Red Flags In a Social Media Manager to Avoid
It’s 2024 and almost everywhere you look people are claiming to be a social media manager or sometimes a content creator. As much as people love to say this, they do not meet the qualifications that most paying customers would want in a professional social media manager, content coordinator, etc. You may have already seen our social media manager’s red flags if you saw our graphic from today. It's not like there is an exam for digital marketing like there is for CPAs or CFPs, but that’s not to say certain priorities of your potential SMM should not IMMEDIATELY make you want to run the other way.
They Ignore Your Target Audience
When crafting your social media strategy one of the first things you should discuss is your target audience. To reach older people, you should focus more on your Facebook, website design, and email campaigns. This is because most older people spend more time on Facebook, checking their emails, or going right to your business’s website. If you are trying to target a more youthful crowd, posting more on TikTok and Instagram would be more effective because these are the platforms they spend the most time on. Not only does the platform itself matter, but also what trends you participate in. If there is a trending audio or challenge there may be a chance that an older crowd does not understand the popularity of the audio/challenge, this would be a trend you want to avoid. If you are curious about what trends you should participate in, check out our previous blog post “Leveraging Trends.”
They Promise Virality & Not Growth
Going viral is not the bread and butter of marketing. Going viral can be harmful to your platforms. When you go viral, there will be an influx of followers that will not be part of your target audience. This will inevitably skew your followers, and bring in an audience that will not benefit your business. Marketing is all about growing your brand to bring in more consumers. If you are a local business, having followers from the other side of the country will not benefit you. Once you go viral, there will be many people who come to your profile just to see content. If you go viral, you need to learn how to convert views to sales. We talked about virality in our previous blog post “The Truth Behind Being Viral.”
They Guarantee Quick Results
A successful SMM knows that growth does not happen overnight. If your SMM promises quick results, that means they may take part in unethical practices like buying followers. Normally these followers are just bots or random accounts from different countries. They may also try to quickly fix your marketing strategy…if they form one. Effective marketing strategies are tailored to your business and audience, fixes to this strategy take time, and if they try to quickly fix it, more than likely your strategy will lack the depth necessary for growth. Remember that fast gains often lead to a drop in engagement and credibility so “fast” results are not very sustainable for the long-run success of your business.
They Prioritize Follower Count
Follower count is not everything. If you have 200 followers who frequently bring you sales and engage with your content that is OKAY! Even if a business has 6,000 followers, it means nothing if none of those followers are consistently coming back for their product/service. If a SMM ever says that buying followers is okay, RUN THE OTHER WAY. Not only is it unethical as we have stated, but it also just throws off your whole algorithm. One, very important priority of a SMM is authenticity so buying followers should immediately make you so no to their business.
They Do Not Understand Data or Pay Attention To It
Not tracking the data from their digital marketing efforts just shows they lack insight into what they are doing. Data provides critical insights into audience behavior and preferences. Ignoring this data means they are missing opportunities to optimize your business growth on social media. Ignoring this also tells you that they may not even know what makes a good marketing strategy because theirs will probably remain the same even if it is ineffective. They may not track data because they know their practices are not good. Without analyzing the data, you have no idea if there is poor ROI because you have no idea if their efforts are even working. This can also lead them to repeat a campaign that has already performed poorly, diminishing its effectiveness and credibility.
They Promote Inconsistent Branding
Consistent branding is crucial for building recognition and loyalty; when a brand’s messaging, tone, or visuals vary significantly across platforms, it confuses the audience and dilutes the brand’s identity. This inconsistency can lead to a fragmented user experience, making it harder for consumers to connect with the brand. It also may suggest a lack of clear strategy or understanding of the brand’s core values, ultimately resulting in missed opportunities for engagement and a weaker overall presence in the market. In short, inconsistent branding can ruin consumer trust and hinder long-term growth just like fast results, fake followers, etc.
They Do Not Have a Clear Marketing Strategy in Place
The first thing you learn in college when studying marketing is how to craft a marketing strategy. A well-defined marketing strategy is essential for guiding a business toward its goals and ensuring effective resource allocation. It provides a clear plan for identifying target audiences, crafting compelling messages, and choosing the right channels for communication. By outlining specific objectives and metrics for success, a marketing strategy helps businesses adapt to market changes and optimize their campaigns. Ultimately, it fosters brand consistency, enhances customer engagement, and drives SUSTAINABLE growth, making it a critical component of any successful business plan.
