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Social Media Management - The Complete 2019 Manager Bootcamp
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Social Media Manager
Becoming a social Media Manager has great career prospects in a versatile market and offers opportunities in many fields like food, fashion and entertainment to name a few. With the rise of social medial platforms and AI technologies, this is a dynamic and rewarding career.
Social media managers co ordinate online content for organizations and bring attention of a subject to multiple media channels to raise brand awareness to a target audience. This can be about a product, company, an event or even a person of interest. The social media manager must plan and develop strategies and manage the implementations to an organizations social media platform, that align with the goals and values of the organization. The social media manager needs to be in the know of trending platforms and audiences and be able to create engaging content that help grow a brands popularity and thereby the organizations community and social media presence.
To have a successful career as a social media manager, you will possess creativity and innovative thinking. You will have passion for and expertise knowledge in social media channels as well as having excellent copywriting skills. You will have vast knowledge of social media trends and understand social media strategy.
Being a online media manager can offer great flexibility with working remotely and different hours as well as offering opportunities for socializing and networking.
Summary
Social Media Management is in high demand, with forever growing social media platforms and AI technologies. This makes the role very attractive, as it offers a vast number of opportunities and progression in a dynamic and versatile industry. Creating content on social media channels create instant visibility of a brand.
The role as a social media manager will let you unleash your creativity creating innovative content through visuals, video clips, writing, captions and campaigns for social media channels. You will be using a variety of strategies to reach corporate clients and make a significant impact on public relations communities by working across multiple sites.
As a social media manager you will create, develop or edit content to be posted across social media platforms to raise brand awareness and capture audiences. You will ensure content is up to date and on-trend as well as analyze and monitor performances. Posting on social media channels creates an instant response, so content must be captivating, innovative and non-defensive.
Social Media Managers co ordinate online content and provide detailing insights for the marketing company by using search engine analytics to spot trends, produce reports and much more. They develop strategies within the marketing team to optimize social media output.
The role offers a great deal of flexibility. You can work full time for a larger company, professional bodies or a niche business. You can work freelance taking on several projects for several clients. Some freelance work include posting on your own social media profiles if you are an influencer and get paid, or you can be advising corporate clients on improving their advertising marketing.
You can progress to a management position like social media director, PR director or even, through networking and specialism, start your own agency.
Responsibilities
A social media managers role is to raise awareness and brand popularity using social media channels .
Develop Media Content The social media manager defines goals by developing strategies to meet a brand's objective with focus on identifying the optimal audience and demographics. They create the content that will directly target the desired audience through social media platforms that best serve a brand's goal.
Create and manage roll out of innovative content Create captivating content in form of posts, videos, stories or other graphics that best capture the audience and arrange social media campaigns and timescales.
Engage with Stakeholders. Prepare and present content to stakeholders, web designers and directors to ensure full transparency and buy-in and respond to customer feedback. Using different communications strategies will help you engage with a wider community. You will be advising corporate clients and work closely with the online digital community manager.
Campaign Management. Execute and manage campaign. Work with stakeholders like, directors, partners, influencers, to ensure alignment and successful campaign execution.
Analyze and report on campaign result. Review campaign output and result, monitor response of target audience to optimize content and improve results. Share analytics and detailing insights with directors.
Stay ahead in the game. Follow trends and best practices and include new features and channels to optimize brand awareness. Build your network inside and outside the company to be ahead of the game.
Key skills & traits
A creative mind, excellent verbal communication skills and social media skills are some of the key traits that will help you succeed. The job combines technical duties with creative flair.
Collaboration
The ability to collaborate using communication and teamworking skills will help you create a wider network both internally and externally and help you in the process of buy-in from stakeholders and making lasting relationships and in turn, further develop connections and drive campaign succession.
Content Creation
Craft engaging and catching content like texts, visuals, video clips and other graphics specialized to fit the social media platform.
Creativity
Being innovative and creating new ways and fresh ideas for content will set you and the brand apart from competitors and capture attention and get people 'talking about'. Both for you personally as well as the brand/business. You will have image editing skills, know about media production and public relations digital content creator.
Analytical and Problem Solving
Having an analytical mindset will help you understand the data and outcome of any social media output and solve any issues quickly, that might arise and edit content to make improvements. This can be needed in case of negative feedback, algorithm changes and poor campaign performance.
Social Media Tools
There are several media tools that will help you succeed as a social media manager, if you have working knowledge and experience with these like Hootsuite, Buffer, Canva, and Adobe Suite to name a few. The tools will help you spot trends, produce reports and help with digital output optimization.
Adaptability
Being able to quickly adapt in an ever changing environment, will set you ahead of the game and help you invent new strategies, respond to rising issues quickly and be in with platform updates and market changes.
Resilience
Thriving under pressure and not letting any obstacles stand in your way, will be a beneficial trait to deliver your campaign successfully.
Education & qualifications
Social Media Managers come from all career directions and to become one, a specific degree is not always required. Some employers may expect you to have a degree in a relevant subject, like: advertising marketing and public relations digital and marketing digital content. However, success is achieved by hard work, persistence, experience and creativity. This will help you become a specialist social media marketing manager.
Lifestyle
The lifestyle for a social media manager is fast-paced and everchanging and exciting. You will spend a lot of time in front of screens and will be paid to be on social platforms. Many enjoy the flexibility around remote working and varying hours and constant connectivity. Others may work in a more structured office environment. The role is good for networking opportunities and travelling for events and engagements.
80%
Remote SuitedA lot of the work can be done remotely and depends mostly on whether you are company based, work for a larger company or work as a freelancer.
75%
StressfulAs it is a fast-paced industry, there will always be things happening, content to create, networking and issues to be solved or improved. This makes it a busy role but very rewarding, when you have a successful campaign.
75%
Work Life BlanceThere are very good opportunities for work life balance, though the work life balance also depends on the individual. Some enjoy working unsociable hours and value the flexibility there could be, as a social media manager and working towards their own schedule. Others will prefer the 9-5 business hours, though some additional availability could be required around events, implementations and peak times.
On average, the position as a social media manager scores 3.5 of 5. Many reviews highlight the fast paced environment and opportunity to learn a lot, is a plus.
40/hrs
WeeklyStandard company employment offers 9-5 job where, as a freelancer, you might set your own schedule and hours.
Salary data
Social Media Managers earn around £22,000 to £25,000 per year being new to the role. As they gain valuable experience, an average salary for established social media managers is ca. £35,000 also depending on demographics and employer. Experienced and senior posts offer towards £50,000.
£22,000
Entry
£33,000
Average
£50,000
Senior
Career path
To become a Social Media manager, a degree is not always a requirement. A BA in marketing, PR or other relevant subjects however, typically give you a good firm background to build on to succeed and experience will advance you as a social media specialist.
Social Media assistant / Coordinator
As an assistant, you will be able to use your skills and knowledge to grow your expertise as your responsibilities will include assisting with creating content, scheduling posts and review analytics. You will additionally design and create social media posts and get hands-on experience with social media tools.
Social Media Manager
The social media manager has experience in overseeing content strategies, analyze output as well as coordinating teams. They will collaborate with other functions like PR and Marketing to meet a company's wider business goals, all the while growing their expertise and network to progress to more senior levels.
Senior Media Manager and Leadership
Senior posts will increase responsibilities to lead more complex campaigns and managing budgets. Furthermore, it will build on social media strategies and focus on long term planning and social media trends. Many management positions combine technical duties with management roles, so it can help if you have: video, sound and image editing skills, the ability to write engaging copy and scripts for a target audience and an understanding of search engine analytics.
A natural progression can lead to Head of social Media or Director of Digital Marketing, overseeing all an organizations marketing activities and leading teams in driving goals and meeting targets.
History of the profession
The role as a social media manager is a fairly new position that has become more and more sought after with the boom of the internet and social media platforms in the later 1990's.
Reviews
Below we have shared some insights from professionals performing the role as a social media manager, to give you some career tips and help you decide, if a social media marketing career is the right path for you.
Autonomy and Flexibility
Hannah
The flexibility I get being a social media manager is great. Whether I am working from home or scheduling my hours to fit in with a work life balance that suits me and my young family, it offers a lot of autonomy. I get to create and shape the direction of a brand, and the success of my efforts are very transparent from customer feedback and social media metrics. Innovation is highly encouraged. Every Social Media campaign feels like a new opportunity to experiment and learn a lot from on the job training.
💰£37,000Annual
salary
salary
💼38Weekly hours
🏝️70%Remote suited
🤷♀️65%Stressful
⚖️90%Work life balance
Stressful but rewarding
James M.
The social media managers job definitely comes with its challenges. There is a lot pressure to generate content, stay on top of trends, and monitor social media campaign activities. Depending on the social media campaign activities, you sometimes have to work around the clock to liaise with a mix of marketing teams. Especially around implementation, you might feel that its never ending. It is however incredibly rewarding, when you get to see how your strategy impacts a brand’s growth and community response. You do need a good pinch of adaptability, a keen eye for trends, and be able to juggle several tasks at the same time, which is tiring but also very exciting.
💰£37,000Annual
salary
salary
💼40Weekly hours
🏝️90%Remote suited
🤷♀️80%Stressful
⚖️60%Work life balance
Continuous Growth
Pravin
Social Media Marketing is forever evolving and makes you gain valuable experience. Platforms change, new and improved tools and features emerge. I am constantly experimenting with new strategies, content formats, and engagement techniques across multiple sites. I always push myself to think creatively and analytically. I also love how the role allows me to work with different communication strategies and help me understand what content resonates most with and the audiences.
💰£41,000Annual
salary
salary
💼45Weekly hours
🏝️95%Remote suited
🤷♀️60%Stressful
⚖️80%Work life balance
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Resources
The following resources might help you to gain more insight and knowledge on your path to become a social media manager.
Podcast
The life of a social media manager
The Life of a Social Media Manager is a podcast from 'Socialinsider' that goes behind the scenes into the life of people who work in social these days. Discover the ins and outs of a career in social media from top experts, and learn how to perform in this job.
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Article
A Day in the Life of a Social Media Manager
Mitra Mehvar shares her week schedule working as a social media manager and how to make the best use of your time. She also shares infographics from meltwater and links to more information on the job.
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Video
How To Become A Social Media Manager - Beginners Guide
Ben Leavett from Flick talks you through how to get started as a social media manager with hints and tips, on tasks you will perform, platforms and do's and don'ts + more
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Book
500 Social Media Marketing Tips
arn everything you need to know to attract customers and grow your business with social media marketing in 2024.
Don't let the name fool you - 500 Social Media Marketing Tips is a complete guide to successful social media marketing for small business!
It's jam-packed with expert advice, essential insights and strategies for Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and more!
See more 👉Don't let the name fool you - 500 Social Media Marketing Tips is a complete guide to successful social media marketing for small business!
It's jam-packed with expert advice, essential insights and strategies for Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and more!
