Now most corporates are using social media strategically for their business, a “rock star” social media team has become essential for its success. This team of digital natives are the social media advocates in the organization and drive social media internally and externally. In this article you can find the ingredients of a successful social media team for your cleantech business.

Key roles

A social media team consists of different specialties and is run by a social media manager. This team of digital natives are the social media advocates in the organization and drive social media and all of it facets. Besides the human part of the team, technology is equally important. Without the proper tools it is simply impossible to create and manage successful online communities. In large corporate structures there will be multiple social media teams. These can be organized by country or by business label. On top there is a social media director or Head of Social who is overall responsible for the corporates social media strategy and drives the social media teams.

Social Media Director

The Social Media Director is the most important role in any organization with a presence on social media. This person is a visionary leader and makes a huge difference to your cleantech brand. The director has various roles and duties, but the main responsibilities include being the social spokesperson for the brand, internally and externally. The director advocates social media and makes sure its front and center in the organization. He shows the benefits of social for the organization while leading on innovative initiatives. He should also be found at events and seminars showing off the great things your brand is doing in social media. If you’re a large corporate, the Social Media Director is a global position, overseeing all of your cleantech brand’s social media activities and long-term strategic vision.

Unfortunately not all organizations have a Social Media Director. Some brands are satisfied with just a social media team, without having a director who acts as a leader. However, looking at brands that have successfully embraced social and digital transformation, all have one thing in common: a leader who advocates social media. Their title may vary from Social Media Director to Head of Social or Chief Social Officer, but they all have that person who acts as a Social Captain for their brand.

Brands with a social leader aren’t satisfied with the usual or the ordinary

The effects and benefits of having such a visionary leader in social are invaluable, and they can make a huge difference to the success of your brand. Brands with a social leader aren’t satisfied with the usual or the ordinary; they fully understand that having a social media team does not necessarily make the brand social; they invest in social: time, money, effort, staff, tools and innovation.

The Social Media team

Social media manager

The social media manager runs the social media team. In smaller organizations, this persons runs social for your brand while in large corporates, this person is responsible for one of the social media teams. He is responsible for social media strategy for his branche and the implementation of these strategies into day-to-day operations. The social media manager builds and leads the social media team and acts as internal social media strategists.

Content marketer

The content marketer is responsible for the content of your brand in social media. He runs the content calendars in consultation with the brands marketing team and creates engaging posts. He also creates the visual assets to accompany posts on social media and social media campaigns like images, blogs and videos. Social media teams in smaller organizations commonly rely on external agencies for this instead of keeping this key role in-house. Having an internal designer and writer is incredibly valuable though and makes your team way more flexible and creative.

Community Manager

The community manager is your brands voice on social media. He manages and grows your online community. This involves establishing and nurturing relationships with your community by responding on comments and questions but also actively engaging with your brands influencers and ambassadors. The community manager implements strategies to encourage conversations and engagement, grows your communities and manages your social presence. He will also monitor and participate in relevant online conversations. 

Webcare Agent

Large organizations commonly also have webcare agents as part of the social media team. These agents manage customer care on social media and respond to comments and questions from customer on the company’s customer care channels. While a Community Manager focusses on building and growing communities for your brand, webcare agents solely focus on driving customer service in social media.

Data analyst

The last and often underestimated but key role in a social media team is the social media analyst. The analyst takes care of social insights, reporting and social analytics. He understands the impact of your content and social media activities on other initiatives like sales, marketing and R&D. The analyst creates insights on how you’re performing and suggestions on how to improve your strategies. Nowadays the role of a social analyst overlaps with the role of the traditional web analyst since social and web analytics are closely related. For example, you can see how various social networks contribute to your web traffic, or how better to drive your traffic to and from your social accounts. Social analysts are also in charge of your company’s social listening, so they’ll monitor online mentions and conversations around your brand, products, competitors, and anything else that is relevant, including what’s going on in the industry.

Final thoughts

While not all companies in cleantech or sustainability are big brands, it is always a good practice to make someone in the marketing team responsible for social media. Or to outsource it to an agency that operates the team needed to drive success. Our purpose is to help companies with any budget. Reach out to us, we’re looking forward to discuss how social media can drive your online success.