businesses will find it difficult to compete without an online presence on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Suppose the paper company in “The Office” has a social media manager called Jack. We’ll look into some of Jack’s best practices to help the company in its digital marketing efforts. For this, the daily objective will be to create strong relationships with the audience to make the company more visible and credible.
What is a Social Media Manager?
Before we can appreciate the importance of a social media manager, let’s first ask crucial questions such as, “what does a social media manager do?” The job is not simply about posting content on social media platforms.
The social media manager’s responsibilities include the management of both tasks and people. The person in charge of this role must be able to manage tasks simultaneously. Depending on the company’s size, they should also lead a small or big team.
And then, when it comes to the media, it’s not enough to be just one of the average users of social networks. The social media manager role requires one to have knowledge and understanding of the subtleties of each platform. It is essential so that the company can truly stand out.
Lastly, the social aspect is the most vital of all. Media is no longer about just providing information to people. We naturally tend to form groups; that’s what we see on many social media platforms. People of similar interests from all parts of the world interact online.
Why Use Social Media Marketing Strategies?
Social relationships online are just as meaningful as the actual ones. That’s why people still expect just as much sincerity in their interactions. This is one of the crucial facts that the best social media manager must remember.
When communicating online, the goal is to create a natural bond of trust to form and nurture a lasting relationship. Businesses that want to strengthen their social media presence need to get ready to be invested in this because that’s how they can build trust and loyalty and grow their client base.
With the information we now have about what it means to be a social media manager and how valuable this role is for a company, businesses should consider making the most of social media marketing strategies.
Companies can start by tapping the right partners who can offer the best solutions. With Sortlist, we can help you choose the best social media marketing agencies most suitable for your needs.
To further appreciate the vital role of having a social media manager in your company, let’s jump right to our example, Jack, the new social media manager of the paper company in “The Office.”
Defining the Target Audience
One essential social media manager skill is identifying the target audience. Before you can even think about what to say, know first who you plan to talk to. If you don’t do this, it would be like speaking in a busy street where no one is paying attention. Your strategy will not be effective when done this way.
So, the first thing that Jack has to do is to know his audience as much as possible. Here are the possible questions that Jack can ask:
- Who are the current customers of the company?
- Who is most likely going to be future customers?
- What age group do they belong to?
- What is their location?
- How much do they earn, and how much do they spend?
- What is their status?
- What are their interests?
By asking these questions, Jack is trying to create buyer personas. Each persona will have its own needs, which Jack wants to fulfill. Jack must first know such information to meet the target audience’s expectations.
Since Jack works for a paper company, the target audiences are those who most likely use paper daily. Here are some of the buyer personas that Jack was able to create:
The Secretary
This buyer persona is the secretary of a small business. The secretary makes it a point that all printers in the office have plenty of papers in them. She also uses forms to print her daily reports, invoices, and other essential documents for the company. She’s going to need A4 paper of medium quality, and she’s going to need a steady supply throughout the year.
The Supermarket Representative
The second buyer persona that Jack has created is the representative of a big supermarket brand. His role includes restocking the school supplies department. The papers that he will need will be of varying sizes and qualities. The volume of orders will be incredibly high when school starts, but it will be low for the other times of the year.
With these two buyer personas that Jack has created, he will need to adapt the content that he will create and publish. Apart from that, Jack also has to think about which communication channels to use and the best tone that will fit the different personas. Jack has to plan well because these two personas are pretty different.
Mastering the Different Social Media Platforms
Now that Jack knows his target audience and their needs, the next step is to find out which social network platforms they spend their time on the most. Once Jack knows this, then it will reduce his workload. It means he doesn’t have to publish content everywhere since he can focus on several platforms his ideal customers use more often.
When you ask yourself what to look for in a social media manager, you’d want to hire one who knows how to use all social media platforms. This way, the social media manager can choose the most appropriate avenues to publish content for the target audience.
Jack will most likely choose LinkedIn to increase the B2B sales for the paper company. He may also use Facebook so that he can connect with private customers and share informational content that has to do with paper, such as recycling.
How to Set SMART Goals for the Strategy
SMART goals work well for most fields, including digital marketing. For this next step, Jack has to set Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals. In doing this, Jack has to have a precise strategy for each social network.
He can use LinkedIn to make professional connections. On Facebook and Instagram, he can use the private sphere. The objectives and strategies may vary depending on Jack’s platform.
So, Jack now decides to make the customers brand ambassadors. Jack posts content every week to increase the comments, likes, and mentions. He ensures the content is exciting and, sometimes, even a bit controversial to draw attention. Of course, this is only done sparingly because the content must provide real value to the customers.
Keeping an Eye on Competitors
On social media platforms, Jack can chat with customers and potential customers. However, these people are also being targeted by his company’s competitors. While some businesses are okay without an active online presence, Jack thinks it’s best to assume that the competition targets the same audiences he’s reaching.
Jack doesn’t take this as bad news because, first, the competition is both a benchmark and a source of inspiration. By knowing more about the competitors, Jack can keep up with the latest strategies that they are using and whether they’re working well. He then improves on those tactics to create and implement a more effective one.
Another reason why hire a social media manager like Jack is that he can observe and analyze the company’s competition. These are valuable tools that Jack can use to determine the best practices. Since Jack is creative and resourceful, he can recognize good ideas when he sees them.
Instead of reinventing the wheel, Jack saves much time as a social media manager because he looks for the best formula, improves them, and then integrates them into his existing social media marketing strategy.
Secondly, by knowing more about the competitors, Jack gains insights into what the target audiences think about the competitor brand. Jack can diligently monitor this so that whenever he interacts with the audience, he can quickly react whenever problems arise. He can answer questions and resolve issues. Jack may even seize an opportunity whenever it presents itself.
How to Choose the Tone for Your Content
When you hire a social media manager, you want to ensure they are also great at producing the right content for the target audience. As for Jack, since he works for a company that sells paper products to businesses and individuals, he has to adjust the tone he will use for the content.
In general, the tone has to convey the company’s values of efficiency and professionalism. But as Jack learns from his manager, Michael Scott, he also knows that putting a touch of humor in the content will be more appealing to his audience.
Another thing that Jack has to take into consideration is the geographic location he’s in. Jack works in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Therefore, he has to adjust the tone for that particular location. With its cultural and social allusions, what works for California may not work as well in Pennsylvania.
Jack’s objective is to be able to create a genuine bond with the audience as well as nurture it. As an effective social media manager, Jack is attentive and knows how to respond quickly to customers. In his interactions, he makes it a point to maintain kindness and sincerity.
The social media manager also knows that his audiences will look for unique and exciting pieces of content. Jack won’t simply post the same content on various social media platforms. Instead, each piece of content will be made specifically for the audience on a social network to get the maximum effect.
Always keep in mind that social networks are home to virtual communities. The communication that you do is not a one-way street. Internet users know how to speak their minds and can decide for themselves. The goal of the social media manager is for the users to react to the posts, share them, and interact with the brand and other customers.
Dialogue is the key to good communication. Even if the conversations are made in a virtual space, there are still two human beings at the end of each line who are communicating with one another. Online dialogues are just as meaningful as real-life ones, especially since they bring tangible results for the company.
Creating a Content Calendar
To have these conversations with the target audience, Jack must determine when most users are present on the social media platform. There are two points to doing this. The first one is that by knowing the target audiences, Jack can determine their preferred platform. And second, Jack will know the best time to post content on a particular forum.
If the social media manager posts too frequently, the audience may become disinterested in what the brand is trying to say. So, posting too much on all social networks can backfire. That’s why it’s vital to have strategies and plans for publishing content on social networks.
The posts should appear at the right time regularly. Of course, there should still be some room for spontaneity to spark interest in the audience. If the post is interesting enough, it could turn viral, boosting the brand’s visibility. This should be part of the strategy, as well. The posts shouldn’t be monotonous because they certainly wouldn’t compel the audience to react to them.
As for Jack, his idea is to post content regularly. When these posts are published depends on the social network where he will publish the content. So, for example, LinkedIn is often used during office hours. Facebook, on the other hand, is used during leisure time.
Each platform has its statistics and tools for analysis. These will be very useful for social media managers to know when their target audiences are present and how long they stay on the social media platform. If Jack knows this, he can adjust the content accordingly.
There are also planning tools that Jack can use for publication, such as Hootsuite. By automating tasks, Jack has more free time, which he can use to study the latest trends in social media marketing and how to better interact with the target audiences.
How to Analyse the Results
No one becomes an expert in social media marketing instantly. Indeed, there will be plenty of trials and errors along the way. However, if these can be analyzed correctly, they can be taken as experiences gained rather than failures.
Analyzing the results of the strategies used will make it possible to evaluate essential things, such as which pieces of content the audiences reacted to most. Among the social networks, which ones generated the most interactions? How much time was invested in each social media platform? These are crucial questions to ask.
When you answer these questions, you can then interpret your ROI correctly. Try to go beyond getting a simple financial analysis of your ROI. You also need to consider the return on expectations. By this, you should go back to your objectives and see if they were achieved.
Another thing to consider is the return on commitments. This is about the actions that enabled you to achieve your objectives. So, you’ll get an analysis of your financial investment and the visibility and traffic you’ve gained.
Jack uses tools such as Google Analytics to get the various statistics. Tools like this are essential for improving the strategies that work. Jack doesn’t just move forward without carefully planning the next steps and learning from past systems. Doing so would be an awful waste of both time and money.
That’s why it’s also advisable to find the right marketing partner to help you reach your goals. When you choose a communications agency, you will have someone to collaborate with, and the best part is that they’re already experts in social media marketing. You don’t have to start from scratch to plan and implement strategies for marketing.
A reality about selecting an agency is that it can be time-consuming and confusing because of the numerous options available. It would be best if you were sure that the agency you choose is the best one to fulfill the needs of your business. That’s why with Sortlist, you don’t have to waste time. We will give you the best selection of agencies most suited for you.
Takeaway
He is now going back to Jack, the social media manager. He has identified two buyer personas for the paper company. One is the secretary of a small business, and the other represents a huge supermarket brand.
The secretary discovered the paper company while she was having her lunch. She’s keen on the environment, so the video about paper recycling, posted on Friday at 1 PM, sparked her interest in the company. When stationed at the right time, such targeted content can bring a new client to the paper company.
As for the representative, he contacted the paper company through LinkedIn at 10 AM on Monday. Every year, he searches for the best paper suppliers to restock the supply for his department. He noticed a visually appealing professional post that offered a wide variety of paper products.
When the representative contacted the paper company, Jack was quick to respond. This made a good impression on this potential customer. Over the years, Jack can nurture his relationship with the representative. Jack regularly updates the page of the paper company and carefully adapts to the changes that come with time.
Now we know why Michael Scott hired Jack as the company’s social media manager. It’s because Jack understands that social networking has changed, so the strategies for connecting and interacting with the audience must also change.
When Jack set up his digital communication strategy, he realized the words “social” and “network fully.” Jack was able to use the specifics of each social media platform and make the most of them. He created and nurtured lasting relationships with both current and potential customers.
Since Jack understands his audience, he is also able to guess what their expectations are. Doing so allowed him to offer potential clients customized services. It’s not enough to have great products or services; gaining the loyalty of the client base is also very important. It all starts with good communication and nurturing relationships with your target audiences.
