The last decade has seen the creation of jobs that simply did not exist ten years ago.
SEO specialists, app developers, and wall scouters (those in the fashion world who hunt for photo and Instagram backdrops, of course) did not exist prior to the opportunities created thanks to the accelerated enhancements in technology taking place.
One of the most popular and necessary jobs that has become almost a basic requirement amongst large and small companies alike, is that of the social media manager.
While many small brands think they either don’t need a social media presence and, therefore, a social media manager, or that they can handle the tasks one would perform, the truth is that there are numerous reasons why a social media manager is crucial to your small business.
We’ve put together the following post to help highlight some of these reasons and make your decision a no-brainer.
Social media manager job description
Occasionally you hear someone’s job title but can’t imagine what this person actually does every day when seated at their desk (Honestly, what would their browser history show?). For many small business owners, the title “social media manager” conjures up such confusion. To clarify the general job description of a social media manager, we turned to Monster.com as a leader in career advice and resources.
According to Monster.com, “social media managers are responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies for a business’s social media sites. This might include blogging, creating social media profiles, managing regular posts and responding to followers.”
While just recognizing this list of responsibilities and tasks as quite comprehensive should make the necessity of a social media manager clear, the following list of reasons should emphasize this.
Social Media Expertise
It seems obvious but your social media manager must have social media skills. This includes knowing what type of content works best on what platform, optimizing content accordingly, as well as understanding the different nuances of each platform.
They should know how to engage an audience through social media posts and interactions, and should hopefully find some joy in doing just that. Social media is one of those skills that is not as easy as it may seem to the untrained professional, so you need an expert who can truly take your brand’s online presence to the next level.
Copywriting Skills
As you have come to recognize,, a social media manager is a skilled jack-of-all-trades. Along with being an expert in everything social media, customer service, and SEO, a social media manager has copywriting skills that will be invaluable to your small business. The ability to convey ideas in a clear and precise way can mean the difference between a sale and a business fail.
When your customers and audience members can easily understand the messages being conveyed on your social media channels, there is an obviously higher chance that they will leave with a positive sentiment towards your brand.
Visual Intelligence
While much of your social media managers output will be in writing, visual content to accompany posts is crucial. The right photo can mean a post gets shared a hundred times rather than ten times, and having someone who knows what images will work, and when, is invaluable to your organization.
A social media manager will also have general knowledge of design in order to create visually appealing graphics to coordinate with appropriate posts–a skill that is incredibly valuable in today’s media landscape. An effective manager should essentially “know great contentwhen they see it, and most importantly have a firm grasp of content trends and how they fit into each major network.”
What are your thoughts?
Let us know in the comments below!