Information in this blog obtained from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-skills/, https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/what-skills-do-i-need-to-be-a-social-media-manager#heading_61243, https://www.simplilearn.com/social-media-marketing-skills-article
When it comes to marketing, and being a social media marketing manager, it is important to have the skills necessary to competently carry out your job and the tasks that come along with it. These techniques are like a knife. You may possess these skills, but without sharpening these abilities, like a knife, your skills may become dull or unsatisfactory. As a college student who is actively taking many marketing courses including marketing research and social media marketing, the objective today is to heighten your awareness of key elements that are crucial to being a successful social media marketing manager.
What is a Social Media Marketing Manager?
A social media marketing manager is someone who looks after the social media presence of someone or something by supervising and filtering different platforms. This could be for a product, or a brand, or even an individual person. In retrospect, this is a lot of power for a company. Someone in this position has lots of power within a company and retains lots of trust. Marketing managers excel in creating new content and frequently generating new ideas. Each one of these skills that will be discussed can help make the right choices for a brand and help keep them trending in the right direction.
Important Skills For Social Media Marketing Managers
Writing
Being a social media marketer, means having good writing skills. Being able to curate a post and deliver a good message is extremely important. Managers must learn to deliver a message without making it too long. Not only do they have to pay attention to the length of the message, but they also need to make sure that their content is engaging. If the content is boring, people will keep scrolling without hesitation. A mix of these can also differ from channel to channel, so it is important for social media managers to maintain proper writing norms within these platforms. According to Simplilearn, Facebook alone, has over 2.45 billion users and it would be a shame that a product or person is perceived badly because of poor grammar or choice of words.
Communication
Writing and communication often go hand in hand, but communication reaches beyond paper and pencil. Marketing managers are still managers and need to be proficient in talking with others. Whether it is communicating with customers, business, or individuals you are working for, maintaining a good relationship stems from communication. Sprout Social states that a crucial thing to keep in mind is that external and internal communication are different. “When communicating externally on social media, ensure you’re consistent,” Sprout Social states. They also claim, “When communicating internally, articulate your ideas and plans to decision-makers and cross-functional partners.” Being able to express goals inside and out of a company can determine a positive versus negative outcome.
Creativity
The skill of creativity is crucial to a social media marketing manager. Creativity generates new ideas and keeps the content fresh. Not only does it keep content fresh, but this is also how a company can generate an identity. Without an identity a product can never reach the light of day and be taken advantage of. Someone may stumble across your page and use your own ideas that will excel with better marketing, and management skills. The lack of creativity also poses the threat of losing followers. If a page becomes repetitive or dull, it has never been easier to remove their content from your feed. Designing “platform-specific” content is something that the Digital Marketing Institute claims to be important. Keeping followers engaged can be best described by the 80/20 rule. 80 percent of a company’s revenue is generated from 20 percent of your customers. If I were to take a gamble, I would say most of that 20 percent is actively following social media pages associated with that certain business. Being a social media marketing manager is a great place for people with creative minds to excel.
Adaptability
New social media platforms are always coming and going, and the ones that stick around are always changing. Keeping an open mind and being flexible can ultimately be a game changer in the online world. Maybe a platform just is not working like you thought it would, or maybe it is time to make a change. According to Sprout Social, being able to quickly pivot is a tool that everyone should have in their toolbox. Not only is adaptability important when talking about platforms, but also with trends. Trends are always coming and going and staying up to date with them is SO important. Something that is funny one day, can be completely irrelevant the next. A good social media marketing manager is competent within trends and is well trained in determining the longevity of them.
Budgeting
As a manager, being able to plan and manage a budget is extremely important. While working with multiple platforms, being able to allocate money amongst these social medias effectively is as important, if not the most important aspect, as any other one of these skills. The Digital Marketing Institute states that these four things are what should be included in any Social Media Marketing Manager’s budget.
· Content Creation
· Influencers
· Paid Media
· Software and tools
Although these are things that should always be present, they should never be set in stone. On a regular basis, budgets need to be adjusted to fit the mix that is necessary for the time being.
Conclusion
In conclusion, each of these skills, are part of what makes a social media marketing manager successful. These are not the only skills that these individuals should possess but are the ones that stand out the most. By developing and maintaining these skills, not only do the managers succeed, by so does the product, brand, or individual involved. Isn’t that the goal though? To find win-win situations that help everyone involved. If I were to pick one takeaway from this post that I would want you to stick with, is continuous learning. You may excel in these categories right now, but look completely different in 5 years, let alone 10. By continuing to sharpen your knife, you can maintain the same confidence in your abilities throughout our careers. In today’s fast paced digital landscape, social media marketing managers play a crucial role in shaping a brand’s presence and engaging with its audience. These tools are only a few things that you can do to be the best and excel above and beyond.
Sources
Digital Marketing Institute. (2024, October 24). 10 skills you need to become a great social media manager. Digital Marketing Institute. https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/what-skills-do-i-need-to-be-a-social-media-manager
Duggal, N. (2024, August 13). Top 15 social media marketing skills for 2024. Simplilearn. https://www.simplilearn.com/social-media-marketing-skills-article
Goulet, R. (2023, March 28). 10 skills every social media manager must have. Sprout Social. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-skills/
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