Becoming a social media manager is an exciting opportunity, especially now. With so many people spending time online, social media has become a key place in 2024 for finding new brands, products, and services.
Brands aim to create attractive content and grow communities around their products. They need help, and that’s where the role of a skilled social media manager comes in.
If you enjoy being creative and connecting with people on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, your talents are highly required.
In this guide, we’ll explore what a social media manager is, what they do, the skills needed for success, how to become a social media manager, and insights into the job’s salary and outlook.
Whether you’re aiming to be a successful social media manager or just starting to learn about social media management, this guide is your starting point.
Who Is A Social Media Manager?
A social media manager is key in boosting a company’s online presence. They create and share content on social media platforms to engage the audience and reflect the company’s voice.
Their tasks involve setting goals for social media marketing, analyzing the success of their strategies, and adapting to improve interaction with the audience.
They craft and execute plans to meet the company’s social media objectives and maintain a strong connection with its community.
What Does A Social Media Manager Do?
Social media managers have a variety of important tasks. They plan ways to get more followers, manage campaigns, create content, look at data to see what’s working and talk with important people in the company.
Being a social media manager means you’ll need certain skills to build a strong presence and develop an effective strategy.
If you’re interested in working as a social media manager, your role could include a range of tasks, all aimed at making the company’s social media efforts successful and engaging. Here are some of the important tasks a social media manager does in daily routine:
Increasing Followers And Driving Engagement
You aim to increase the company’s followers and interaction on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others. This means creating posts people will like, comment on, and share. You must consider written and visual content to catch the audience’s attention.
Strategizing Content And Campaigns
Part of your job is creating social media campaigns that fit the company’s broader marketing plans. This could involve brainstorming ideas for content that stays relevant over time or using user-generated content.
Analyzing Data
You won’t just be creating content; you’ll also analyze data to see how well different posts are doing. This includes social listening, where you track what people say about the brand or its competitors online.
Reporting Metrics To Key Stakeholders
It’s important to show how your efforts are helping the company. You’ll report on growing the follower base, boosting social media engagement, and developing creative content and campaigns for your marketing team and other important people in the company.
Posting And Monitoring Social Media Platforms
Depending on your team’s size, you might also post content and watch how followers react. This includes scheduling posts in advance using social media management tools like eclincher and responding to comments and messages.
Review And Populate Your Content Calendar
To stay organized, you’ll need to plan your content beforehand. Fill up your social media calendar with posts for the coming days or weeks to keep everything on track.
These are just some examples of what you might do as a social media manager. Each day can bring new tasks, so staying updated with your content calendar and social campaigns is essential to succeed online.
What Skills Does A Social Media Manager Need?
You need a mix of skills to be a great social media manager. Here’s what’s important:
- Writing: It’s essential to write in a way that fits each platform, like being professional on LinkedIn and more relaxed on Facebook. Using AI copywriting tools can help make your headlines catchy, your content creation engaging, and your posts engaging.
- Research: You should always be up-to-date with the latest trends, industry news, and your competitors’ actions. Tools like Google Alerts, Feedly, Ahrefs, and BuzzSumo are great for this.
- Customer Service: Responding quickly and effectively to customers on social media is a big part of the job. You should understand how to measure and improve customer service.
- SEO Knowledge: Many social media managers must use keywords and promote content to drive website traffic.
- Creativity & Design: Creating eye-catching posts, especially for platforms like TikTok and Instagram, is key. This includes making videos, too.
- Data Analytics: Understanding the data behind your social media efforts helps you know what’s working. Being familiar with social media analytics tools that measure engagement and strategize based on data is important.
- Social Media Expertise: A social media specialist knows what kind of content is best for each platform and how to keep the audience engaged.
- Budgeting: You’ll need to manage money for creating content, paid ads, and working with influencers.
- Adaptability: The social media world changes quickly, so adapting to new trends and platform updates is essential.
There are resources like webinars, eBooks, and tools like eclincher to develop these social media skills. It’s important to keep learning and staying current with social media trends and strategies for engaging with your accounts.
How To Become A Social Media Manager?
Building a strong foundation of skills and experience is crucial to landing a social media manager job. As a social media professional, you should focus on understanding various platforms, creating engaging content, and learning how to connect with an audience effectively.
1. Consider A Degree In Marketing Or Public Relations
One way to start your journey to a social media manager job is by getting a marketing or public relations (PR) degree. These degrees teach you about brand management and how people think and choose products.
You’ll often find classes on social media strategy or digital marketing, which are key for understanding social media networks. Some courses even focus specifically on social media or new media.
Adding a degree in English or related work experience can also help improve your communication skills. Studying social sciences like Psychology can also be beneficial, as it helps you understand human behavior, a crucial aspect of digital marketing.
This combined knowledge sets a strong foundation for effectively managing social media platforms and strategies.
2. Gain Experience In Social Media
To become a social media professional, gaining real-world experience is critical. For many social media job roles, having experience is a must.
You can start building your resume with social media-related internships while studying. Also, there are free online courses that can be a big help.
Starting out with internships or junior roles like a social media associate, digital content creator, or marketing assistant provides valuable on-the-job training. These positions are often the first steps for many who aim to be social media managers.
Your experience doesn’t have to come from just traditional jobs. You can volunteer for a club or a nonprofit organization and help them with their social media channels. This not only gives you experience but also shows your skills.
Developing your own social media presence can also be a great way to demonstrate what you can do. Remember, using a social media scheduling tool can make handling multiple accounts and arrangement posts much easier and more efficient.
3. Build A Social Media Presence
It’s important to show what you can do to get a job on social media. The best way to do this is to have a social media account. We suggest picking one or two platforms and starting an account from the ground up.
Choose a specific area you’re interested in, like food, travel, or fashion, and focus on that on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest. Create posts and content that speak to people interested in your niche.
This is a great way to learn firsthand about social media tactics, like how to use analytics, understand how the algorithms work, and find the right balance in using social media.
By doing this, you can maximize your social media presence and show your skills through the social media posts you create and share.
4. Learn Social Media Marketing
You must keep learning about different social media platforms to excel in social media manager jobs. Understanding how to handle both paid ads and regular posts on these channels is crucial.
Paid ads are a big chance for companies to find and grow their audience, helping them get more for their money. Also, just like search engines, social media platforms use keywords, so knowing how to pick the right ones and use them in your posts is important to reach the right people.
Each social media platform has its own type of users and prefers different kinds of content. As a social media professional, you’ll need to get good at using:
Learning the specifics of these platforms will help you create effective strategies and content for each one.
5. Develop A Portfolio
Making a portfolio is important for anyone looking to be a social media professional, whether you want to work for a company or as a freelancer. Your portfolio should show that you’re good at planning content, understanding key numbers, and using that info to improve your future posts.
Here’s a simple way to put together your portfolio:
- Introduce Yourself: Start with a brief intro about yourself, add a photo, and share some details that help people know you both personally and professionally.
- Showcase Your Best Work: Pick the work you’re proudest of and explain a bit about three or four projects. This highlights your skills in the social media landscape. Include some eye-catching visuals, too.
- Include Analytics: Share how your projects did on social media. Explain what you learned, even if some didn’t work out as planned. This shows how you think and adapt.
- Describe Your Strategy: Talk about how you came up with ideas, the steps you took, and how you checked if it was successful. If you worked with others, mention that to show your teamwork skills.
- Client Testimonials: Add comments from people you’ve worked with, like from internships or freelance jobs. This shows you understand and can meet client needs, building your personal brand.
- Contact Information: Finish with how people can contact you and a quick thank you. This makes it easy for future employers or clients to get in touch.
This approach helps you build a personal brand in the social media landscape and shows you have the skills of a social media coordinator.
6. Enhance Your Skills Through An Online Course
Building your social media skills by managing your accounts is a great way to learn about gaining followers and creating engaging content. But having experience alone isn’t the only way to get better. Formal training can make your skills stand out to employers.
You can catch the eye of employers with a well-recognized qualification in social media, many of which you can find online. These courses help you improve your skills with real projects, tests, and the latest industry knowledge, ensuring you’re ready for any professional setting.
7. Gain Work Experience
After learning on your own or taking professional courses, the next step is getting real work experience. Starting small is important; you might not immediately become a social media manager, but you can work your way up.
Don’t be shy about helping small businesses or student groups who might need help with their social media. By sharing your skills, you help them grow your network, portfolio, and abilities professionally. This experience is crucial for becoming a skilled social media professional.
8. Get An Entry-Level Job
Getting an entry-level job is crucial to becoming a social media professional. It’s where you’ll apply what you’ve learned and gain practical experience. Look for positions like social media assistant, content creator, or digital marketing coordinator.
These roles will give you a taste of the social media world and help you understand the daily tasks and challenges of the field. In these positions, you’ll learn how to manage social media accounts, create engaging content, and interact with online communities.
They provide a great opportunity to improve your skills, learn from more experienced colleagues, and build a professional network that can be valuable for future opportunities. Remember, every big career starts with small steps, and these entry-level jobs are your first stride into the dynamic world of social media management.
Salary And Job Outlook For Social Media Managers
The salary for social media managers can differ greatly, but they are becoming important for all kinds of brands. This means people good at social media are likely to keep being needed.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a positive future for those working in advertising and promotions, including social media managers. In 2022, these workers had a median salary of $127,830, and the field is expected to grow by 7% from 2021 to 2031, which is pretty fast.
As of May 2023, according to Payscale, the average salary for social media managers was about $56,799 per year. With more experience, social media managers can advance to higher roles like social media directors. This shows that social media managers earn well and have good prospects for career growth.
Conclusion
Becoming a social media manager is an exciting and rewarding journey. It starts with education, like a degree in marketing or PR, and grows through hands-on experience, whether from internships, entry-level jobs, or managing your own social media accounts. Â
Enhancing your skills with online courses and building a strong portfolio are key steps in proving your abilities. Remember, the path involves starting small and gradually climbing the ladder in the social media world.
With the industry growing rapidly and the demand for skilled professionals on the rise, the opportunities are plentiful. The journey to becoming a social media manager is one of constant learning, adapting, and innovating.
It’s a path that promises a good salary and a chance to connect with and influence a wide audience creatively. Get in and start shaping your exciting career in social media today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Qualifications Do You Need To Be A Social Media Manager?
To be a social media manager, you usually need a bachelor’s degree in marketing or PR, plus some real work experience. This can be from internships, social media projects, or starting jobs like a social media assistant. Important skills include good talking and writing skills, understanding data, and managing time well.
What Does A Social Media Manager Do Daily?
A social media manager looks after a brand’s online presence daily. Their tasks include making a big-picture plan, posting on social media, talking to followers, and using tools to check how well their posts are doing.
Can You Become A Social Media Manager With No Experience?
Generally, you can’t become a social media manager without any experience. You need some background in social media or managing things. But you can start in social media jobs without experience and work your way up. You can also build and use skills for a better social media job.
Do You Need A Degree To Become A Social Media Manager?
You don’t always need a marketing degree to be a social media manager. Some employers are okay with you just showing you know how to handle social media, even if you don’t have a degree. It depends on who you want to work for.
Is Social Media Hard To Learn?
No, learning social media isn’t hard. While it’s a big part of digital marketing with lots to know, you don’t have to learn everything at once. Start with the basics and gradually build your knowledge through work experience or study.
