Thanks to its capability to reach audiences and teach you about their frustrations and needs, social media has become a key marketing medium for many businesses around the world. It’s present in many industries, be it with celebrities, non-profit organisations, or government institutions.

Corporations and brands everywhere have accounts to connect directly with their followers. What this means is that working in this field gives you access to a wide range of roles. Let’s explore the ways you may become a successful social media specialist in this article.

What a social media manager does

Generally speaking, social media managers are responsible for creating strategies, making and overseeing campaigns, reviewing data analytics, communicating with company stakeholders, producing content, and increasing followers or subscribers.

As a social media specialist, your specific responsibilities depend on the size of your employer. Those from larger corporations typically approve copy rather than make them themselves. However, it’s common for those from smaller companies to handle the content creation too.

If you’re thinking to work as a social media manager, prepare to handle tasks like:

• Publishing content for sharing on various social media platforms that reach certain markets
• Making campaigns with messages that properly represent the voice of the brand
• Creating strategies for boosting engagements, such as paid advertising and influencer marketing
• Putting together editorial calendars of possible copy related to channels and timing
• Responding to feedback and comments from users to create positive brand experiences
• Monitoring the success of published content and other strategies employed on socials
• Presenting your findings to upper management for assessing and guiding future strategies
• Determining if a certain platform is producing an acceptable return on investment or not
• Staying on top of the trends in online marketing and particularly in social media marketing
• Representing the brand with a consistent tone of voice and personality when interacting

What a social media manager needs

There is no single work history or education path that may be considered best for a social media career. A successful social media specialist may come from different backgrounds due to the various skills used in the role. Here are examples of essential skills you want to learn or hone:

Graphic design

According to three studies about web page visual appeal, you only have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression on your target audiences. This is why you need to become familiar with the principles of good design. There are plenty of online resources where you may study visual design strategies.

Research

Brands get left behind when their social media managers don’t know which platforms have their target demographics or what the latest trends are in social networks. When you know how to research you will keep your organisation full of fresh ideas and content.

Project management

Your schedule is likely going to be hectic so you need to know how to manage projects well. This ensures that content is within the campaign budget, is on-brand, and is delivered on time. Project management is also a must-have skill for related careers like content marketing.

Copywriting

When you publish high-quality content, you are making your brand stand out from the crowd. Mediocre writing, on the other hand, drives away audiences so they don’t get the chance to explore the rest of your website or offerings. Read posts from the competition to learn about copywriting.

Video editing

As you might have noticed, users are consuming videos more than other types of content these days. If you have never produced a video before, you need to learn how to become a good social media manager. Start by creating content on your phone and eventually move to more professional videos.

How to be successful with social media

We’ve mentioned earlier that social media specialists can come from diverse work backgrounds, such as retail, fashion design, or even political science. It’s possible to start from anywhere in this field, even if you have little to no experience.

Close the skill gap

There’s no need to earn a specific college degree to learn the skills we’ve listed above. Hiring managers are more interested in practical experiences of good communication, copywriting, organisation, project management, and more. There are online courses you may take for social media marketing too.

Study social networks

Become familiar with the weaknesses and strengths of the different social media platforms: Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Find out how your competitors are using these different channels then study the tools for scheduling, publishing, and analytics.

Gain relevant experience

To master social media management, you have to do it hands-on. Maybe you may start with an internship while you’re still in college, or you might connect with small businesses who are looking for someone to improve their presence on social networks. Freelance jobs are also a great place to start gaining experience.

Build your portfolio

Whether you want to work in-house in a company or as a freelancer, understand that a portfolio is key to your success. It is how you may demonstrate your work and its impact on the brands you’ve worked with. Even side hustles and passion projects may be included in your portfolio.

Market to prospects

Your ability to market yourself to prospective clients or employers will show them that you know how to successfully market their services and products. That’s why, you must work on your personal social media profiles and practice promoting with yourself as the product.

Where to find social media jobs

Want to become a social media manager who can work anywhere with your smartphone? There are many others like you who want to try and enter this exciting field but some fail miserably. To succeed, you need to keep going even as you face numerous challenges.

If you think you’re ready to deal with everything related to social media management, we at Remote Workmate is here to assist with your application process. We’re connected to brands from around the world and know what employers are looking for.