Tips for managing large enterprise social networks

If you have just discovered the challenges of managing the social networks of a large company: welcome to our world.

It is very difficult to maintain a uniform presence in the social networks of a large-scale organization. That's why in this article we're going to give you 5 tips so that you don't get shipwrecked in the attempt to furrow online with a transatlantic.

1.- Be consistent

Managing social networks of a complex company, full of departments, is not easy. The more divisions, bosses, and people to serve, the more confusion and frustration it can generate.

That's why if there's no coherent plan for publications, you'll end up sending messages on different topics, redundant publications and aimed at a confused audience.

You simply have to think that one person is not capable of managing a complex company with a multitude of departments, even with several brands or products. Everything must be coherent and have its own space, defining the times and the people who must take charge. The best thing is to form a human team that is capable of seeing each content separately and contributing to its grain of sand to the project.

The more solid your organization and your team are, the more consistent the content will be.

2.- Lead the way

Just as most large companies have a CEO who leads their organization, your social media management team must have a person who is capable of leading and making decisions quickly and safely.

If you are the leader, you must take control of the account in all areas, but delegating day-to-day management to your team. In order to do this, you must perfectly internalize the message and policy of the company you manage, to the point of being able to speak on its behalf.

You must choose well who you delegate to and not saturate your team members, as you must treat them all as if they were your "right hand". Each in their own particular area of work but with different goals and objectives.

You will have to be able to organize and review all their work, but little by little they will have to go their own way.

3.- Take inventory

When you land in a big company, there's usually a little initial chaos. In most cases, it is due to mismanagement of the social network prior to your landing.

Surely in its day, those networks passed through several hands that decided that it was not enough to have a global Twitter account and created several other departments. Years later there is a jumble of accounts lost by Twitter and Facebook, which nobody updates and which are giving a very poor image of the company.

So in the face of this, the best thing to do is to make an inventory of social networks.

Contact all the departments of the company and ask for the networks they may have. It's very possible that there are accounts in networks that the current employees don't even know about. They were created by people who no longer work there, by other extinct departments or by people outside the company.

It is also necessary to search the search engines to locate abandoned websites or orphaned social profiles. This search can also help us to find unofficial sites of the company or brand that may be supplanting that corporate identity.

The normal thing after that search is that you realize that there are too many social networking sites, many unnecessary channels or websites (or that serve for the same) and many admirers who speak on behalf of the company but are not part of it.

It is necessary to pay special attention to these last ones since they can be sending messages in social networks totally opposite to the values that the company wants to transmit. And it is not easy to solve this problem. Most of the time, the users who have created these profiles understand the situation and agree to delete the account. But other times it will be impossible for you to contact the account creator, and you will have to ask that network to help you, presenting documents or contact points to verify that you are the authorized manager of that company. Patience, in this case, is your greatest ally.

Some specific social networks are more effective than others in reaching your audience. Therefore, if your audience is not in that network, you do not need it.

Redes sociales específicas de cada producto de Adobe

4.- Educate your team

A weekly email to your entire team to update them is not enough for everyone to follow you along the way. You have to be closer and talk to them face-to-face. But nowadays, you don't need a "physical" face-to-face anymore, since tools like Slack or Google Hangouts allow you to have that face-to-face at any time.

Everyone is welcome to these meetings. Everyone has something to contribute. The more ideas the better. Collaborative work is fundamental in social media as not everyone understands them in the same way.

As the road is long and always changing, make the team meetings that are necessary so that you are all in the same tune. Long meetings can be very boring and unproductive, so micromeetings can be more practical.

Your entire team should understand the purpose of the big business in social networks just as you do, they should be clear about the target audience, the style guide, the editorial calendar, the individual tasks of each, the resources they have and the expected results of their work.

If you don't have a style guide, a target audience report or a crisis plan: IT IS TIME TO DO IT. It's the only way for you and your team to be a well-oiled machine and above all, you'll be able to be autonomous and notice very little of a team member's absences.

Before meeting with your team, prepare a document on the topics to be discussed and ask them to read it first. This way during the meeting you will be able to go deeper into the most complex topics and resolve doubts more quickly. If you all follow the same line, no one will get lost.

Finally, the organization of the content will save you valuable time. Teach your team to store and sort all the material they have in a well-structured cloud, so that anyone can find what they need without asking their partner. Organize publications under an editorial calendar agreed upon by the entire team. If a person needs another person to do their part, it should be planned with enough time. And of course, it uses a publication programming and validation tool. Let everything that is going to be published go through several eyes before it reaches the social networks. That way you will avoid tragedies.

5.-  The company is also part of this

Constantly inform your client about your team's social networking efforts to generate enthusiasm for new initiatives. Let them know about the goals and objectives, and encourage them to participate by sharing and commenting on updates.

Getting people in the company to interact with social network accounts is a very effective way to amplify their content. Never abandon that possibility.

Ask them for suggestions for gathering information and for everyone to know that they are part of social networking efforts and work. A big part of your success depends on the degree to which you get your client involved. Their opinion always counts, and you should be aware that the company is one thing and the interlocutor is another.

Now you have everything you need to face this journey through the ocean of social networks of large companies. The initial chaos will be a ladder to reach your goal of being able to dominate the situation. A good team and a good coordination policy will be your lifeline in the face of a possible shipwreck.

Main photo: Robert Horvick