What does a social media manager do?
Are you a great communicator? Do you love a challenge? Are you fascinated by the power of social media to influence people, instigate new trends and sell products and services? Do you enjoy harnessing your creative powers? Social media management might be the right career path for you. Here’s the lowdown on what it involves.
Implementation of a social media strategy
A social media manager’s first task is to come up with a social media strategy that’s suitable for the nature, size and scope of the business involved. Successful social media isn’t a random affair; it involves a well-thought-out process that might include a variety of platforms (from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram for example) and that engages visitors’ attention in a range of ways. If a budget is provided, a manager must decide how best to use it.
Management of social media accounts and social media campaigns
To have an impact, social media accounts should be used regularly and frequently – daily updates are crucial. Tools like Hootsuite can help with the scheduling of posts during the night and on the weekends. Competition for attention is so intense on the internet these days; successful social media campaigns must be relentless yet endlessly interesting.
What’s more, a manager must work hard to come up with posts, blogs and videos that are attention-grabbing. This might involve keeping up with industry news, checking out what issues and keywords are trending in the blogosphere and coming up with relevant content. While some companies might hire a copywriter to write blogs, others might expect that the social manager will do the job. So you need to be a confident wordsmith.
Every now and again, a manager might organise a social media campaign, which could include giveaways, coupons and promo codes. This not only draws a new audience, it can also help to boost a company’s goodwill.
Measuring and assessing the impact of social media activity
Part of a manager’s ongoing duties is to keep a close eye on the impact of his/her social media activity. How many people are reading and sharing the posts? Are some posts more popular than others and why? If money has been invested into a particular campaign, has it achieved significant returns? A range of tools is available to help with measurement and assessment. Any obvious conclusions should be used to inform future social media activity and campaigns.
Where can I find out more about a career in digital marketing?
This blog is the first in our four-part series exploring what it’s like to have a career in the digital world. Our next piece will take a look at the ins and outs of being a front-end developer.
If you, or your business, is looking for help with social media management, get in touch with iFactory. We are an expert, digital solutions company offering professional assistance in every aspect of creating, managing and optimising your online presence: from social media management to content creation to content marketing in Brisbane. Our team includes highly-experienced designers, developers, marketing managers and social media managers.
If you want to catch up on the lingo, the digital world speak, here is some stuff digital people say.
Want to know more about careers in digital or what a digital agency can offer you? Check out our blog series on Careers in Digital.
