What does a Social Media Manager do?
Finding time for social media marketing can be difficult when you own a business. There's always a must-do task, from managing the finances to taking care of customers. It can be easy for social media to slip through the cracks.
Don't let it.
Almost 70% of small businesses use social media to market themselves. These are companies just like yours, using social media every day to catch the attention of new customers. Being active on social platforms allows your business to keep up with the competition, develop relationships, and drive more sales.
Many business owners recognize they don’t have time to manage their own social media platforms, so they hire social media managers to close the gap. A social media manager can keep a business active on multiple platforms, allowing the business owner to focus on direct management tasks.
The next question you might have is, what does a social media manager do? The answer is more involved than you might think.
The Social Media Management Role: What's Involved?
Suppose you ask the average person, "What does a social media manager do?" They'll probably say something about making Facebook posts and Instagram reels. They might mention creating paid ads.
Creating content is part of a social media manager's job, but there's much more to it. Hours of planning, strategizing, and analyzing go into every business's social media post you see.
Strategy Development
Social media managers work with clients to identify goals for social media marketing. Those goals could be anything from more likes and shares to more website traffic. With goals like these in mind, social media managers advise clients on which platforms to use, how often to post, and what posts should look like.
Image-based social media content is significant. Data show that images make up more than 70% of Facebook content, with video coming in a distant second at 16.6%. Instagram is almost entirely image-based, but 15% of posts are video.
Social media managers help clients choose the right images and videos. They can create content around stock images if necessary. But they know unique pictures attract more positive attention. The more original imagery a client can provide, the better.
Audience Research
Many businesses make the mistake of posting as though they were on their personal pages, sharing content they'd want to see — not what their customers want to see. That approach is acceptable for personal accounts, but it's more of a gamble when you're a business. If audiences decide that a page's content doesn't resonate, they'll stop paying attention.
A social media manager's job is to learn what a business's audience wants to see and fill the client's account with that content. They know about what problems the client business solves for its customers and what kind of content would catch their interest. Drawing on this information, they create targeted campaigns that generate more business.
Calendar Management
Social media platforms reward accounts that post consistently and frequently. However, staying on top of a regular posting schedule takes time and expertise.
Managers create detailed calendars for their clients' social media accounts so the client can focus on running their business. The social media manager is responsible for scheduling various marketing campaigns and creating content in advance, so there's always something ready to go.
Multi-Platform Marketing
Social media marketing strategies rarely involve just one platform. Posting across multiple sites allows a business to reach different user communities and publish various types of content. Most companies don't need to post on every channel, but choosing the right ones is an essential social media strategy.
Part of the social media manager's job is to help clients make those decisions and manage posting schedules across platforms.
Brand Image Development
Social media managers understand the importance of putting your best foot forward. They know how online audiences respond to different types of messaging and create content to have a specific effect.
Good social media managers also engage directly with audiences to build rapport. They help clients respond to comments and messages so followers see the client business as responsive, engaged, and caring.
Reputation Management
Maintaining a client's online reputation is a social media manager's most important task. Customers, especially younger ones, often make buying choices based on what they see on social media.
Seeing an influencer or friend criticize a brand on social media can turn a buyer off, especially if the brand doesn't respond well. Many business owners don't know how to reply to a comment or negative review. They go on the defensive and unknowingly send an emotionally driven response that negatively impacts the business.
Social media managers respond to reviews and comments strategically and with an understanding of best practices. They can smooth things over with customers and maintain a professional voice and tone, even if things get heated.
Listing Management
Inaccurate information is bad for business. It suggests poor customer service and prevents a business from ranking highly in searches. For example, suppose Facebook says an auto shop is open on Mondays and the shop's website says it's closed. Instead of potentially giving readers wrong information, Google won't recommend the shop at all.
This essential information — store hours, address, contact information, and so on — are easy to add when creating a social media page. Unfortunately, they're also easy to set and forget, even when that information changes.
Social media managers keep an eye on a client's listings and change them as necessary. Information stays consistent and accurate, protecting the business's reputation.
Campaign Analytics
To get the most from social media, businesses need to track how they're doing across channels, interpreting data and making changes when necessary. This specialized skill set takes time and experience to develop, and most business owners simply don't have the bandwidth.
A social media manager can look at available data and understand what's going on with a client campaign. By monitoring social media data, they see what's working or not. More importantly, they know how to explain what they learn to the client.
Essential Social Media Manager Skills
Social media manager jobs, sometimes called community manager jobs, are roles for knowledgeable professionals. Consider the following key skills.
Time Management
Social media marketing is a fast-paced environment. Social media managers must plan their time well to keep up with various clients' content calendars, while staying current with trends.
Organization
Managers must keep up with multiple campaigns across different social media platforms, often for more than one client at a time. They need to have an effective organizational system in place so nothing falls through the cracks.
Platform Expertise
Social media managers need to know significant platforms in depth, including what types of content work best and what audiences gravitate toward. They need to understand how each platform's algorithm works and how to create strategic posts.
Because social media is so fast-paced, managers must be actively aware of platform updates. Platform algorithms change constantly, especially in terms of how they prioritize content. Managers need to be aware of these changes and understand how to incorporate each one into a client's strategy.
Flexibility
Social media managers know how to develop effective plans that make each platform's algorithms work to the client's benefit — then change those plans when the platform changes the rules.
Audience responses happen even faster. Managers need to track campaigns closely and constantly, watching for any issues that need fixing. Only professional managers have the time and space to make those rapid changes since they focus exclusively on social media success and not the business's daily operations.
Choosing a Social Media Manager for Your Business
If social media management only involved creating and scheduling Facebook posts, anyone can do it. But in today's complex social landscape, it takes time, knowledge, and general marketing ability to create an effective presence.
Optimize is here to help. We manage social media and digital advertising for small businesses. We can tell you how you're doing, what you do well, and what you could change to reach your goals. Schedule a free consultation to learn more.