A couple of months back I was invited to become a partner of a social media management tool. After brief reflection I declined in part because I didn’t want to be hobbled in the independent advice I give.
Are social media management tools a good idea? For me, maybe. But never always. There are some tough questions to ask first before you sit through the sales pitch and commit to the dotted line.
Q: Will posting from your social media management tool inhibit my reach?
At a time when algorithms are making life hard it’s important to squeeze every ounce of advantage. Back in 2011 Meta confirmed that third party tools would harm social media reach. However, the picture today is far less clear. You can find posts from several social media management tools assuring people that’s not the case anymore. But there is a real lack of independent academic research in this area. A trawl of Google Scholar which searches academic papers draws a blank.
Q: Will the social media management tool have access to all of the new tools and functionality the platform develops?
Famously, Facebook as a platform is in permanent Beta. This is a geek way of saying that it is never ever finished. It will always evolve. New tools are constantly emerging. Some are tested in a handful of key territories, refined, rolled out or dropped.
There’s no realistic way that every tool is passported through to every social media management platform. After a successful trial Meta, X, Google or whoever are likely to attach a price tag on the latest must-have tool. Meta’s social media tool Business Manager on Meta doesn’t have every available tool so why would third parties?
This is a key question because platforms want new tools to work. Therefore, using new tools is often likely to be rewarded. Posting natively using them is likely to have the advantage.
Q: Will the social media management tool monitor who is posting from the account?
This is something the tool can usually do well. An integration with the platform means that certain people can post and some can’t. When those people can post they leave a trail behind them. You can see who did it. This can be useful. Business Manager on Meta can also grant and restrict access centrally to Meta tools. LinkedIn as a similar approach. It may be worth comparing and contrasting what the social media management tool can do against what is freely available. Is this valuable to you?
Q: Does the social media management tool have AI skills?
This is a new front in the battle. Many platforms say they use AI to help you write content. Whether or not using AI to create content is a good idea is one for you to reflect on. The research would urge you not to blindly rely on it. A clumsily-written post can undo plenty of hard work. However, using AI to create content can make the most of limited time so long as checks and balances are in place. Dilemma time.
If you are in the public sector the issue of trust and AI is very much one you need to be aware of. Scottish Government have taken the lead by requiring every public sector organisation to register how they are using AI. So, north of the border, for transparency if you are using AI tools on social media you need to declare it.
Q: Will the social media management tool evaluate everything?
Often, social media management tools are really good at producing a report on demand with pie charts, numbers and other useful things. There’s no doubt these can look visually attractive. But are they the complete answer? For me, they’re part of the journey. Clicks, reach and numbers are useful as a broad metric. They can help you refine and learn from content. But will it tell you how many clicked on the job ad? How many ended up applying and how many are still engaged in the process? No. You need HR for that. Their data is the acid test as to whether or not your recruitment campaign is a success. There is no substitute for this.
In football terms, looking at individual metric data alone will tell you how far the player ran and how many passes were completed. It won’t tell you the final score. That’s the bigger picture.
Q: Will the social media management tool encourage corner cutting?
One thing I’ve learned from the last few years closely researching algorithms and effectiveness is that social media is changing and evolving. All social media algorithms penalise links. Why? Because the longer you spend on the platform the more attractive you are to advertisers. Does ITV tell people to go to the BBC mid-way through a peaktime drama? The heck it does.
The most effective content is created bespoke for a specific platform and tells the story on the platform. On Facebook, it can also be posting a link into the comments or on X, formerly Twitter, build a thread of tweets to tell the whole story.
With that in mind, I’ve lost count of the times people guiltily admit to cutting and pasting the same thing just to get the thing out of the door. We’ve all done it. I have in the past.
Posting the same content is also a bad idea. The most I’ve seen is 17 identical posts in a 24-hour period. Reader, the algorithm did not reward them. Fewer crafted posts are more effective than repetition.
Q: Can you use the social media platform on a mobile phone?
If you’re out and about and some news breaks can you use your mobile to post an update?
Q: Can you hit pause on the social media platform in an emergency?
Or if a key piece of news happens, can you quickly pause what you are about to send?
Q: How much will the social media management tool cost?
This is a big one.
How much?
If the questions you ask lead to answers you are prepared to pay for then knock yourself out.
But balance the figure you have against the free tools the platforms already provide.
Good luck.