So you’re thinking about becoming a Social Media Account Manager? On the surface, the job looks fun and simple, socializing on Facebook and Twitter with people on behalf of a company. But social marketing takes time and effort to run a successful campaign. In order to be successful, you have to have goals and a strategy, and that strategy includes more than simply the fluff of posting cute animal pictures and making an office Harlem Shake video.
Every organization is different and the workflow is catered to work towards achieving your goals. But what really goes into social media management? Let’s break it down a little bit to help get a closer look.
- Updating social networks by posting text, photos, videos and comments
- Planning, publishing and socializing blog posts to the right audience
- Research and planning, sourcing both internal and external content
- Reading different feeds in your field, filtering through content and sharing it
- Listening and monitoring brand mentions
- Keyword searches
- Building relationships and creating conversations by responding to follows, mentions, dialogue, questions and comments
- Damage control!
- Research
- Community building
- Strategy, planning and brainstorming
- Analytics, measurement and reporting
In addition to all of these duties, Social Media Managers have to stay on top of the latest trends in the social media world. If there’s a new platform coming out (and it seems like there always is), you better be testing it and seeing how to jump on it to give your business leverage above your competitors. Conference, meet-ups and community events are vital for networking and learning new tricks of the trade. Also, you have to remember that unlike a regular 9-5 business, the internet never turns off.
Social media management is more than Facebook and Twitter; you have to be an expert in all platforms and networks from Google+ to LinkedIn to YouTube. It is a field that is always evolving and continuing education is a must. It is a demanding schedule of tweets, meetings, updates, replies, blogging, editing, designing, marketing and even sales. People skills, humor, flexibility, resourcefulness and creativity are all part of the job. Can you say multitasking?
Being a Social Media Manager can be a fun and rewarding job, but it is also one that is tough, demanding and time-consuming. Social media never goes to sleep. Do you think you have what it takes to run a thriving campaign?
