SMM manager responsibilities

The Social Media Manager will administer the company’s social media marketing and advertising. Administration includes but is not limited to:

• Deliberate planning, strategy and goal setting
• Development of brand identity, awareness and online reputation
• Content management (including website)
• SEO (search engine optimization) and generation of inbound traffic
• Cultivation of leads and sales
• Reputation management
• Social outreach and information on pandemic as it relates to your business/industry

The Social Media Manager is a highly motivated, creative individual with experience and a passion for connecting with current and future customers. That passion comes through as she/he engages with customers on a daily basis, with the ultimate goal of:

• Turning fans into customers.
• Turning customers into advocates.

Community participation

Community leadership and participation (both online and offline) are integral to a Social Media Manager’s success. An essential component is communicating the company’s brand in a positive, authentic way that will attract today’s modern, discerning, hyper-connected buyers.

The Social Media Manager is instrumental in managing the company’s content-related assets. Relevant content (content that serves searchers’ needs the best) is a top Google search ranking factor, which is uber-important for a company’s online authority. It’s clear then that managing content should be part of the Social Media Manager’s Job Description.

Content management duties include:

• Administrate the creation and publishing of relevant, original, high-quality content (for all channels and ads)
• Identify and improve organizational development aspects that would improve content (ie: employee training, recognition and rewards for participation in the company’s marketing and online review building).
• Create a regular publishing schedule and promote content through social advertising.
• Leverage the right tools to manage your content. I recommend PostPlanner and Buffer, however there are many tools that can/will fit your needs.
• Implement a content editorial calendar to manage content and plan specific, timely marketing campaigns.
• Integrate all channels of marketing (social media, SEO, content marketing, email, print and digital marketing)
• Manage or oversee all social advertising campaigns.

Responsibilities of the Social Media Manager

The first responsibility of a Social Media Manager (or a social media management team) is to develop and implement a social media marketing plan. The marketing plan will include the following components and should be reviewed no less than every 90 days.

1. Brand Development

“Why” is the reason customers buy. A great “why buy here” message is unique to your company, is backed up by facts (awards, numbers, in-store policies) and answers “What’s in it for me?” for the shopper.

Sufficient time should be spent to get your message right and crafting it so that it will endure through the life of your company. The CEO’s vision should clearly permeate through messages and the offline company culture will play a big role.

2. Identify Target Customers

Your product or service cannot possibly be all things to all people. There is so much noise online today and that makes it even more crucial to identify who your ideal target audience is. Until you accept the notion that you must keep your market focus tight, you’ll constrict your business’ ability to grow.

You’ve likely said this once or twice in your years in business:

“You know, if we had ten more customers just like them, life would be great!”

Write down the circumstances and attributes of those customers and focus on attracting them with your strategies. Once you know more about who you want to reach, you can use data to laser target your message. Facebook is invaluable for exploring audiences that are interested in your product or service.

3. Set Clear Objectives

All marketing plans include defined, realistic goals. It isn’t enough to say you “see” results. Your results must tie back to your goals and objectives. You’ll never know ROI (Return on Investment) without goal setting and strategy.

In setting goals, it’s important to identify what challenges the business is experiencing.

• Insufficient website traffic and/or scant visitors
• Weak brand awareness
• Declining customer retention
• Poor online reputation
• Slow sales

4. Visual Design and Web Development Strategy

Visual content has a lasting effect on the viewer. Your visual branding must be consistent. Whether it’s your social media posts, your landing pages or your Facebook ads, what the audience sees is what they’ll remember. Make sure it’s compelling and gets the point across.

Your website’s UI (User Interface or Experience) determines whether visitors stay or leave.

Successful websites convert. There’s a simple website secret that so many seem to miss: If you make your website more customer friendly, your conversions will improve.

Savvy web development is also crucial to your content marketing success. You must retain a hub for your content where customers and prospects can visit to learn more about your products and services, and where search engines can crawl to award more authority.

5. Solid Content Strategy

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “How do I know what to post on our page?” In order to know the answer to that question, you must have a solid idea of who you are as a brand and who your target customers are.

• What is it about your company that makes it unique? What makes people want to buy from you? Answer these questions in detail.
• Describe your target customers. What are their interests, concerns and issues? How can you help them come to a purchase decision with the content you publish?
• Don’t forget about those fans who are not in-market. What can you offer them to make their time with you interesting?

6. Promotion Strategy

It is essential to continually grow and promote your brand, its content and products.

FACT: Social media is now pay to play, which means there is a financial investment required for promotions.

Social advertising (typically Facebook Ads) is a very valuable tool to get your message heard. However, Facebook ads don’t look like the ads you’re familiar with. They differ in content, placement and targeting…and when done right, they are received much more cheerfully.

The best way to grow your Facebook page is to utilize Facebook Ads. A good promotion strategy includes a budget with carefully selected images, placement, and ad copy (with a clear call-to-action) that will improve engagement and generate leads.

7. Engagement Strategy

Your Social Media Manager will also wear the hat of a Community Manager – which means they must monitor, listen, respond, ask questions and engage your audience.

There should be careful consideration on how she/he responds to organic (non-paid) leads that appear in the comment section of your posts. People will ask questions and sometimes want to engage in a sale. The Social Media Manager should have knowledge and experience of your sales process to respond correctly.

If a lead asks a question, answer it and follow it up with a question back to engage them further. When appropriate, ask them to continue the conversation privately via Facebook Messenger, eventually guiding them to a product display page, signup form or appointment.

Don’t overlook the fact that your Facebook ads will have engagement as well. Responding to comments on ads is also one of a Social Media Manager’s daily duties. I’ve too often seen where potential buyers ask questions on ads and no one is present to answer. Please avoid this at all costs – it makes it look like you don’t care.

8. Conversion Strategy

With growth and engagement strategies in place, the Social Media Manager’s job is to help facilitate the conversion of fans into customers. Your marketing plan should outline the steps required for your specific operation. The more advanced components of Facebook ads include custom audiences, compelling landing pages, Messenger bots, and lots of testing!

Pro Tip: Be sure to include a call to action and a lead form on your landing pages to ensure your lead has a path to purchase (and your Social Media Manager has a way to follow up).

9. Measure & Analyze to Establish ROI

You’ll need to determine the KPI’s (key performance indicators) that matter most to your business. Here are the top 8 KPI’s that we use to determine ROI:

• Audience Growth
• Audience Profile
• Audience Engagement
• Content Reach
• Engagement by Content Type
• Leads
• Response Rate and Quality
• Negative Feedback

Digital marketing allows you to measure results daily. Your results should tie back to your objectives and provide a clear understanding of the returns you’re getting.