While Social Media Marketing (SMM) has been around for a while, it has become even more relevant as the corona virus pandemic has forced many small businesses to create new business models in order to remain viable and relevant during these unprecedented times of lock down, social distancing and other restrictions that are mandated globally.
Social media management is the process of managing a company’s complete social media presence. This is how businesses locate their audience and analyze their behavior in order to develop strategies that are geared towards producing and sharing engaging content, create brand awareness, maintain client base, target new customers, drive traffic to their websites, maximize return on investment (RIO) and stay ahead of the competition in the global business environment.
However, many aspiring social media managers believe that they have to be competent in all areas of social media management in order to be successful.
This is further from the truth!
In 2021 there are over a ton of social media management services and approximately 15 top social media networks including Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Instagram and TickTok, especially among the under 30 age group. Hence, it would be too overwhelming for a social media manager to provide all the services and handle all the platforms in an effective and efficient manner.
Here are 5 tips to develop your skills and become a successful social media manager:
In order to become an effective social media manager, it is of paramount importance to understand what social media managers do.
Very often people underestimate the functions of a social media manager or confused it with other marketing or communication roles.
A social media manager is an individual who works in the field of marketing, communication or public relations, whether on a full-time basis within an organization or as a freelancer to manage social media strategy.
The main functions include, but are not limited to planning, researching, writing, creating and publishing content to multiple social media platforms in order to target a specific audience, as well as monitor and analyze campaign success with the use of metrics and analytics tools.
Social media management is like any other career which requires specific skills and experience in order to develop competence.
There is a myth that suggests that because millennials are born in the technological era they are automatically savvy and therefore make great social media managers.
It is a fact that some young people are technology savvy, but social media management requires strategy, creativity, structure, research, analytical, grammar and writing skills, as well as knowledge of current social media trends, project management, communication skills among other competencies, in order to be successful in the field.
While some of these skills can be self-taught the best way to gain competence in this role is to pursue educational and training opportunities through college and internship programs. Most employers require a college degree in communication, marketing or advertising for a social media marketing or management role.
The advent of digital technologies has seen the continuous evolution of social media networking sites. Each network has its own rules, practices and audience based on demographic differences.
To be a successful social media manager, you must understand the different social media platforms and how they function. Additionally, you must stay abreast of social media trends in order to produce content based on best practices, user demands, and constant changes with algorithm and social media marketing trends.
Another important way to garner knowledge and experience in managing social media at a professional level is to join social media networks. This way you can participate in relevant conversations, interact with industry players and learn from their broad knowledge base and experiences. Stay up-to-date by subscribing to newsletters, online courses and webinars among others.
Once you develop your network with industry leaders you can create and post engaging content, grow your own social media following and hone your skills to be recognized as an authority in the field.
This is a process and not an overnight accomplishment where you suddenly become an expert. On the other hand, if you are passionate, consistent, and dedicated you will become successful within a reasonable time frame.
As discussed earlier, social media management is very broad, as a result, most people believe that in order to gain employment in the field or manage their own social media agency they must possess all the skills and manage all the services.
The fact that social media management entails various functions, the roles are most times shared among various employees to include: content creation/writing, community engagement, research, scheduling/posting, reporting/analytics among others. Based on the size of the organization and the scope of the social media marketing strategy the functions can also be managed by one or few people.
If you manage your own social media agency, you don’t have to be Jack of all trades, you can decide to manage the types of services that you are most competent in doing and hire freelancers to provide the others.
It is also very important to learn about the social media platforms that your target audience uses and become a pro with managing those.
Social media management is the most popular marketing channel currently. It is therefore no longer an option, but a very integral part of any marketing initiative to drive sales and elevate your business a head of the competition. If you really want to become an excellent social media manager, seek every opportunity to learn including offering your services for free. Develop strong writing skills, the basics of marketing and stay informed with social media trends. Gaining competence in these areas will definitely provide you with a dynamic and fulfilling career in this global business environment and digital technologically poised landscape.
For more information on how to grow your small business on social media please leave comments below.
Caren Waugh is the CEO of CW Media Consultants, a proven communications and social media strategist, blogger, and print media contributor who helps small businesses to create brand awareness, strengthen customer relations, and shape their online marketing endeavors with winning social media strategies.
