Who is an SMM manager?

Social media manager

Social media managers are in charge of representing a company across social channels as the sole voice of the brand. They respond to comments, compile campaigns and create content. These experts provide organizations with the guidance needed to enhance their online presence.

With clear goals like: “improve website traffic” or “optimize brand awareness,” social media managers grow your business through social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. A decade ago, this role was non-existent. Now, more companies embrace social media for customer acquisition, and social management is often essential.

What Does a Social Media Manager Do?

A social media manager’s first task is to implement a marketing plan.

The fast-paced nature of the social world means these strategies are often short-term. Most companies conduct reviews every 90 days. While plans vary, they often begin with identifying target customers and establishing a content schedule. Social media managers also:

• Key to social communication: This role determines how often a company should post on each social channel and is responsible for replies.
• Support the development of brand identity: They show the “why” that helps customers resonate with your organization.
• Participate in visual design strategies: Whether it’s your profile pictures or team photos, a social media manager ensures you’re visually matching your brand. 
• Support promotional strategies: Social media managers give you insights into paid advertising, organic traffic and influencer marketing.
• Compile your engagement strategy: Your social media manager listens to, responds and engages with your audience across all channels. This increases sales and improves customer relationships through engagement.
• Establish a conversion strategy: Your social media manager learns follower pain points and concerns. This helps them suggest how to convert fans into customers.

If you’re interested in working as a social media manager, your tasks may include:

• Increasing followers and driving engagement: Boost a company’s profile on all active social platforms by increasing the number of followers they have and the amount of engagement (likes, comments, shares) they receive. You may be expected to develop written or visual posts to achieve both.  

• Strategizing content and campaigns: To drive engagement, you’ll be responsible for ideating (and sometimes executing) social campaigns that align with a company’s larger marketing strategies. You may also generate ideas for timely and evergreen content or repurpose user-generated content.  

• Analyzing data: In addition to creative work, you’ll also spend time analyzing data to draw conclusions about how a company’s posts and content are performing. This can include social listening—monitoring what social media users say about a brand or competitors.

• Reporting metrics to key stakeholders: Companies want to know the work you’re doing has an impact, so you’ll likely be expected to report your achievements—or any problems that arise—to your marketing team’s and even the company’s stakeholders. They’ll probably be looking to see how you grow followers, increase engagement, develop creative content and campaigns, among other metrics. 

• Posting and monitoring social media platforms: Depending on the size of your team, you may be responsible for posting and monitoring all social platforms. In that case, you may need to schedule posts and observe followers’ responses. You may also be responsible for responding to comments and messages from followers.

The Skills a Social Media Manager Must Have

Social media managers are community connoisseurs. Similar to PR experts, they know how to communicate brand characteristics in a positive light. A great social media manager knows how to create content, respond to consumers and engage leads.

In a fast-paced online economy, the best social media managers also stay up-to-date with the latest trends on all social channels. They follow algorithm changes closely and compile bespoke strategies that appeal to the goals of your brand.

Social media managers even track the conversation around your brand with social listening tools. They help with everything from content creation strategies, to competitive analysis. The more you know about your customer’s, the easier it is to craft a message that resonates.

Social media manager skills 

If you’re interested in becoming a social media manager, it’s a good idea to improve your skills in the following areas: 

• Writing: Whether you’re drafting posts or crafting captions, good social media writing goes beyond solid grammar and spelling. It will be important to hone your copywriting skills to develop compelling writing that fits into a brand’s story and voice and engages its audience. before applying to become a social media manager.
• Editing: Alongside writing copy, you’ll likely need to review your team members’ work and ensure it’s grammatically correct and error-free. Honing your copy editing and proofreading skills can help you develop the eye necessary to reassure a company or brand that they’re in safe hands. 
• An understanding of social media platforms: You’ll need to have a thorough understanding of several social media platforms—their strengths, weaknesses, and user demographics, among other characteristics—to manage accounts successfully. Knowledge of the following platforms will likely be most important: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok.
• An eye for design: Be prepared to communicate about images, infographics, videos, and more with graphic designers, marketing managers, and other marketing stakeholders. Envisioning a post and then articulating the business or strategic reasons for your choices will be critical. 
• Analytical tools: Knowing what messages resonate with consumers requires an analytical eye and the capacity to research. It’s helpful to know how to use social media listening tools like Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and HubSpot, among others.
• Flexibility: Change is constant in the world of social media. New trending hashtags, algorithms, and platform features often require social media managers to think on their feet and incorporate novelty into their work.
• Timeliness: News events can cause some posts to be perceived as tone-deaf or insensitive or otherwise overshadow your post in importance. Staying on top of the news and the bigger conversations happening online can help you react accordingly and maintain an organization’s brand.

Social Media Management Pros

Social media managers give busy brands instant access to social expertise. As algorithms continue to change at a rapid-fire pace, it’s tough for business owners to keep up. Social media managers focus all their energy on mastering the social space. They offer the dedication and creative perspective that online organizations need to thrive.

Social media managers also measure their performance, making it easier to track your brand’s journey. They provide overviews of important social media KPIs like:

• Audience Growth
• Audience Engagement
• Brand Reach
• Feedback and Word of Mouth Marketing
• Response Quality and Rate
• Leads/ Traffic
• Conversion rates