Being a Social Media Manager is just about sitting on Facebook, thinking of funny things to write and finding interesting things to share – right?
Wrong! That’s certainly a fun part of the role, but being a Social Media Manager involves a whole lot more than just that! As companies worldwide continue to realise the huge ROI potential of social media advertising, jobs within social media continue to grow. It’s no great surprise that the industry is very appealing to a lot of people, but just because you like using social media, doesn’t necessarily mean that you should work in it! That said, it may be the perfect career route for you. If you like the idea of it but are not sure if you have what it takes, then hopefully this blog can help you gain some insight into whether it would be right for you or not.
What does it take to be a Social Media Manager?
You need to be able to turn your hand to a lot of very different tasks as a Social Media Manager. This means that there is never a dull moment, but it also means you need to be able to adapt to taking on new challenges pretty quickly. Here are some vital skills and attributes you should have to succeed in this role:
Creativity
Depending on the size of the company you work for, you might not always have access to a designer to produce social tiles for you. If you are creatively minded, you can produce your own designs using free tools such as Pablo. The content that you create should also be interesting and varied to keep your audience engaged, so it helps if you can think creatively around the format that your content takes.
Resourcefulness
There are a lot of great free apps out there that you can utilise to help you create thumb-stoppingly good content. There’s tonnes of free educational material available too such as industry blogs, webinars, conferences and seminars etc. However, you need to be resourceful enough to find them and try them out.
Confidence in front of the camera and behind it!
As features like Facebook Live continue to grow, there’s an increasing need for Social Media Managers to be as confident presenting as they are sitting on the back end of a social media channel. This may not come naturally at first, but the more you do and the more authentic you are, the easier it gets (apparently).
An analytic mind
Social media reporting requires a mind that is comfortable with analysing data and applying logic. Many people don’t realise that there’s actually a considerable amount of data crunching involved in this role.
A passion for writing engaging copy
‘Content is King’ and you will write a lot of it, so a solid writing style is a prerequisite to work as a Social Media Manager.
An eye for detail
Typos in social copy reflect badly on the brand. Errors in tracking can lead to misleading reporting and may effect subsequent recommendations. An extra 0 typed into the backend of your Facebook ads set-up could blow your entire budget. It’s not life and death stuff, but an eye for detail is important.
An aptitude for lifelong learning
The industry moves incredibly quickly and you need to keep up with the latest developments in social media platforms so that you can utilise them in your marketing strategies. To do this, you must dedicate a proportion of your week to continued professional development to stay on top of it all, so it helps if you enjoy learning and can assimilate new information quickly.
A social outlook to life
If you don’t like people, this isn’t the career for you. You need to be socially minded. The clue’s in the title really!
Hopefully that’s shone some light on the role and will help you gain clarity over whether this could be a potential career option for you.
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