Social media marketing has become an essential part of any business’s digital strategy. It’s a way to connect with customers, build brand awareness, and drive sales. But what exactly does a social media marketer do?
A social media marketer is responsible for creating, managing, and optimizing a company’s social media presence.
This includes creating content, scheduling posts, engaging with followers, and analyzing metrics to measure the success of social media campaigns.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
A social media marketer plays a vital role in a company’s digital strategy by building and maintaining a strong online presence, engaging with customers, and driving business growth through social media campaigns.
Responsibilities:
- Content creation: Writing and designing
- Managing and optimizing company’s Social Media presence
- Scheduling posts
- Engaging with followers
- Analyzing metrics to measure the success of social media campaigns.
- Responding to comments and messages
- Monitoring website traffic, engagement rates, and conversion rates.
Social Media Marketer Salary and Demand
Social media marketing has become an essential part of any business’s digital strategy. As a result, the demand for social media marketing professionals is on the rise.
According to a recent study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers, including social media marketing managers, is projected to grow 9 percent from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations.
Another study by the BLS shows that the median annual salary for advertising, promotions, and managers, including social media marketing managers, was $135,030 in May 2020.
The data suggests that social media marketing is a lucrative and growing career field, as the demand for social media marketing professionals continues to increase.
With the rise of social media usage, businesses are looking for professionals to help them navigate the digital landscape and reach their target audience through social media platforms.
Social Media Marketing Basic Skills
1. Understanding Social Media Platforms
Understanding different social media platforms is crucial for a social media marketer.
The most commonly used platforms include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but other platforms such as WhatsApp, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, and others may also be used depending on the target audience.
Knowing what types of posts perform well on each platform, as well as the differences in audiences and how to capitalize on trends, is important.
2. Analytical Tools
Social media marketing analysis tools are used to track performance, analyze trends, and mitigate digital risk. Commonly used tools include Hootsuite, SproutSocial, and HubSpot.
Understanding how to use these tools to track key metrics, such as engagement and conversion rates, is important for measuring the success of social media campaigns.
3. Content Creation
Creating content for social media platforms can vary, but generally, social media marketers should have some design sensibility and good writing skills.
This includes creating visually appealing graphics, videos, infographics and writing effective captions, and posts that resonate with the target audience and aligns with the company’s brand.
Entry Level Opportunities
Entry-level opportunities can include jobs, freelancing, or volunteering. Explore different options to see what fits your needs.
Entry-level jobs: An entry-level position generally requires less relevant experience and can provide you with the opportunity to learn about social media marketing on the job. In your job search, keep an eye out for entry-level titles such as:
- Marketing intern or social media intern
- Social media coordinator
- Social media specialist
- Social media associate
- Social media analyst
Job Options
1. Freelance
Building up your experience through freelancing is another option. Platforms such as Fiverr or Upwork can help you build a portfolio of your work and gain experience in different areas of social media marketing.
2. Volunteering
Volunteer opportunities may have less stringent requirements and can be a great way to gain experience and build a network. Look for local or remote opportunities through volunteer search sites like VolunteerMatch.
3. Building your own pages
Creating your own social media pages such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, or Facebook business page is a great way to learn the ropes of how each platform works and best practices in content creation.
These pages can also be included in job applications as examples of your experience.
Tips for Social Media Marketing and Management
As a social media marketer, it’s important to choose the right platform, identify your target market, and engage with followers to effectively promote your brand. Here are some tips to help you succeed in your role
1. Choosing Social Media Platform
Different social networks serve different purposes. For instance, Facebook is ideal for creating a sense of community, Twitter is great for sharing and promoting content, while Pinterest excels in visual content.
A skilled social media marketer understands the unique features and strengths of each network, and chooses the one that best suits the current needs and goals.
A social media marketer is aware that different platforms require different formats of content. For instance, if you’re a company that specializes in professional attire, such as suits, the social media marketer would select the most appropriate format for each platform, like:
- Facebook: Sharing coupon codes
- Twitter: Promoting images of the products
- Instagram: Highlighting candid shots of customers wearing the suits.
While this may not hold true for all industries, it is a common approach for B2C and B2B social media marketing.
To make these informed decisions, a social media marketer must possess a thorough understanding of the industry, audience, and social media platforms.
2. Target Market
As a social media marketer, the first step is to identify your target audience. Without an audience, your campaigns will not be effective.
So, using the example of a company that sells professional attire such as suits, a social media marketer’s task is to find individuals who have an interest in purchasing suits on social media platforms.
To do this, a social media marketer can research groups, hashtags, and even competitors to gather the most reliable market information.
Once the target audience is identified, the marketer can promote content more effectively and efficiently. This is a crucial step in the social media marketing process.
3. Get Followers and Engage!
A social media marketer is responsible for promoting a brand on various social media platforms. They work to increase the brand’s visibility and followers by identifying the target audience and promoting the right content at the right time.
They also engage with followers by answering questions and addressing any complaints.
To increase brand awareness, a social media marketer may also reach out to key players in the industry for retweets or mentions.
In this way, they act as a public relations expert, promoting the brand to a wider audience.
Managing negative complaints is also an important aspect of a social media marketer’s job. They must act as the first line of defense between the company and the public, and work to contain and diffuse any negative situations.
In summary, a social media marketer is responsible for increasing brand visibility, engaging with followers, and managing negative complaints.
It’s a challenging role that requires experience and the ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.