The Importance of Social Media Management to Organisations
Credit: Air Web Solutions Social media symbolises computer technologies, internet-based that facilitate sharing, dissemination and impartation of information, ideas and thoughts. Numerous social media platforms have cropped up over the years such as Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn. These social media platforms have led to the connectedness of communities through information sharing that has immensely contributed to making the world a digital global village. Social media has revolutionized how organisations—big or small work to the extent of boosting collaborations and innovations in societies through the promotion of organisations’ visibility and digital interactions globally. New techniques have emerged on social media usage over the years and hence the need for social media training on management in order for its full benefits to be realised by organisations. Social media management involves analysing social media audiences and developing a strategy that's tailored to the audience, creating and distributing content for social media profiles, monitoring online conversations, collaborating with influencers, and providing community service. It also includes engaging and interacting with social media users. Online social sites are cost-effective initiatives. It’s free to join social media networks, post content, respond to user comments, and more. Even social media advertising offers a profitable channel for reaching your audience and building an online following. Traditional marketing and advertising can’t match the reach or price of social media. That’s why social media management is a must for organisations and businesses. Social platforms offers organisations a tremendous opportunity to grow and network hence creating more opportunities for themselves. However, It’s a challenge, though, for many organisations, especially small-to-mid sized organisations, to set aside the time and resources for social media management hence the need for social media management training. Under the project “Strengthening Women’s Livelihoods and Magnifying Resilience to COVID-19 Emergency by Promoting Effective Use of Digital Technologies in Uganda (SMILE)” being implemented by Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) in partnership with 20 of its member organisations to promote a conducive digital working environment for her staff and beneficiaries; WOUGNET with support from Association for Progressive Communications (APC) conducted a social media management training to its member organisations in order for them to realise the full benefits of social media and its importance to their day to day operations. This training has led to an increased number of women-led organisations to meaningfully access and use social media for their development and the visibility of their organisations through information sharing and networking. Carol Nyagoma, the Executive Director of Warm Hearts Foundation stated that, “Our lives begin to end when we become silent on things that matter; SPEAK UP!” is one of the very many messages that have been shared on our various social media platforms courtesy of the internet data given to us every month! After being assured of this offer from WOUGNET, Warm Hearts Foundation came up with “Men’s Monday” and “Women’s Wednesday” where we create, post, and share specific messages addressed to different focus groups, across our social media platforms. These messages are mainly purposed to empower different categories of people, especially women whose voices need more amplification as seen in the flyer below. Conclusion Written by Peter Ongom Program Officer, Information Sharing and Networking
Technological advancement has changed almost every sphere of human life in many different dimensions and digital innovations have created a pathway to global development through simplifying business transactions and connecting communities. Organisations can therefore adopt different social media strategies as a means to network, share information, create visibility and carryout fundraising initiatives that eventually leads to their development hence the need for constant social media management trainings.