What would you be able to accomplish if you had a Larger Social Media Team?

You’re not alone if you said “a lot.” In the ever-expanding realm of social media, there is a lot to cover. Businesses finally realize that the days of broadcasting the same message across several channels are over. The structure of your ordinary social media team will need to evolve quickly as social media becomes the major communication route for more brands.

In the larger scheme of things, the social media industry is still in its infancy. Leaders who have been working in social since the beginning are now navigating unfamiliar territory, answering important concerns like: How can I avoid burnout? What types of professional options can I offer my team? So, what’s next?

It might be time to grow your social team if you’re asking similar queries. Please continue reading for signals that it’s time to expand your department, as well as tips on how to make a strong case for new hiring.

There are 3 Signals that it’s Time to Grow your Social Media Team.

The decision to hire someone is a major one. Recruiting is a time-consuming and costly process that involves several parties. The costs of waiting, on the other hand, may surpass the costs of taking the risk. Here are some critical indicators to look for if you’re contemplating whether or not it’s time to post that job description:

1. Growth has Come to a Halt.

Even if your output is consistent and your material is of high quality, you haven’t seen any progress toward your objective metrics. Of course, growth lulls can have various causes, but if your team is trapped in one that they can’t get out of, bandwidth could be at fault.

What does this mean for your Case?

Because social media is constantly changing, what it takes to achieve your objectives today may be a fraction of what it will take tomorrow. Establishing your brand as a market leader will only become more competitive as consumer social media usage develops tremendously.

Marketers will have to spend even more time going through social data for insights on what’s connecting with customers if they want to keep up the momentum. If you don’t have time, the only way to ensure you have resources dedicated to both strategy and execution is to increase your social media department.

Read: Metrics for Social Media Engagement That Actually Matter

2. You’re Squandering Opportunities for Involvement.

Every day, firms receive an average of 129 inbound social engagements. The more individuals you reach, the more people will engage with you. It can feel like an uphill fight to respond to every conversation, but engagement is too vital to ignore. It will be considerably more difficult to establish loyalty if you are unresponsive to your audience.

What does this mean for your Case?

Customers can communicate with your brand on social media in a variety of ways. For example, they can submit reviews, share help requests, and praise brands in addition to the regular Likes and comments (or, in worse cases, complaints).

Consumers feel that outstanding customer service and audience engagement are the two most critical elements that make a brand best in class on social, according to the 2021 Sprout Social IndexTM. As more people conduct business online, social media responsiveness will become increasingly important in determining total client happiness.

3. There is no Time to Collaborate.

By its very essence, social media is a team sport. Marketing, product roadmaps, competitive assessments, sales methods, and more may benefit from social data. Similarly, team members outside of marketing can help you refine your messaging and content decisions by broadening your perspective.

What does this Mean for Your Case?

Social data, even more than market research, is the top data source utilized to inform business decisions, according to 72 percent of executives polled. However, if your data is locked away in a marketing silo, your company risks losing sight of customer needs.

When managers can share their reporting and communicate with other leaders throughout a company, social can be transformative.

Making a Case to Upper Management

It’s never easy to justify an increase in staff, especially when you’re on track to fulfill your objectives. Staffing expenditures quickly add up when you include pay, benefits, and equipment. Marketers must present a data-driven vision of what your team could do with more hands on deck to gain approval. Here’s how you can do it:

Make Sure it isn’t a Surprise.

Making the argument for expanding your social media department isn’t going to be easy. It’s quite improbable that you’ll be able to start a meeting with such a big request and get a resounding yes.

Instead, work with multiple stakeholders to develop your argument over time. Make sure top leadership is aware of the business effect of a shortage of bandwidth when communicating with them. Rather than being an unexpected request, employment will become a natural outgrowth of an ongoing conversation.

Create a Vision for Yourself.

Rather than focusing on what your team has accomplished so far, talk about what you could accomplish with more people. Share what your team will do with an extra 40 hours of devoted resources using your responses to the questions above.

This is when your social media information comes in handy. If you know how your team’s KPIs relate to bigger marketing and company objectives, you’ll know which drivers assist you achieve those objectives. If you’re seeking to raise website traffic, for example, you already know what levers you can pull.

To help leaders better grasp the business value of a new hiring, use this top-down strategy to justify the headcount increase.

Draw Attention to the Dangers

Social media employees are at significant risk of burnout due to the job’s “always-on” nature. Burnout puts you in danger of fleeing. According to research, the cost of replacing an experienced employee might be anywhere between half and two times their annual compensation. Simply said, neglecting the issue can and will cost you more in the long term.

Give your leadership team some insight into the situation if you and your team have been dealing with an excessive workload for some time. Explain why recruiting is the only way to achieve balance, and walk them through your measures to fix the situation.

Putting Together your Ideal Team

There is no one-size-fits-all social media team structure, but you can get to your ideal state with some vision, strategic planning, and leadership buy-in. It’s time to create a role that will make a difference now that you know how to make your case for expansion.

More Resources: Facebook Marketing Tips for Social Media Ads