Today's digital social environments represent one of the main spaces of contact between organizations and the public. Their management does not consist in the simple publication of content, but requires planning consistent with communication objectives, languages and contexts of use.
In this framework, the Social Media Manager is placed: the professional who defines and governs the organization's presence in digital social platforms, ensuring their consistency, recognizability and measurability.
From spontaneous presence to planned presence
Participation in social media, if unstructured, generates fragmented communications that are difficult to evaluate.
The Social Media Manager introduces method in channel management, transforming the online presence into an organized activity.
Its activity makes it possible to:
- establish the role of the various digital channels;
- identify languages suitable for audiences;
- make the results of communication observable.
Social networks thus become integrated components of the communication system and not isolated tools.
Functions and activities
The Social Media Manager works in terms of designing and planning social activities.
1) Analysis of audiences and digital contexts
Study information behaviors and methods of use to identify appropriate communication methods.
2) Definition of the editorial strategy
Establishes structure, frequency and type of publications in relation to the organization's objectives.
3) Choice of platforms and languages
Identify the most appropriate channels and define expressive criteria consistent with identity and communication function.
4) Definition of evaluation metrics
Establishes useful indicators to understand the effectiveness of the online presence and to improve it over time.
5) Integration with overall communication
Coordinate social communication with sites, information content and other communication activities.
A function of communicative coherence
The value of the figure does not consist in the operational management of conversations, but in the design of the digital presence model.
The Social Media Manager allows the organization to:
- avoid discontinuity between channels;
- to standardize languages and modes of expression;
- to improve understanding of the contents;
- to make communication evaluable.
The measurability of social communication
Social environments produce data related to the use of content.
The Social Media Manager uses this information to understand if the communication methods adopted are appropriate for the public.
Social communication can thus be progressively improved and not dependent on occasional publications.
A digital presence design figure
In the digital communication system, the Social Media Manager connects communication objectives and the use of platforms.
It does not produce specific content and is not limited to the operational management of interactions: it defines how the organization must be present in digital social environments, making participation consistent, orderly and verifiable over time.