Social Strategy
Managing social media effectively requires a clear strategy, consistent content, and regular engagement. Start by defining your business goals and identifying your target audience. Create a content calendar to organize posts across relevant platforms. Use scheduling and analytics tools to save time, monitor performance, and measure results. Respond to comments and messages, maintain your brand voice, and continuously adjust your strategy based on audience engagement and performance.
- By Mike Purvis Co-founder of NH Strategic Marketing
- August 3, 2021
- August 25, 2026
Get More Out Of Your Social Media Efforts
Somewhere between an ignored comment and a third week without a signle post, most small business owners start to wonder: is social media even worth the time? We hear a version of that question from most of our clients.
Honeslty, social media pays off when it gets a plan and steady attention, the same as any other part of running the business. This guide covers how to manage social media accounts to achieve your sales goals and more.
Social media has quickly become one of the most crucial parts of any marketing strategy. With over 79% of the US adult population using some form of social media daily, getting your business to show up prominently on social media can have a huge impact on your business.
While many businesses take an “all or nothing” approach, or look at social media as a burden, social media is a great and fun way to connect with your customers and stay top of mind.
Our team runs social media marketing for small businesses across a range of industries from our home base in New Hampshire, and the steps below are the strategies and tips coming from an experienced digital marketing agency. So, be sure to read the complete guide.
How To Manage Social Media? The Quick Version
- Choose one or two platforms where your customers already spend time.
- Put together a simple content calendar and post two to five times a week.
- Use only three to five relevant hashtags per post as stacking in thirty tags is outdated advice.
- Reply to comments, messages, and reviews within about a day.
- Mix in short video. It consistently gets more social media engagement than a static photo.
- Check the follower growth, engagement rate, and clicks back to your website on a monthly basis.
What Social Media Management Covers
Social media management, in practice, is a plan to create and publish content people want to see, and a system for answering back on comments.
When people ask us how to manage social media for a business that has never had a real strategy behind it, we break that phrase into pieces, because most owners have seen the posting part and nothing else.
- Strategy: know who you are trying to reach and why.
- Content: photos, video, and captions that sound like your business.
- Engagement: reply to comments, messages, and reviews as they come in.
- Paid promotion: boost the good-performing posts via social media advertising to generate more engagement.
- Reporting: check what grew, what fell flat, and why.
9 Ways To Manage Social Media The Right Way (Step-by-Step)
1. Get Clear On Your Goals Before You Post Anything
Before picking a platform, decide what you want to achieve through social. Brand awareness, phone calls, foot traffic, and online sales are different goals, and they call for different content and platforms. A contractor chasing phone calls needs a different approach than a boutique chasing online sales.
This step gets skipped more than any other, and it shows. A business posting without a goal tends to post whatever feels easiest that week, which usually stops the first time things get busy. Tie your social media plan to the same goals driving the rest of your marketing, including how leads move through your marketing funnel, so a follower on Instagram has somewhere real to go.
2. Pick The Right Platforms For Your Business
The first question that every business owner should ask themselves when deciding on social media is “which platform is right for my business?” This is because not every platform is right for every business model and if you try to do them all, you’ll likely find yourself overwhelmed.
First, let’s identify the main platforms in use today. They are: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and TikTok.
While each of these platforms has a lot to offer businesses that use them, not all businesses should use every platform. For example, as a digital marketing agency, Pinterest doesn’t really fit with our social media marketing strategy.
However we’re quite active on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn because that’s where our target audience spends their time. If you run an ecommerce business, Pinterest makes a lot of sense for your marketing strategy.
The point here is that you should go on every platform just because you feel like you have to. If you’re stuck trying to decide which platforms to choose, take a look at your competitors and see which platforms they’re using.
| Platform | Works well for | Consider skipping if |
|---|---|---|
| Local services, community management, reviews. | Your audience skews under 25. | |
| Visual products, restaurants, retail. | You have limited visual content to show. | |
| B2B, professional services, hiring. | Consumer, low-price products. | |
| TikTok | Younger audience, behind-the-scenes content. | No one on your team wants to be on camera. |
| E-commerce, home, food, design. | Service-based local businesses. |
3. Build a Social Media Content Calendar
A content calendar is an important part for building an effective social media marketing strategy. It helps you stay organized and consistent even when you feel like “I will post it tomorrow”. Honestly, social media post design and carousels are a hectic task, so if you already have a content calendar, you can add new posts in that daily or when you have time. I would recommend to at least have 14 days of posts always ready in the calendar.
You can also post based on your offers, slow season, a finished project, a seasonal push, or even to increase social media presence.
You should keep updating the spreadsheet with content ideas so you are pulling from a bank of options rather than starting from scratch when it is time to post. A spreadsheet works fine to start. List the platform, workflows, the post type, and a rough date, then fill it in as content comes together.
4. Find The Best Social Media Management Tool (If Necessary)
There are a lot of great options for social media tools and dashboards for business. If you’re considering using an effective social media tool to help you manage your social network and schedule posts, it’s important to choose the right one.
While many people turn to platforms such as Hootsuite and Later, there are a lot of great tools out there that offer different features that are useful to business. In addition, some of the features that these services offer, may only be available on specific platforms, so be sure to do your research prior to purchasing any plans.
It’s also a good idea to ask about a trial run and see if the service will allow you a short trial period to test out their system and make sure that it’s a good fit for your business.
If you’re looking to work mostly on Facebook or LinkedIn, they have a lot of great schedule tools that may make it so that you don’t need a new program, but it’s going to depend on your business and what you’re trying to achieve
I know you might think of using AI to create your posts. It’s efficient, but there are some drawbacks. Most of the platforms now have AI features that can help with drafting captions or suggesting post times, and they can save time on a first draft. However, you must keep a person reviewing anything before it goes out, since content that reads as AI-written tends to land worse with an audience, as 52 percent of consumers report feeling less engaged when they suspect content came from AI, with a quarter saying it makes a brand feel impersonal.
5. Invest in Templates, Photos, and Videos That Represent Your Business
Cameras and photo quality have improved immensely over the last few years, and this means that consumers have higher expectations for images that they’re seeing online from businesses. This means that if you want to capture the attention of your prospects, it’s important that you post quality images.
Even better than using your cell phone to take pictures is having a professional take your photos. While this may not be an option for all of your posts, having a library of images to choose from for some posts will help you with planning, scheduling, and creating further down the road. And it gives you something better than a stock photo, which now rarely perform.
Regarding videos, they deserve a little more attention here. Short-form video under 60 seconds is the format audiences respond to most across nearly all major platforms, and it delivers a stronger return than any other video length, according to Sprout Social.
Pro Tip: Professionally shot videos have a higher conversion rate than cellphone videos.
If you’re looking to create graphics to post on social media, or if you’re looking for a basic photo editing software, Canva is a great tool that allows you to create professional images and graphics for your business even if you aren’t necessarily the best at graphic design.
If you’re looking to create graphics to post on social media, or if you’re looking for a basic photo editing software, Canva is a great tool that allows you to create professional images and graphics for your business even if you aren’t necessarily the best at graphic design.
6. Create Your List Of Hashtags Relevant to Your Business
Each platform has a different set of rules when it comes to hashtags, but the general idea remains the same.
When you’re choosing hashtags for your business, they should be a combination of three categories: location based hashtags (#NH, #NewHampshire), some branded hashtags (#NHStrategicMarketing, #NHSM), and some hashtags that are relevant to the post (#digitalmarketing, #onlinemarketing).
The three main platforms for hashtags are Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). Here are a few rules and guidelines to keep in mind when choosing hashtags for each of these platforms:
This platform allows for up to 30 hashtags per post, however their “recommended” number is always changing. Be sure to use a combination of all three types when you’re posting to Instagram.
Pro Tip: Instagram’s algorithm penalizes users that consistently use the same hashtags repeatedly, so be sure to mix up your hashtag usage when posting.
X
X (formerly Twitter) doesn’t have a hashtag limit, but they have a character limit. Use as many relevant hashtags as you can when posting on this platform. It’s also a great idea to pay attention to the “trending” hashtags both regionally and globally to see if any apply to your business.
Facebook doesn’t have a limit on the number of hashtags you can use, but 3-5 is generally a good number.
7. Be Consistent And Post Content Often
Far too often, businesses don’t post often enough on their social media channels, which makes users question their legitimacy when they finally check out the business’s page.
Every business that is on Facebook should be posting at least once a week. Ideally, businesses should post 3-5 times a week. It’s also important to stay away from non-business related topics such as current events as this may make customers think twice about working with your business.
Posting often does a few things for your business: it keeps your customers engaged and keeps you in the front of their minds; it helps Facebook know that you’re active and legitimate; and it builds trust with new customers.
If you’re spending money on Facebook Ads for your small business and not posting at least once a week on Facebook, you’re throwing money down the drain. This is because users often click over to the profile of the page posting the ad. If they see that there’s been no activity, it’s likely that they’ll question the legitimacy of the business.
It’s a good idea to keep a list, whether that’s a spreadsheet or a Word document that has all of the relevant hashtags. That way, you don’t have to come up with them on the spot, every time you post.
8. Respond to Comments, Inbox Messages, and Reviews
Businesses that aren’t responding to messages, comments, and reviews that they’re receiving are losing customers. This is because actively engaging with your customers helps to build trust with them and helps them see that you are, in fact, a legitimate business.
Additionally, if someone asks a question, and you choose to ignore it, you’re likely going to continue seeing the same question, and then, if you ignore those, you’re losing customers.
When it comes to messages, Facebook actually tells users if a business is likely to respond to them. If you’re not responding, your customers are likely going to think that you don’t value their business and find another company that will answer their question in a timely manner.
When it comes to reviews, whether on Facebook or Google My Business, it can be easy to read them and move on. When you get a positive review, thank the person for taking time out of their day to leave the kind words, to acknowledge the fact that they did not have to do that for your business. For negative reviews, address the concern in a positive manner and, if appropriate, offer a solution.
A short, professional reply to a bad review often does more for your online reputation than the original complaint does damage, and getting your Google listing in good shape helps that reputation carry further.
Always be professional, kind, and courteous when interacting with guests on any platform. Remember, one bad review or interaction can cause major damage to your reputation.
9. Track The Social Media Analytics That Matter
You do not need to monitor twenty different metrics. Pick a few numbers and review them once a month. Follower growth, engagement rate, likes, comments, and shares are important analytics to track. Website clicks show if your content is turning attention into action. Running ads? Keep an eye on cost per result too.
The free analytics inside Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms are usually enough for a small business. Paid tools can wait.
And try not to check the numbers every morning. One slow Tuesday means very little. Look for patterns across four to six weeks. That is where the useful stuff tends to show up.
Who Should Run Your Social Media Accounts: You, Your Team, or an Agency?
The best person to manage your social media accounts is someone internal who knows your business. This is because they have firsthand knowledge of the business, have access to everything they could need, such as pictures, people, internal resources, and are going to be able to address customer questions quickly and accurately.
Hiring an outside company to run your social media accounts removes the personal touch that users are looking for when they’re checking out businesses that they’re thinking about doing business with.
While having a team run your social media campaigns can improve your advertising efforts, organic posting should always be done by someone internal. This helps to humanize your brand and make you seem “real.”
Best for daily content
You or someone internal is best for daily content.
Firsthand product knowledge, quick answers to customer questions, and a voice that already sounds like the business. Best suited to organic posts, stories, and day-to-day replies.
A freelancer or social media manager is best for extra hands.
A dedicated person for content creation, scheduling, and basic engagement once the business has grown past what one owner can manage alone.
An agency is best for social media strategy.
Platform expertise, paid ad management, and reporting that ties social media back to real business numbers. A strong fit once budget allows for a full strategy.
How To Manage Social Media Marketing On A Tight Budget
There is no single number that works for all businesses, since cost depends on how much you handle yourself versus how much you hand off. A rough range for planning purposes:
| Approach | Typical monthly range | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Handle it yourself | $0, plus your time | Early stage, limited budget |
| Part-time help or a freelancer | $500–$2,000 | Steady posting needed, budget is tight |
| Agency-managed strategy | $1,000–$5,000+ | Ready to add paid ads and reporting |
For a fuller picture of how social media spend fits inside a full marketing budget, our guide on how much a small business should spend on marketing walks through the numbers by revenue and growth stage.
If budget is the main hold-up, start with the cheapest lever available: consistency and quality content from inside the business. Add paid promotion once organic posts show you what resonates. That is often a smarter order than putting budget behind ads before the account itself is worth clicking on.
Social media rarely works alone. It tends to perform best next to the rest of a marketing plan: a website that turns visitors into customers, local search visibility, and paid traffic working in the same direction.
Pairing paid ads with local SEO compounds results faster than a social media strategy running on its own. And if most of your social traffic lands on a site that loads slowly or looks dated, checking if your website is doing its job before sending more traffic its way is worth the hour it takes.
Signs Your Social Media Management Strategy is Working
Vanity numbers such as follower count feel good, but they do not tell the whole story on their own. Here is what tends to show up in accounts doing well.
- Comments and shares come from people who look like real potential customers.
- Your reviews, on Google and social, trend positive more often than not.
- New customers mention seeing you online before they called.
- Engagement rate holds steady or climbs even as follower count grows.
- You can point to specific posts that led to a call, a booking, or a sale.
- Answering messages and comments feels manageable, not a constant backlog.
Visibility today reaches beyond a social feed and a search results page too. Customers increasingly ask AI tools for a recommendation before opening Google at all, which is part of why our team started tracking AI Search Visibility for clients alongside their social media results.
FAQs: How To Manage Social Media For Your Business
Q: How much time does it take to manage social media for a small business?
Plan on three to five hours a week for a single platform: content creation, posting, and replying to comments and messages. Running two or three platforms with paid ads on top often turns into a part-time role, which is why many small businesses eventually hand some of it to a freelancer or agency.
Q: How often should a small business do social media posting?
Aim for a minimum of twice a week, with three to five posts a week as a stronger target once a routine is in place. Consistency matters more than volume. A steady two posts a week beats a burst of ten posts followed by a month of silence.
Q: Which social media platform is best for a small business?
It depends on where your customers spend time and what you sell. Facebook and Instagram cover most local, consumer-facing businesses well. LinkedIn suits business-to-business companies. Visual products tend to do well on Instagram and Pinterest. Pick based on your audience and industry rather than what feels trendy.
Q: What is the best time to post on social media?
This shifts by platform and audience, so check your own account analytics rather than relying on a generic chart. As a starting point, late morning through early afternoon on weekdays performs reasonably well for most local businesses, then adjust based on when your engagement shows up in the data.
Q: Is it fine to use AI to help with social media content?
AI tools can speed up a first draft of a caption or suggest post ideas. A person should still review and personalize anything before it goes live, since audiences respond less to content that reads as AI-generated, and it can cost a business some of the trust that took time to build.
Q: Should a small business manage multiple social media accounts?
No. Trying to maintain multiple accounts at once tends to spread content thin, and quality drops. Most small businesses do better picking one or two accounts and doing them well rather than posting weak content across five.
NH Strategic Marketing’s team of Facebook Advertising gurus are here to help. Whether you’re just starting out with Facebook Ads, or you’ve been running them for a while and just need a fresh perspective, we’re here to help. Book a time to chat with a member of our team today.