6 essential skills you need to become a Social Media Manager
As has come to be expected of any senior-level marketing position, Social Media Managers are required to possess a diverse range of capabilities. The core aim of employees in this position is to transform customers from online followers into customers. If you’re considering a career in digital marketing, take a look at six essential skills that you’ll need to become a Social Media Manager.
A social media manager is expected to plan and write posts with the goal of assisting companies to expand their online communities. Other duties associated with this position include running ads, responding to followers and designing graphics. The responsibilities of Social Media Managers depend on the company’s unique requirements as well as their budget. Are you wondering if you have what it takes to succeed in digital marketing? Here are the six essential skills you’ll need.
1. Social media insight
To succeed in this role, you’ll need advanced insight into digital marketing. Knowledge of how to use hashtags as well as how to optimise YouTube videos is required, and it is also necessary for you to be capable of customising Facebook apps. An in-depth understanding of webcasts and Google+ is another requirement. You’ll need to understand what content is best suited to each platform as well as how to keep the audience engaged.
2. Research skills
If you want to excel in this field, you’ll need to keep up-to-date with the latest trends. Continuous learning is required for this position and you’ll need to look for opportunities to advance your skills. You’ll also need to conduct regular research into the best measurement tools to use. Social Media Managers are required to review competitor posts to ensure that they’re staying one step ahead. You can keep up-to-date by setting Google Alerts on the topics that relate to your brand. You’ll also need to understand what topics are trending on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
3. Copywriting
A large portion of your time will be spent on writing, and you can expect to write numerous posts on a daily basis. To create the perfect post, you’ll need outstanding copywriting capabilities. You’ll also be required to adapt the tone of your writing according to the social media platform that you’re posting on. It takes excellent writing capabilities to be able to communicate a message clearly and quickly with the company’s audience in mind.
4. Time management
Time management is an essential skill for most professionals. A Social Media Manager is expected to manage a range of accounts including Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. With so many different accounts to oversee, you’ll need to manage your time efficiently if you want to get everything done. It’s easy to get distracted when you’re posting on social media but it’s advisable to find ways to stay focused on the task at hand. If you lose concentration and start scrolling aimlessly through your personal newsfeed, you won’t be able to perform your duties properly. A useful time management tip is to set up a social media calendar which will help to keep you on track.
5. Customer care
A large portion of your brand’s followers use social media for customer care. This means that you’ll need to have customer care skills if you want to work as a social media manager. Clients also use this platform to get answers to the questions that they have about the brand. If customers have a bad experience with your brand on social media, they are likely to stop supporting your company.
6. SEO knowledge
SEO knowledge plays a vital role in digital marketing and it’s a tool that you’ll be required to use as a social media manager. If you want to increase your brand’s following on social media, you’ll need to know how to optimise the content that you post. SEO optimisation plays a large role in your content strategy as it is an excellent tool for expanding your brand’s audience.
Now that you have more insight into what it takes to be a social media manager, you can look for social media manager jobs online. Turn your love of social media into a successful career starting today!