what is a social media manager?
As a social media manager, you oversee your company's social media marketing team to drive traffic and engage customers. Depending on the company's size, you may work with a large or small marketing team to manage social media marketing campaigns. Your primary role is to develop strategies for your business's social media platforms and oversee the implementation of the marketing efforts. You also monitor the performance of each social media channel by tracking the analytics to determine the engagement rates.
Social media managers can work internally for a single employer and handle all the company's social media marketing. When you work for one employer, you specialize in their brand offerings and use your social media marketing skills to drive sales and improve customer engagement with the company. You report the progress to the marketing managers and the executive teams.
Some social media managers working for marketing consultancy firms manage social media marketing for multiple clients. In such a case, you evaluate the social media marketing strategies and help your clients devise new methods of engaging the target audience. When you work with multiple clients, you take up idea generation and overseeing roles. However, in smaller companies, you implement the ideas generated by the team.
Would working in marketing and comms as a social media manager suit your creativity and exceptional writing skills? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a social media manager role.
social media manager rolesaverage social media manager salary
Most social media managers start out as junior managers or social media assistants to learn the ropes. According to our most recent salary guide, an early-career manager earns between $55,000 and $80,000 a year.
As you improve your skills and move into a mid-level position, your income typically increases to $60,000 or $90,000 per year. Social media managers with several years' experience earn higher salaries, above $80,000 and up to $125,000 depending on region and industry.
what factors affect the salary of a social media manager?
As a social media manager, your compensation package depends on the organisation you work for. Working for an agency or consultancy firm attracts different salaries than working in-house in one company. The organisation's size is a major determining factor. When you work for a large agency that handles huge projects, your earnings are higher compared to working for smaller companies. Working in-house may increase your earnings if the employer has unlimited resources.
The success of your social media campaign activities also influences your pay. Most employers pay base salaries to social media managers, but some rely on performance metrics when reviewing the compensation packages and benefits.
types of social media managers
As a social media manager, you work on diverse social media platforms or specialize in specific platforms. Some of the specialization areas for social media managers include:
- social networks: you can specialize in social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter that connect people and businesses online. Social networks improve your company's social awareness, branding and lead generation.
- media sharing networks: social media managers also supervise content shared through Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. The audio-visual and video content shared on the platforms generate leads and build brand awareness by encouraging content sharing.
- discussion forums: as a social media manager, you also participate in discussion forums to improve your online presence and visibility. Since the forums are used for sharing and finding different information, participating improves your brand's authority.
working as a social media manager
Working as a social media manager requires creativity and a great eye for design to use images and visual graphics to attract the audience's attention. The role also relies on careful planning to make the most of every social media platform. Let's explore a social media manager's daily chores and work schedules.
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social media manager job description
Some of the duties of a social media manager include:
- conducting social media audits: as a social media manager, you keep track of the social media pages that the company operates and audit their performance regularly. For instance, you ensure the branding and display names are consistent in all the channels to ensure customers find you in any channel. You also compare the latest performance of each social media platform with past performances and your competitors. A social media audit determines the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities.
- planning and developing a social media strategy: after conducting an audit, you determine the goals and develop strategies to achieve them. For instance, you create engaging content to improve engagement on various platforms. Alternatively, you can launch new campaigns or competitions to create a buzz around a product or your brand.
- tracking key performance indicators: as a social media manager, you establish key performance indicators to help you track the progress of social media pages. For instance, if your goal is to increase social media following across all platforms, you ensure the audience is steadily growing by increasing activities like competitions and contests requiring users to subscribe or follow the page to participate.
- strategising content: as a social media manager, you participate in idea generation for social media campaigns and content. Your job is to align the content and social media posts with the company's marketing strategies and goals. You also create ideas for evergreen content and oversee visual content creation, like graphics and images.
- reporting the social media metrics to stakeholders: as a social media manager, you communicate the social media strategy to clients or company management. You also document the company's successes and challenges in achieving objectives like increasing engagement and growing followers.
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work environment
Social media managers work in various business sectors, from manufacturing to retail and financial services. Any company that relies on social media and online presence to generate revenue requires social media managers to curate content and brand messaging on various platforms. Social media marketing is a desk job that involves working in the office most of the day. You also attend meetings and conferences to improve your social media skills, but work-related traveling is minimal. Since social media managers can perform most functions from a computer, remote working opportunities are available.
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who are your colleagues?
As a social media manager, your colleagues may include marketing managers, social media strategists and digital marketing managers. You may also work alongside sales managers, sales consultants and SEO specialists, as well as other specialists that could include web content managers, marketing executives, marketing coordinators, and web content editors.
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work schedule
The work schedule of a social media manager is 38 to 40 hours a week. Most social media managers work regular business hours, but sometimes you attend events and customer engagement sessions outside the traditional working hours. As a social media manager, you work full-time, but many companies provide flexible work schedules, from part-time positions to working-from-home options. Some social media managers work as freelancers or on a short-term contract basis.
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job outlook
Social media managers have a clear career progression path. You progress to a higher position in digital marketing or communications from a social media manager role. For instance, you can become a digital marketing manager before progressing to a communications manager or director position. Some social media managers improve their skills and become web content creation or editing specialists.
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advantages of finding a social media manager job through randstad
Finding your social media manager job through Randstad provides important advantages such as:
- a wide variety of training and development opportunities
- an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
- a range of opportunities in your area
- get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
- temporary and permanent contracts
Want a permanent contract? A temporary job as a social media manager is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too!
education and skills
Some of the academic qualifications of a social media manager include:
- university course: most employers prefer candidates with an undergraduate degree in relevant subjects like advertising, business management, digital and social media marketing or marketing and public relations.
- apprenticeship: you can pursue a digital marketer degree or advanced apprenticeship that allows you to study as you gain experience in the role. A digital community manager higher apprenticeship also gives you an entry into the role.
- work experience: to become a social media manager, you require extensive experience managing content on social media platforms. Start with entry-level positions in digital marketing to gain experience and relevant skills.
skills and competencies
If you want to excel as a social media manager, here are the best skills to acquire:
- writing skills: you require exceptional copywriting skills to engage the audience on various platforms. Having great writing skills helps you relate to various types of audiences and curate the content for a specific social media platform. Aside from writing captions and headlines, you also edit content from the content creation team.
- creativity: as a social media manager, you need creativity to maintain user engagement. Your expertise in using images and visual graphics helps you create unique posts.
- flexibility: as a social media manager, you should be adaptable to the constantly changing social media landscape. For instance, as users move from written to video content, you should adapt the changes to your social media strategy to avoid losing followers.
FAQs
FAQs about working as a social media manager
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what does a social media manager do?
As a social media manager, you develop strategies to increase followers on various social media platforms. You also create and monitor social media campaigns, draft product content and engage customers online. Your job involves reviewing analytics and communicating the performance of social media platforms to stakeholders.
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what are the three skills of a social media manager position?
As a social media manager, you require exceptional writing and communication skills to create engaging content. Creativity is also important in staying competitive and retaining customer loyalty online.
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what is required to be a social media manager?
You require a bachelor's degree in public relations or marketing to kick-start your career as a social media manager. It is also important to gain work experience through entry-level roles in digital marketing to improve your skills and expertise.
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how much do social media managers earn?
The median compensation package for social media managers ranges from £25,000 to £60,000 per year. The salary depends on experience and qualifications.
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how do I apply for a social media manager vacancy?
Applying for a social media manager job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our social media manager job offers. Then simply send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here!
meet a recruiter
Make sure your resume is up-to-date, including information about your technical skills and certifications. Then share it with us to connect with a recruiter and be matched with job opportunities.
