You Need a System For Social Media Marketing Management

Why isn’t there more information about how to build a social media marketing management system?

There are millions of articles about social media marketing tools and platforms, as well as general how-tos and tips. But there is much less about how to manage social media for business — the actual system you need to plan, execute, and coordinate tasks across platforms.

Whether you have a social media manager (SMM) or not, you need a social media system that simplifies your work rather than complicating it.

In this “pick-my-brain” article, I’m sharing why and how to create this system. I’ll also share my minimalist system and introduce you to some of my tools and processes. 

I don’t want you to copy how I do things because my system is customized to my needs. 

I’ve built it out over time, and it will continue to evolve with my business, making life easier as it does! I just want to provide an example of what a system could look like so you can start planning or streamlining a system that works for you.

Before we dip in, here’s a quick refresh of business systems and why you need them.

What Business Systems Are + Why We Need Them

A business system is a standard operating procedure for meeting a goal. It encompasses all of the tools, roles, and processes that coordinate to produce the desired result. I write more about systems here.

Business systems may not be as sexy as other aspects of our businesses, but they’re sexier than you think. Not only do they support business growth and objectives, but they also support our deeper desires.

Here’s how something as dry and technical as a business system relates to deeper aspirations and desires:

• We want abundance, security, independence, and accomplishment. So, we want to grow our business. 
• We also want nourishing, rich, and restful lives. So, we want to work less (aka work-life balance).  

Systems work to make these desires possible.

On a pure business level, a sound business system will:

• enhance efficiency and productivity by streamlining and automating routine processes and operations.
• reduce redundant tasks. 
• improve time management and free up time to focus on more “executive” or core business activities like strategy and growth. 
• support work-life balance by minimizing time spent on routine tasks 
• streamline collaboration and communication with team members, further moving things off the desk

How to Manage Social Media for Business

Managing social media accounts requires a system.

The idea is that you design and build the system, and then the system does a lot of the heavy lifting for you.

Let’s define a “social media system” and the basics of building and customizing one. 

7 Pillars of any Social Media Marketing System

A social media system is about much more than managing social media accounts. 

It’s how you strategize, plan, create, execute, and monitor all of your social media marketing.  

It’s an intentional and structured approach designed to execute, streamline, and enhance marketing interactions across social media platforms. It encompasses all the strategies, tools, and procedures to engage your audience, promote your brand, and achieve marketing goals. 

Here’s a breakdown of its core components:

1. Developing a Strategy

Okay, perhaps this isn’t technically part of your social media system, but it is the basis for everything else.

Strategy development involves setting clear objectives, identifying target audiences, and reaching them on the right social media platforms. The strategy should align with a marketing goal and address specific aims like increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, or generating leads or sales. 

Example:

• You want 75 sign-ups for a 12-month paid membership group (overall marketing goal)
• As you develop strategies for achieving this goal, you determine that social media marketing will play a big part. Specifically, you want to use it to target direct sales and email signups for your launch/marketing campaign (strategy development) 

2. Content Planning and Creation

This stage is a BIG deal and takes a lot of work. It involves creating relevant, valuable, engaging content tailored to your audience's interests and needs. You plan topics, content formats (such as posts, videos, images, and stories), and posting schedules here. You also create and edit the content. 

3. Publishing and Scheduling

These are the tools and processes for scheduling posts at optimal times for reach and engagement. Automating publishing helps you sustain a consistent presence on social media without requiring constant manual labor. 

 4. Managing Social Media Accounts and Engagement

This is when you monitor and track metrics like mentions, comments, or direct messages. This is prime time to engage with potential clients and customers, building our brand through trust and awareness. Engagement also boosts the all-important algorithm. 

5. Analytics and Reporting

A social media system should track performance against goals. This includes measuring metrics like reach and rates for engagement, click-through, and conversion. Regular reporting helps you understand what works, make data-driven decisions, and adjust your strategy.

6. Paid Advertising

Your system should include a campaign management component if you advertise on social media. This involves creating, running, and optimizing ads targeted at specific audiences to increase reach, generate leads, or drive sales.

 7. Collaboration and Workflow Management

The system should also include ways to collaborate, assign roles, manage workflows, and ensure that your assistants, SMM, or team members are aligned and working efficiently towards goals. 

Even if you’re not ready for collaboration, having a system in place before you need it will allow you to scale when you are.  

Workflow management isn’t just about other people. It also includes your workflows, accommodations, and flows that suit your needs and requirements.

Here’s How I Do It

I have lots of products, services, and business goals going on. I know that Instagram is where a lot of my audience hangs out. 

They typically have online businesses and often share (or are interested in) similar values like wellness, work-life balance, or self-love. They’re growing their businesses and looking for practical, actionable solutions to actualize goals. 

I create a lot of content for Instagram and am also on a few other platforms, trying to grow my reach.

My system for creating and sharing content involves strategic planning, outsourcing, and meticulously streamlining tools and flows for efficiency and effectiveness. 

I use Airtable to house my social media system. I like it because I can easily collaborate, plan, organize, and store the information I need for social media. (Note: the above link is a Referral Link that I only found after using Airtable's free service as my everyday hub for awhile)

I collaborate with my SMM on Airtable. I store swipe files and captions for easy planning and sharing. I also store social media templates and links in Airtable. If I need to include links to something like a Canva graphic or product page, I can quickly locate them and paste them into a shared file. 

Constructing and Customizing Your Social Media System

Designing and building a unique social media system would require you to research the best ways to accomplish the system tasks described earlier in the article:

• figuring out how your social media marketing figures as a strategy to help meet a marketing goal
• how to best plan, create, and share content
• managing social media accounts and engaging with your audience
• monitoring and analyzing performance  
• collaboration
• organizing and storing the system’s files or data in a convenient location

Social media marketing management doesn’t have to be hard. 

If you need help building a custom social media system, my Signature System Build is a done-for-you service where I design a system framework for your needs. 

I then add all your information so you can hit the ground running instead of worrying about taking the time and energy to figure everything out, set it up, and input all the data. I’m really excited to offer this service and be the detail-oriented “systems queen” I am!