What Actually Goes Into Social Media Management (Step-by-Step Guide!): Part 2

Let’s keep going on your social media management journey! 

In Part 1 we examined your brand and target audience, set up your accounts, and thought of some content buckets that you can use. 

Now it’s time to jump into actually producing your content!  

Step 3: Planning Your Content Calendar

Consistency is key to successful social media marketing. This is why a content calendar—basically a plan to post content at regular intervals—will form the backbone of your strategy. 

In Part 1, we discussed the content buckets, so you should now have a fairly good idea of the types of posts you want to make. Here’s how to implement that into a content calendar. 

1. Identify your goals. What do you want to achieve? Increase brand awareness, promote a particular product, or reach out to a new target market? Knowing this will let you know which post types to prioritise. 
2. Decide how often you want to post. 2-3 posts per week is usually a good starting point. The most important thing is that you can sustain posting at that frequency. 
3. Schedule in advance. Use tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Meta Business Suite to plan posts ahead of time and save time. 
4. Incorporate key dates. Add important dates like holidays, industry events, and product launches so you can create timely content.
5. Mix it up. Balance promotional posts with educational, entertaining, and user-generated content to keep your audience engaged.

Here’s something to make your content planning even easier: get our social media calendar template for free here!

Step 4: Content Creation 

Now that you have an action plan for what to post, it’s time to dive in and start working on the posts themselves. 

This part can be quite daunting if you have no experience in copywriting or editing graphics and videos. But remember that fancy editing isn’t the be-all and end-all of social media—you can absolutely be successful without it.

Here’s how to get started. 

Photos and Videos: What Should You Shoot? 

Visuals are essential for grabbing attention, so taking photos and videos relevant to your business is a must. 

Not sure what to shoot? Try some of these ideas. 

1. Product close-ups. Highlight key details or unique features of your products with high-quality close-up shots.
2. Behind-the-scenes. Share your work process, team collaboration, or what goes into creating your products/services.
3. Before & after. Show the transformation your product or service brings (e.g., a completed project, makeover, or repair).
4. A day in the life. Capture a typical day for your team or business to humanise your brand.
5. Customer spotlight. Share photos of happy customers (with permission) using your product or service.
6. Workspace tour. Give your audience a look at your office, studio, warehouse, or on-site location.
7. Team member highlights. Introduce employees with casual or candid photos to build trust and connection.
8. Product or service in action. Show your product being used or your service being delivered.
9. Tips and tutorials. Create short videos or step-by-step visuals for tips that relate to your industry.
10. Event highlights. Document your participation in events, trade shows, or conferences.
11. Client deliverables. Share photos of completed projects or deliverables (again, with permission).
12. Unboxing videos. Film yourself or a customer unboxing your product to highlight the experience.
13. Interactive content. Shoot polls, Q&A clips, or quick video replies to FAQs.
14. Milestones and celebrations. Capture company achievements, anniversaries, or team wins.
15. Works in progress. Share snippets of projects, designs, or ideas that are still in development.

A note about getting client permission: If you wish to use the image, video, or testimonial of your client in your social media content, make sure you get written permission from them.

Editing Your Content 

Again, complicated editing isn’t necessary, but a little bit can go a long way in making your content look more polished.

Here are a few easy tips for making your posts look even better:

1. Use editing tools. Apps like Canva and CapCut are beginner-friendly and allow you to easily create content in the correct dimensions for the particular social media platforms you’re using. 
2. Incorporate branding. Use consistent fonts, colours, and logos to align your content with your brand identity.
3. Make sure your images are clear and well-lit. You can use any of the popular photo editing apps like Snapseed, Canva, or VSCO to brighten up or slightly sharpen any photos that are a little too dim or blurry. 
4. Add text overlays. Include captions or text to emphasise key points—important since many people watch videos without sound.
5. Keep it snappy. Edit videos for pacing—hook viewers by including the most interesting visuals or audio in the first 3 seconds and cut out any unnecessary content.
6. Add music and effects. Use the built-in music libraries within the social media apps such as Instagram or Facebook to enhance storytelling and really create a vibe.

Writing Captions

While visuals and sounds might be what gets attention, it’s through words that you really get to connect with your viewer and drive them to action. 

Keep these in mind when writing your captions:

1. Write for your audience. Use their language, address their pain points, and add value.
2. Hook in the first line. The first few words matter most—make them count.
3. Include a call-to-action (CTA). Tell people what to do next—“Read more,” “Click the link,” “Share your thoughts!”
4. Keep it simple. Use short sentences, bullet points, and emojis sparingly to break up text.
5. Optimise for SEO. Include relevant keywords if you’re writing for platforms like LinkedIn or blogs.

Step 5: What Comes After Posting? 

So you’ve posted content. Now what?

Here’s what you should be doing next. 

1. Interacting with the people who engaged with your content. Did people leave a comment or message you because of your post? Time to reply! Make sure to use a friendly, professional tone when you do. 
2. Observe how your posts performed. Review metrics such as engagement rate, reach, clicks, and conversions. Meta Business Suite and LinkedIn gives you easy access to your engagement information. 
3. Figure out what works. Identify your top-performing posts and do more of the same.
4. Stay on top of trends. Social media is constantly changing, so make sure you keep up with the times! Follow successful brands and others in your industry and pay attention to what they’re doing right. 

Social Media Management: Putting It All Together

Feeling overwhelmed? We understand.

Social media is a constantly-evolving world with a lot of moving parts, so it’s easy to feel lost when you dive into it at first. 

The main thing to keep in mind is to create authentic content that resonates with your audience. What does your audience need? What would they like to see? 

Of course, we also understand if you ultimately feel that social media isn’t your wheelhouse, and would rather concentrate on running your business instead of investing time into figuring this out. 

That’s why our expert team will be more than happy to do the job for you! We’ll create engaging, on-brand content that truly connects with the people you want to serve. 

Want to get that conversation going? Leave a message here or call us at 1300 168 311!