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For any business today, no matter how big or how small, social media plays a very important customer-facing role. So it’s perhaps unsurprising that companies are carving out a special role for the Social Media Manager – the person who is in control of the company’s day-to-day social media presence. Here’s a brief look at some of the roles and responsibilities of this social media manager.
Planning and strategy of all social media
First and foremost, the modern social media manager needs to take a broad, comprehensive approach to social media. Gone are the days when the college summer intern could run your Facebook page, or the time when tweets, photos and videos were added to social media platforms without any thought to the company’s overall business goals. For example, if your company’s goal is simply to boost website traffic, then you will have a very different approach to social media compared to companies trying to build brand awareness and boost sales.
Developing and managing content
Developing high-quality, original and authentic content should be the primary focus of the social media manager. The idea is to connect in an authentic way with prospects, customers and fans – not just to churn out content on a daily basis. Moreover, this content needs to be re-purposed across a variety of platforms and delivery channels. At one time, it was possible to post the exact same content on Facebook as you did on Twitter, but that’s no longer the case – you also need to take into account the idiosyncrasies and audience demands of those social platforms.
Measuring, tracking and analysis of social performance
One new change to the role of the social media manager is the focus on data. Not just on collecting as much data as possible from users, but also sifting through all that data to find actionable ideas. In some cases, companies are turning to their social media managers to help them find new customers; in other cases, they are asking social media managers to identify their brand ambassadors, or to find new hooks and angles for an upcoming marketing campaign. The key to all this is data.
Interacting with prospects, customers and users
Social media managers are doing more than just managing content – they are also managing relationships. In many cases, social media managers are the face of the company. When customers send out a tweet into the ether, they expect a response from the person running your corporate Twitter account. When customers follow you on Instagram and leave a comment, they expect to get some form of interaction with the brand itself. So a social media manager needs to be very well acquainted with the voice of the brand, and what the company stands for.
Final Thought
The role of the social media manager continues to change. As the web itself changes, so will the expected duties and responsibilities of the social media manager. Just keep in mind – hiring a new social media manager is about more than just hiring a person who checks all the boxes, it’s also about hiring an individual who passionately believes in your brand and has a good idea of how to communicate that brand to the wider social media world.
