The need for a professional social media manager by companies was unheard of, a few years back. Social media was just a platform used by people to connect with others, message them, etc. However, no businesses ever thought of using these platforms for marketing.
Fast forward to 2020; businesses are now busy looking to hire the best freelance social media managers in Dubai and other places due to the rise of demand. The over 4 million businesses that run ads on Facebook alone clearly show how social media is a very powerful tool for marketing.
Times have changed as brands now spend a lot of time and other resources dedicated solely to social media management. Ad budgets have also skyrocketed on these platforms. This is a clear indication that having a social media page for your business is no longer a want but a necessity.
The problem is that this work needs a lot of skill, energy, and time spent, which many people who run a business might lack. This is where the need for a social media manager comes in. These professionals help you to create, publish, schedule social media posts on your behalf, among other objectives.
The Roles of a Social Media Manager
You now know what a social media manager is, however, what will they be doing should you decide to hire one? When you go for freelance social media managers in Dubai, their key role is to develop and implement an effective marketing plan. Other roles that they should play include:
1. Brand development
Customers always look for a reason why they should buy your products. A social media personality should be in a position to convince your potential customers by answering the question ‘why buy from you’. This can be backed up with facts, numbers, and company policies on what’s in for the buyer.
2. Identify the target audience
The best way to make your business succeed is to know what your target audience is, regardless of your niche. There is this common saying from the world of business with people saying that ‘if only we had 5 more clients like this one, we’d be alright.’ Well, with social media marketing, all this is possible.
With a good social media manager by your side, you identify the traits of those customers you wish to use your products and target them through social media marketing.
3. Curate content
The main work done by social media managers is to create content that is to be posted regularly on your business pages. They should have a healthy mix of articles, original content, shared content, publish posts that elicit engagement, etc.
4. Scheduling posts
Once the content has been created, it is also upon the managers of your social media pages to schedule posts to get published at optimal times. Many of them make use of social media management tools to run the campaigns on autopilot, but since this is a very sensitive area, they’ve got to keep an eye at all times.
The world of social media rapidly changes, and you need someone to help you keep up with its pace. You will need someone who will continuously monitor all the trending hashtags, mentions, and viral news associated with your industry. This way, you get to know how to set your marketing strategy while staying abreast of the happenings in your field.
These are only a few key roles that the best freelance social media managers in the UAE will play when you hire them.
Theoretically, nothing should stop you from doing all the social media management yourself. The question is, will it yield the best results? One of the things you should know before starting a social media campaign is that it is bound to take up much of your time.
In a nutshell, here are the reasons you need to get a social media manager for your company.
- To help you focus on your business
Handling social media pages or accounts takes a lot of time. When running a small or medium-sized enterprise, you need to channel your efforts to the actual management of the company. After all, social media marketing isn’t that expensive, so you will have time to make more profits in your business. There are roles that you just can’t hand over to someone else, which might also take you some serious time. You will then need to get someone to take care of your social media platforms, but you will still guide them on how you want the work done. - Maintain a consistent tone
Having a social media manager establishes your brand’s tone and maintains it.
- Regular posting
Posting content on your social media platforms might not be so much time-consuming, but sourcing what is to be published is a tedious task. If you are trying to run your company and still manage your pages, you won’t lack a gap or two where you failed to communicate with your followers.
The rule of thumb for marketing is that high-quality, fresh content has to be updated regularly, and this is what a social media manager will help you with. - Increase engagement
When you regularly post relevant content, interact more with your followers, always be on top of what’s trending, it is only a matter of time before you start seeing an increase in engagements on your posts.
Other benefits you stand to reap from having a social media manager are the advantage of staying ahead of the trends, abiding by good social media practices, tracking your overall brand performance, and implementing the growth strategy.
Where to Find Social Media Managers
While there has been an increased number of freelance social media managers in the UAE, some business owners are still wondering where to find them.
Some of the most common places to find the best social media managers include:
Social media groups
Join social media groups or follow the channels of those people who are in your industry. Here, you will find freelancers posting about their services from where you can take up the contact details of one and interview them. You can also post a job in such groups, and pick your most preferred candidate out of those that applied.
It is important, however, to stay alert when looking for candidates from such groups as some of them might overcharge you. Try to know the standard pricing structure for freelance social media managers first.
Peer learning
You must have noticed how a particular company’s social media page is always lit up through relevant posts, which get lots of engagement. Assuming they are not a competitor, (or probably friendly competitors) you can reach out to them and inquire about who works on their social media platforms.
Maybe the person who does the work for them is a freelancer and might be looking for an extra gig. Alternatively, if they are not up for the task, they will always recommend someone else to you who is equally qualified.
Freelance sites
This is probably the most rewarding place to find exceptional talent. You can join sites such as Bawabba and find yourself some of the best freelance social media managers in Dubai. These freelancers are vetted and well-tested to ensure that you don’t waste your time on those with invalid profiles.
