What is it? Basic Definition

A social media manager is the individual in an organization trusted with monitoring, contributing to, filtering, measuring and otherwise guiding the social media presence of a brand, product, individual or corporation. They are the voice of companies on social and digital media sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Four Square, Instagram, etc.

They Manage
They Market
They Connect

Managers Who are they?

They go beyond just helping companies be present on social media and actually help them build their business around it. Most have a mixture of real life experience through working in an entry level type position in social media, and some formal education through online courses or college classes. Social media managers know how to create the type of content that’s going to connect with their audience, and go beyond the “norm.” A Social Media Manager is a highly motivated, creative individual with expereince and passoin for connecting with current and future customers.

That passion comes through as they engage with customers on a daily basis,
with the ultimate goal of turning fans into customers.

Community leadership and participation,
both online and offline,
are intregal to a Social Media Manager's success.

An essential component is coommunicating the company's brand in a positive,
authentic way that wil attract today's modern, hyper-connected buyers.

The Job What do they do?

Manage

They manage social media marketing campigns, and day to day activities on social media. They become and advocate for the company in social media spaces, engaging in dialouges and answering questions where appropriate.

Monitor

They listen and respond to users in a "Social" way, all while cultivating leads and sales. They manage efforts in building online reviews and repetatoin by monitoring online reviews and responding to them. They also keep an eye on trends in social media tools, appications, design, and strategy.

Develop

Current topics to reach the copmanies target customers. Curate, create, and manage all published content (images, video, and written.) They also develop and expand community/influencer outreach efforts.

Analyze

They analyze campaings and translate qualitative data into recommendatoins and plans for revising social media, content marketing, SEO and social advertising campaigns.

Design

They design, create, and manage promotional material, and Social Media ad campaigns. Oversee all aspects of the Social Media design, examples include: facebook timeline covers, proflie pictures, thumbnails, and landing pages.

Marketing

Demonstrate ability to map out a comprehensive marketing plan. Drive strategies that are proven by testing and metrics. Monitor effective benchmarks for measuring the impact of Social Media campaigns. Analyze, review, and report on effectiveness of campagins in an effort to maximize results.

35%
Listening and Conversatoin
25%
Research and Planning Strategy
20%
Creating and Curating Content
10%
Team Collaboration
10%
Analytics

How to Become The Total Experience

There are many different career paths for someone interested in working with social media, but essentially they all involve using sites like Facebook and Twitter to increase a company's brand awareness. Someone who enjoys social media, writing, business, and marketing may find this to be a rewarding career choice.

The field is so new that degree programs are just starting to be developed, however most employers look for candidates with a bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, or marketing. Journalism and English degrees can also be highly relevant due to social media’s emphasis on writing. Those looking for a career in this field should also have excellent marketing, communication, and computer skills. You will also need demonstrated experience in social and digital media, which includes being able to measure social media presence. But because it is such a new feild, if you have relevant work expereince you won't necessarily need that degree.
Maintains excellent writing and language skills.
Enjoys a working knowledge of the blogging ecosystem relevant to the company’s field.
Displays ability to effectively communicate information and ideas in written and video format.
Exceeds at building and maintaining sales relationships, online and off.
Practices superior time management. Is a team player with the confidence to take the lead and guide other employees when necessary.
Makes evident good technical understanding and can pick up new tools quickly.
Maintains a working knowledge of principles of SEO including keyword research and Google Analytics. Highly knowledgeable in the principles of “Search and Social.”
Demonstrates winning Social Customer Service techniques such as empathy, patience, advocacy and conflict resolution.
Possesses great ability to identify potential negative or crisis situation and apply conflict resolution principles to mitigate issues.
Possesses knowledge and experience in the tenets of traditional marketing.
Demonstrates creativity and documented immersion in social media. (Give links to profiles as examples).
Proficient in content marketing theory and application.
Experience sourcing and managing content development and publishing.
Exhibits the ability to jump from the creative side of marketing to analytical side, able to demonstrate why their ideas are analytically sound.
Displays in-depth knowledge and understanding of social media platforms, their respective participants (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest etc.) and how each platform can be deployed in different scenarios.
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