Like any other senior marketing role, becoming an effective Social Media Manager requires a variety of skills to create engaging social media content that converts the maximum number of followers into loyal customers.
This post will guide you in identifying the skills that you need to develop to be a successful Social Media Manager.
What is a social media manager?
A Social Media Manager is usually the person within an organization that is trusted to monitor, execute, filter, and measure the social media presence of a brand, product, corporation, or individual.
A social media manager may be called the “voice of the business.” The role can also be referred to as a ‘Community and Social Media Manager,’ although this title is a little outdated.
What do social media managers do?
Social Media Managers create and maintain brand promotions, company info, and marketing campaigns across multiple social media networks. Check your content using a digital campaign checklist.
Using free or paid tools, they can also respond to questions and comments in line with the company’s voice and guidelines. Social Media Managers constantly create new content and experiment with new formats and ideas. They also measure how these ideas perform.
Social Media Managers can report to the Social Media Director or Head of Content (in large organizations). They collaborate with other creative teams, such as marketing, public relations and sales, to create lead generation campaigns, which the sales team then converts into revenue. A Social Media manager is expected to stay current with the latest industry trends and news.
Social Media Managers are in high demand and typically need a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Public Relations or a similar field. According to glassdoor Social Media Managers in the U.S. earn an average of $46,000.
This role is fast-paced, varied and involves many tasks within a single day! A Social Media Manager may be responsible for:
- Create multiple platforms – The tips used to increase your reach on Facebook won’t work necessarily on Instagram. Consider what type of content is best for each platform, such as video, gifs, infographics, blogs, etc.
- Monitor Social Analytics – It is important to monitor which campaigns are successful (or unsuccessful) across all channels to ensure that your money and time goes to the correct people.
- Create a strategy for social networks – It may be necessary to start a new campaign to promote a product or sale.
- Measure ROI and show it – Set measurable goals and track the performance of a campaign. Use a campaign calculator for social media to reach your goals at the right price.
- Schedule your social media posts – Every platform has a ‘ideal time’ to post content. Scheduling in advance helps you reduce your workload and ensures that content is posted while you are asleep but not when your audience is!
- Use curated content to find relevant posts – Your social media posts should include world events and developments that are important to your audience. Do some research, and then share content from third parties that resonates.
- Engage your audience. Your social media should be used to engage your audience. Respond to all comments and customer questions.
- Plan your content . In a world that moves so quickly, it is important to review and fill your calendar. Fill out your social media calendar to plan for the days and even weeks ahead.
Here are a few tasks you might need to perform. Remember that each day is different. Staying on top of the content calendar and your social campaigns will be crucial for online success.
A social media online course can help you gain advanced skills and be promoted to management.
What Skills Do You Need To Be A Great Social Media Manager?
Here are the skills you will need to succeed in the Social Media Manager role.
Writing
Social media managers write a lot, often more than a dozen articles per day. Each social network has a different writing style. Linkedin requires a more formal tone whereas Facebook is more fun and light. It is very useful to have some knowledge of SEO copywriting. This will be covered in more detail later.
It is important to be able create messages which are easily understood by the audience of your brand and that promote a positive feeling. The Social Media Manager’s writing should be able to enhance the brand of the company and make them “the voice”. There are many types of writing.
- Headlines that are short and to the point
- Engaging introductions
- Video and Image Captions
- Text that is easy to read (because the consumer will scan and skim subtitles and bullet points, numbering and bullet points are important).
Research
Social media managers need to stay on top of the constantly changing world of digital and social media. This includes new measurement/analytics tools, industry and world trends, and tracking what you competitors are doing, even on a daily basis.
Social Media Managers who are great use tools such as RSS feeds, Ahrefs, and buzzSumo in order to stay on top of trending content. Twitter Trends and TikTok’s ‘Discover tab’ are both useful. hashtag search is also helpful.
