When you are part of a social media team, whether in a newsroom or for a beloved lifestyle brand, it can often feel like an uphill battle. There aren’t enough hours in the day to both execute everything you feel needs to happen as well as dream up great ideas. How can you stop feeling like you’re drowning and start remembering why you got into this industry in the first place?

Successful publishers on social media result from building a strong social media team!

We at True Anthem are fortunate to have several staff members who have worked across the media industry for established and respected brands in addition to serving our current roster of skilled clients. Here are the five dynamics of social teams that we see translate into a successful presence:

1. They hire with an “additive” mindset.

In social media, you need both generalists and specialists to ensure your team collectively has a massive brain. Everyone on the team should share a common understanding of basic social media best practices, but each should bring something unique.

Maybe that means a member of the team is particularly knowledgeable or skilled in Pinterest strategy, and you can lean on them to raise the rest of the team’s comfort on that platform. Maybe that means a team member has a firm grasp of social creative, and you can lean on them for interfacing with the design team. The idea is that each person is adding to the overall team’s knowledge.

This mindset also simplifies hiring any backfill positions or new headcount because you know exactly what type of skills you need to replace or what strategy opportunity needs coverage. Successful social teams function like an ensemble cast of a hit TV show.

2. Their editorial teams value their input and expertise.

Social media success isn’t the outcome of solely the social media team. Posts feature one of two or two of two elements – an article and/or a piece of social creative. Editorial teams cannot work in a vacuum and expect the pageviews to follow suit.

Successful editorial teams have a sibling-like relationship with their social teams because their outcomes are symbiotic. Instead of blaming social teams for an article that underperforms, successful social teams help their editorial teams focus production on the topics that perform and provide their input on new topics to explore. Confidence and communication between teams are essential. 

3. They neither fear data nor follow it blindly. 

Data is just numbers until they turn into actionable insights by collectively attaching meaning. Some social teams take data too literally and lose the context aspect.

If a topic generates low impressions but is always posted during off-hours, then deciding that topic is a flop wouldn’t be factoring in context. On the flip side, understanding data is a critical skill set for any social team member.

“Trusting you gut” can be a crutch for a lack of data knowledge, whereas successful social teams know you can use data to back up your gut! 

4. They never lose the “social” in “social media.

Social media platforms were invented to have two-way conversations through digital media. Teams too easily lose sight of that simple premise, and too many brands only have a one-way conversation.

If all your posts say, “Click on this for me,” your audience will eventually pull a Janet Jackson and ask, “What have you done for me lately?”.

Successful social teams identify relevant moments to contribute to a bigger conversion that is happening in the zeitgeist. They maintain some semblance of community management – answering questions from your audience, validating their enthusiasm, and considering their suggestions.

Give your audience something to talk about and talk to them because successful social teams foster social interactions! 

5. They define success as more than one number.

To have long-term growth, an audience has to want to see your posts, and simply posting something isn’t going to guarantee they see it or want to see more. Success comes from “Little Wins”!

These wins could come in the form of developing a testing protocol so that every quarter has learned a handful of insights on what does and doesn’t perform with your audience. Your audience controls your success, so learn what they want and give it to them.

These wins could come in the form of dedicating time each week to develop one really strong piece of engaging social creative to see the audience’s response.

Sometimes, you have to invest energy in non-traffic endeavors in the short term to grow in the long term. Success isn’t only about increasing traffic. Strong social teams support each other in risking failure because you have to fail to grow!

Teamwork is essential to fostering productivity, creativity, and growth. Successful social teams work as a team, collaborate as a team, and win as a team. Whether your publisher has a social media team of two or ten people, they can find it easier to weather the ebbs and flows of traffic shifts when they share a common mindset.

Reviewing your social media strategy? Reach out to True Anthem today for a free demo.

Ashley Carufel is the Director of Customer Social Strategy & Insights for True Anthem. She has over a decade of experience in social strategy, and previously worked at PBS, Dotdash Meredith and Shutterstock.