Yes, you’re probably loving how cool the social media manager job role is looking right now, and you’re considering making a career out of your hobby. Great idea! But wait a minute, while anyone can be a social media manager, being a successful social media manager requires that you possess certain qualities, skills if you may, that’ll make managing all these diverse responsibilities for the brand you represent easier.
Before you set out on the hunt for a social media manager job, below are 8 skills that you must possess to improve your chances of securing that dream job of yours.
- Flawless Communication Skills.
This is a no-brainer, and there’s really no point in searching for a social media manager job if your communication skills are anything short of excellent. As the voice of the brand, you’ll be representing the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other popular social networks that are known to have billions of active users from different countries around the world.
A social media manager’s job requires you to communicate round the clock with your audience across multiple social networking channels and communicate with your boss, peers, and marketing team. You’re constantly working to be the voice of the brand you represent on these platforms, so you must enhance your communication skills as soon as possible.
- Writing.
Like all digital marketers have come to realize, content is king and long may it reign. While videos and photos are becoming more and more important in the bid to capture the attention of millions of people on social media, great written content is still very important.
As a social media manager, your writing skills have to be impeccable to help you pass clear messages to your audience while maintaining the brand’s voice.
- Creativity.
While your ability to write is important, next to it is your ability to add creativity in everything you do. Because creativity drives your writing, graphic design, and video editing productivity, it’s an essential skill that you must possess as a social media manager. Visual intelligence, knowing how to use the right photo or video, and visually capturing your audience is an added advantage for the brand you’ll be representing.
- Research.
As a social media manager, you must be able to source for information on the internet and stay up-to-date with the ever-changing world of digital media, news, growing trends, and know everything there is to know about your brand’s competition. This will help you update your brand’s marketing and social media strategy to ensure continued success.
- SEO.
According to BrightEdge, 53.3% of all website traffic comes from organic search, and Search Engine Optimization drives over 1000% more traffic than organic social media. SEO is an important part of any digital marketing strategy, and a social media manager must have knowledge of SEO and how to utilize SEO to improve the brand’s social media and search visibility.
- Organization and Expertise Using Social Media.
Because a company’s social media strategy can be as complicated as calculus, a social media manager needs to have top-notch organizational skills. He or she must have a proper understanding of the basic practices of all the social platforms of the brand.
As a social media manager, you’re going to be responsible for creating effective campaigns, scheduling content delivery, and executing all social media marketing plans from start to finish. To do this at scale and cater to the needs of thousands of people following your brand, a skill social media manager must be organized, efficient, and knowledgeable.
- Customer Service Skills.
Companies now use the ease of accessibility of their social media platforms to offer full-scale customer service support. Whether members of the audience want to make inquiries or complaints about the product or services offered by the brand you represent, you’re meant to be well-equipped with all the necessary skills and information to handle such a tasking role. Your levels of communication and understanding must be out of this world.
- Data Analysis.
To cap things off, a social media manager job entails that you have a proper understanding of raw data, know how to analyze it, and how to report the data to your boss and colleagues. There are tons of analytics tools available, and only a proper understanding of these tools will help you know if your brand’s social media strategy is working or needs to be modified.
10 TIPS ON HOW TO BECOME A SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Ah finally! Now that you’ve checked off all the skill requirements you’ll need for the job, how do you go about becoming a successful social media manager?
This is the part you’ve been waiting for, so without further ado, here are 10 invaluable tips to help you get that dream social media manager job of your choice.
- Consider Getting a Degree. Yeah, I know, you’re wondering what school has to do with this again. Well, there’s no single ultimate social media course in college to help you go from zero to hero, but a degree in Communications or Marketing will go a long way in helping you build important skills required for the job. Not only that, applying for a social media manager job with a college degree in these fields gives you an advantage over your competition.
- Knowledge of Social Media Tools and Tricks. There are tons of social networking sites out there, all having similar features yet different in their own ways. From Facebook to Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Tiktok, there are so many tools to utilize and tricks you can use to help a brand get instant famous on all social media networks. Knowledge of these tools will surely give you the upper hand in your search for a job.
- Have A Great Resume. While gathering knowledge and experience are important, it’s also important that you learn how to show your potential employers your achievements and competence at a glance, and there’s no better way to do this than writing a resume that kicks ass. Don’t be afraid to build an online portfolio and show it off. Flaunt it; you’ve earned it!
- Have a Strong Online presence. Think about it for a second; you’re trying to convince a Startup to trust you to help them grow their social media accounts and be the voice of the brand, while your Facebook or Twitter account is like a ghost town. That doesn’t sound convincing, don’t you think? Before even setting out to hunt for a job as a social media manager, spend some time building your social media profile and online presence.
- Understand The Brand. Just like with any other type of job hunt, you need to have proper knowledge of the brand you’re looking to represent. Because you’re basically going to be an extension of the brand’s voice, you need to clearly communicate the brand’s values and ideas to your audience, and you simply cannot communicate what you don’t understand.
- Never Stop Learning and Adapting. A social media manager’s role can sometimes be huge and will require you to show expertise in a lot of things you never expected. It’s important to stay ready by constantly improving yourself, adding knowledge and value to yourself, and learning how to take advantage of the latest technology and social media tools on the market. The ability to adapt to new technologies will make you a valuable asset to your potential brand.
- Try Out Some Volunteer Work. If you’re only a newbie social media manager and still struggle with finding enough high profile management jobs to fill your resume with, why not consider volunteering? Yeah, it might pay so little or nothing at all, but volunteering to manage the social media accounts of a school, a non-profit, or an organization that you support will provide you with the valuable, high-profile experience you need.
- Demonstrate Good Time Management Skills. Running a personal social media account can be hectic for some people and even more difficult for a fast-growing business. As a social media manager, you must be ready to juggle between several tasks, and time waits for no man. Hence, you need to master the art of Multitasking and be ready to demonstrate your prowess when called upon.
- Build Important Connections. It’s important to remember that the basic principle of social media interaction is to create connections and build personal relationships. You’re going to be charged with the all-important role of humanizing the brand in order to relate to their customers. You can build important connections with already established social media managers and share your experience with them. Let them provide good referrals to help you secure that dream job.
- Finally, you’re ready. “Happy Hunting, Mr. Wick.”
CONCLUSION
Successfully landing your dream job as a social media manager comes down to your ability to persevere and remain determined, always doing what you love and putting yourself out there. To succeed, you need to first hunt for available opportunities and pounce on them fully prepared once you spot them. Do you still have questions about the process of finding a social media manager job? Send us an email today, and we’ll be glad to help you out.