What Does Social Media Management Include?
Social media management can involve much more than simply publishing posts.
Depending on the provider and the needs of the business, it may include strategy, profile management, content planning, copywriting, graphic design, video, scheduling, community management, analytics, reporting and ongoing optimisation.
Some businesses only require help maintaining a consistent presence on one or two platforms.
Others may need broader support across several social networks, including content production, audience engagement and paid advertising.
Understanding what social media management can include makes it easier to compare providers and determine which services your business actually needs.
For a broader overview of available services, explore our Social Media Management page.
What Is Social Media Management?
Social media management is the process of planning, creating, publishing, monitoring and improving a business’s activity across social media platforms.
This may include platforms such as:
- TikTok
- YouTube
The exact platforms used depend on the business, its audience and its marketing objectives.
A provider may manage one platform or coordinate activity across several.
Social media management can also involve communication between the business and its audience through comments, messages and other interactions.
What Does A Social Media Manager Actually Do?
The responsibilities of a social media manager can vary considerably.
Typical activities may include:
- Reviewing existing social accounts
- Developing social media strategy
- Planning content
- Writing captions
- Designing graphics
- Editing videos
- Scheduling posts
- Publishing content
- Managing content calendars
- Monitoring comments
- Responding to basic messages
- Tracking performance
- Preparing reports
- Reviewing competitors
- Supporting campaigns
- Coordinating paid social advertising
- Testing different content approaches
- Making ongoing improvements
Some providers handle almost every part of the process.
Others specialise in particular areas such as content creation, strategy, paid social advertising or community management.
Social Media Strategy
Effective social media management usually begins with understanding what the business is trying to achieve.
A social media strategy may consider:
- Business objectives
- Target audience
- Platforms
- Competitors
- Brand positioning
- Tone of voice
- Content themes
- Content formats
- Posting frequency
- Organic content
- Paid advertising
- Calls to action
- Campaigns
- Performance measurement
The objective should not simply be to post frequently.
Social media activity should ideally support broader business objectives.
These may include:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Generating enquiries
- Driving website traffic
- Promoting products
- Supporting sales
- Promoting events
- Reaching new audiences
- Building a community
- Supporting customer communication
- Strengthening brand credibility
Different businesses may therefore require very different social media strategies.
Social Media Account Setup
New businesses may require help setting up their social media profiles correctly.
This may involve:
- Creating business accounts
- Selecting usernames
- Uploading profile images
- Uploading cover images
- Adding business descriptions
- Adding contact information
- Adding website links
- Choosing business categories
- Configuring account settings
- Connecting advertising accounts
- Assigning account permissions
Correct setup can make ongoing management easier and help ensure important business information is available to visitors.
Social Media Profile Optimisation
Existing social profiles may also require improvement.
A provider might review:
- Business descriptions
- Contact information
- Website links
- Profile images
- Cover images
- Calls to action
- Branding consistency
- Pinned content
- Highlight sections
- Business categories
- Location information
Profiles should clearly communicate what the business offers and make it easy for prospective customers to take the next step.
Content Planning
Content planning helps create a more organised approach to social media.
A content calendar may include:
- Topics
- Platforms
- Posting dates
- Content formats
- Products
- Services
- Promotions
- Events
- Educational content
- Testimonials
- Case studies
- Seasonal campaigns
- Calls to action
Planning ahead can also help businesses coordinate social media with broader marketing activity.
For example, social content may support:
- Product launches
- Advertising campaigns
- Website promotions
- Email marketing
- Events
- Seasonal offers
- New services
- Company announcements
The amount of advance planning varies between providers.
Some prepare content monthly, while others work several weeks or months ahead.
Content Creation
Content creation can be one of the largest parts of social media management.
Content may include:
- Static posts
- Branded graphics
- Carousels
- Stories
- Reels
- Short-form videos
- Product posts
- Service posts
- Educational content
- Promotional content
- Testimonials
- Case studies
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Staff content
- Event content
The type of content required depends heavily on the platform and audience.
A LinkedIn strategy may look very different from an Instagram or TikTok strategy.
Businesses should therefore avoid assuming the same content should automatically be duplicated across every platform.
Social Media Copywriting
Most social content requires written copy.
This may include:
- Captions
- Headlines
- Calls to action
- Promotional messages
- Educational copy
- Product descriptions
- Service descriptions
- Campaign messaging
- Hashtags where appropriate
The copy should generally reflect the business’s tone of voice.
A professional-services company may communicate differently from a hospitality brand, retailer or entertainment business.
Social media management may therefore involve learning how the business communicates before ongoing content is produced.
Graphic Design
Many social media managers also create or coordinate graphic content.
This can include:
- Branded post templates
- Promotional graphics
- Carousels
- Quote graphics
- Infographics
- Story graphics
- Event promotions
- Product graphics
- Campaign artwork
Where a business already has brand guidelines, these can help maintain consistency.
Businesses without established brand guidelines may require additional design work before a consistent visual style can be developed.
Photography
Some businesses rely heavily on original photography.
Examples can include:
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- Retailers
- Property businesses
- Fitness businesses
- Tourism operators
- Product brands
- Events
- Personal brands
Social media management does not automatically mean photography is included.
A provider may use:
- Client-supplied images
- Professional photography
- Stock photography
- Smartphone content
- Existing brand assets
If original photography is required, check whether this is included in the management service or charged separately.
Video And Short-Form Content
Video has become an important content format across many social platforms.
Social media management may involve:
- Reels
- TikTok videos
- Short-form educational videos
- Product demonstrations
- Behind-the-scenes clips
- Customer stories
- Event videos
- Promotional videos
- Video editing
- Subtitles
- Basic animation
However, video production can require significantly more work than a static post.
Check whether the provider:
- Records the video
- Edits supplied footage
- Writes scripts
- Creates captions
- Adds graphics
- Adds subtitles
- Sources music
- Publishes the final content
The responsibilities should be clearly defined.
Scheduling And Publishing
Once content has been prepared and approved, it may need to be scheduled or published.
Management can include:
- Selecting publishing dates
- Choosing publishing times
- Uploading content
- Formatting posts
- Adding captions
- Adding links
- Adding hashtags where appropriate
- Tagging relevant accounts
- Scheduling posts
- Publishing manually where required
Scheduling can help maintain consistency, but the publishing schedule should still reflect the audience and content strategy.
Posting simply to meet a predetermined quantity does not necessarily improve results.
Content Approval
Many businesses want to approve content before it is published.
A social media management process may therefore include:
- Monthly content calendars
- Draft captions
- Draft graphics
- Client feedback
- Revision rounds
- Final approval
- Scheduled publishing
The approval process should be clear.
Businesses should know:
- When content will be supplied
- How feedback should be provided
- How many revisions are included
- When approval is required
- What happens if approval is delayed
A clear process can reduce delays and unnecessary back-and-forth.
Community Management
Community management involves interacting with people who engage with the business.
This can include:
- Monitoring comments
- Responding to comments
- Responding to basic messages
- Monitoring mentions
- Answering common questions
- Escalating enquiries
- Identifying complaints
- Monitoring customer sentiment
The level of community management can vary significantly.
A provider may answer basic questions but refer detailed sales, technical or customer-service enquiries back to the business.
The business should therefore clarify what the social media manager is authorised to respond to.
Reputation And Comment Monitoring
Social media can also involve monitoring conversations about a business.
This may include:
- Comments
- Reviews
- Tags
- Mentions
- Direct messages
- Customer complaints
- Questions
- Public feedback
Providers may alert the business when an issue requires direct attention.
Businesses with high volumes of customer enquiries may require more intensive community management than businesses using social media mainly for brand awareness.
Social Media Advertising
Paid advertising may form part of social media management, but it is often treated as a separate service.
Advertising management can include:
- Campaign planning
- Audience targeting
- Campaign setup
- Ad creative
- Ad copy
- Budget management
- Conversion tracking
- Testing
- Optimisation
- Retargeting
- Reporting
Platforms can include:
- TikTok
- YouTube
Advertising spend paid directly to the platform is normally separate from the provider’s management fee.
For more information, see our guide to Organic Social Media vs Paid Social Advertising.
Competitor Monitoring
Social media managers may also review competitor activity.
This can help identify:
- Content themes
- Platform activity
- Promotions
- Content formats
- Audience engagement
- Market positioning
- Campaign ideas
- Industry trends
The objective is not simply to copy competitors.
Competitor research can help provide context and identify potential opportunities that may be relevant to the business.
Social Media Analytics
Performance data can help determine how content and campaigns are performing.
Metrics may include:
- Reach
- Impressions
- Engagement
- Engagement rate
- Followers
- Video views
- Website clicks
- Enquiries
- Leads
- Sales
- Bookings
- Conversion rates
- Advertising costs
- Cost per lead
The most useful metrics depend on the objectives of the business.
A campaign designed to generate enquiries should not necessarily be judged using the same measures as a campaign designed primarily to increase awareness.
Social Media Reporting
Providers may prepare regular reports showing what has happened during the reporting period.
Reports can include:
- Content published
- Reach
- Impressions
- Engagement
- Audience growth
- Website traffic
- Enquiries
- Campaign performance
- Advertising performance
- Best-performing content
- Areas requiring improvement
- Planned activity
Reporting should ideally explain what the figures mean rather than simply presenting large quantities of data.
Ongoing Optimisation
Social media management is not necessarily a fixed process.
Providers may adjust the strategy based on:
- Content performance
- Audience engagement
- Campaign results
- Platform changes
- Business priorities
- Customer feedback
- Seasonal activity
- New products or services
This can include testing:
- Different topics
- Different formats
- Different publishing times
- Different calls to action
- Different creative approaches
- Different audiences
The objective is to use available information to continually improve the approach.
What Is Usually Not Included In Social Media Management?
It is important to understand that social media management does not automatically include every marketing activity connected to social media.
Services that may be separate can include:
- Professional photography
- Full video production
- Influencer fees
- Advertising spend
- Website development
- Landing-page development
- Branding
- Logo design
- Customer-service teams
- Sales follow-up
- Complex graphic design
- Large advertising campaigns
Different providers structure their services differently.
Always check the scope before assuming a particular activity is included.
Social Media Management vs Content Creation
Social media management and content creation overlap, but they are not exactly the same.
Content creation focuses on producing material such as:
- Graphics
- Captions
- Photos
- Videos
- Reels
- Carousels
Social media management can include content creation but may also involve:
- Strategy
- Scheduling
- Publishing
- Community management
- Reporting
- Analytics
- Optimisation
A business may therefore hire someone specifically to create content while managing publishing and engagement internally.
Alternatively, a provider may handle the entire process.
Social Media Management vs Social Media Marketing
The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they can describe slightly different scopes.
Social media management generally focuses on maintaining and managing the business’s social presence.
Social media marketing may include broader activities designed specifically to achieve marketing objectives, such as:
- Lead generation
- Advertising
- Campaigns
- Promotions
- Conversion strategies
- Audience acquisition
In practice, many providers combine elements of both.
The important point is to understand exactly what each provider is offering.
How Much Social Media Management Does Your Business Need?
There is no universal level of management suitable for every business.
Requirements may depend on:
- Number of platforms
- Posting frequency
- Content formats
- Audience size
- Community activity
- Content-production requirements
- Advertising activity
- Business objectives
- Internal resources
- Budget
A small local business may only need several well-planned posts each month.
A larger brand may require daily content, video, community management and advertising across several platforms.
The appropriate scope should be based on the business rather than the largest available package.
Questions To Ask A Social Media Management Provider
Before choosing a provider, ask:
- Which platforms will you manage?
- What does the service include?
- How many posts will be created?
- Who develops the strategy?
- Who writes the content?
- Who creates the graphics?
- Is photography included?
- Is video included?
- Who schedules and publishes content?
- Is community management included?
- Will you respond to messages?
- Is paid advertising included?
- How will content be approved?
- How many revisions are included?
- How is performance measured?
- How often are reports provided?
- Are there additional costs?
- Is there a minimum contract?
- Who owns the content?
- What access will you require?
These questions can make it easier to compare providers based on the actual service rather than price alone.
Compare Social Media Management Services
Social media management can include strategy, content creation, publishing, community management, advertising, analytics, reporting and ongoing improvement.
The exact combination depends on the provider and the needs of the business.
Before choosing a service, clarify which platforms are covered, what content will be created, who is responsible for each activity and how performance will be measured.
Compare Digital Services helps Australian businesses explore professional digital service providers and request quotes based on their requirements.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Social Media Management
What Does Social Media Management Usually Include?
Social media management may include strategy, content planning, content creation, copywriting, graphic design, scheduling, publishing, community management, analytics, reporting and ongoing optimisation.
Does Social Media Management Include Content Creation?
It often does, but this varies between providers. Check whether copywriting, graphics, photography, video and other content formats are included.
Does Social Media Management Include Posting?
Most management services include scheduling and publishing, but you should confirm which platforms and how many posts are covered.
Does Social Media Management Include Replying To Comments And Messages?
Some services include community management while others do not. Ask exactly what types of comments, messages and enquiries the provider will handle.
Is Paid Social Advertising Included?
Not necessarily. Organic social media management and paid advertising are often separate services. Check whether campaign management and advertising spend are included.
Do Social Media Managers Create Videos?
Some do, while others only edit supplied footage or charge separately for video production. Clarify the level of video work included.
How Often Should A Social Media Manager Post?
There is no universal posting frequency. The appropriate schedule depends on the platform, audience, content resources, business objectives and budget.
How Do I Compare Social Media Management Providers?
Compare the platforms managed, strategy, content creation, publishing, community management, reporting, communication, pricing and contract terms rather than comparing price alone.
