Social Media Management Is Not Review Management

The results of review management are well established: from the positive effects of quick responses to solving staffing issues to improving your SEO

Because of these benefits, many companies decide to pursue social media management-and assume that their social media manager will be taking care of managing reviews.

However, it is likely not in the job description of your social media manager to respond to reviews. And for good reason.

To understand why social media management is not review management, we need to understand the related, but separate spheres of content creation and customer engagement.

Content Creation vs. Customer Engagement

Content Creation

A recent State of Digital Publishing article ( “What is a Content Creator?”) reminds content creators of the breadth of their roles, and their goal of consistent content.

…you’ll want to keep your feed like your own website’s owned and earned channels, i.e. Facebook, with consistent content.

—“What is a Content Creator?” Sarah Stasik, State of Digital Publishing

This demanding role can lead to a long list of interrelated tasks:

• writing skillfully
• mastering your brand’s voice
• managing a massive content calendar
• coordinating with graphic artists and designers
• coordinating with video producers
• getting approval from PR and legal departments
• doing active social listening around other brands
• creating key content connections with your marketing cycle

Phew. That leaves little time for review management.

By creating content, you are striving to amplify your brand for the masses.

Customer Engagement

In the field of customer engagement, responding to reviews is a central task- not an add-on role.

It involves:

• offering the opportunity for customer ratings and feedback through the platform of your choice (i.e. a post-purchase survey)
• resolving direct inquiries (via a website chat bot, or customer service ticketing)
• managing reviews, both positive and negative

Through all three means, a customer engagement specialist will be able to gather data from customer responses to drive innovation in your company and improve the customer experience. In this way, managing reviews is an essential piece of customer engagement.

By engaging customers, you are managing your brand’s reputation through one-on-one conversations, which happen publicly or privately.

Who Should Manage Reviews?

When someone leaves a review on a social media platform or elsewhere online, it needs to be responded to timely and effectively. However, many companies will give this role to a content creator, like a social media manager, instead of a customer engagement specialist.

A social media manager should focus on content creation, and a customer engagement specialist should manage reviews.

Many businesses can’t afford to hire a customer engagement specialist, let alone an entire team. Therefore, partnering with a team of customer engagement experts becomes a necessity.

Originally published at https://www.letusrespond.com on September 7, 2021.