If you’re interested in the daily schedule of a social media manager, think multi-tasking. When realizing how much these seasoned professionals accomplish in one day, your head will spin! Their driving force is to boost client sales; By getting into the thick of this, social media managers allow their clients to focus on other essential tasks.
What Does a Social Media Manager Do?
This is not an easy question to answer; A social media manager’s role is constantly evolving. Digital tech changes at lightning speed, so this week’s preferred platform could be replaced with the latest and greatest the following week. The Next Web explains what a typical social media manager’s daily tasks might be by utilizing a useful infographic.
A social media manager’s day may start with checking emails and social media. They may also reply, retweeting, publishing blogs and posting to social media. As their day progresses, their work can include meeting with the internal team, curating and creating content and revisiting all of the company’s profiles, emails and social media sites. Their priority is to handle all of this detailed work so that their client will not have to. Should things manage to slow down later in the day, they may utilize this time to schedule social media messages for the evening and next day, sign up for any events (webinars, chats, etc.) and review the day’s stats.
About those stats: Social media managers spend significant time analyzing measurement numbers in order to see how effective their methods are – strategies often need to be revised to improve the results. They also have to study customer comments and inquires and respond to them quickly; Industry trends should be leveraged for new opportunities to improve functionality and build the business. Savvy social media managers also make time in their schedules to stay in contact with their teams throughout the day and allow some extra time for unexpected tasks. A social media manager’s daily schedule is certainly packed with activity!
How to Succeed in Social Media Management
It goes without saying that a successful social media manager needs excellent communication skills, but what does that really mean? According to Sprout Social, it is both internal and external. Internally, this includes stakeholders, bosses, collaborators and peers. A social media manager must be able to explain how their work drives company sales, as well as their strategies and content. Everyone impacted by their social media plans should be kept in the loop and informed of progress and landmarks along the way, including training, scheduling and metrics.
Social media managers also serve as their companies’ brand voices through written content, GIFs, videos, pictures and other media. This is where strong writing skills, SEO knowledge and creativity are essential – all this has to be informative, clear and engaging. Social media managers must also be able to stay on top of trends and be ready to hop on at a minute’s notice; Time is of the essence when it comes to social media posts.
How to Become a Freelance Social Media Manager
Freelance social media managers are contracted by companies that do not have full-time ones on staff. Social Media Pro explains that these freelancers may be full-time, part-time or contracted and can usually work from just about anywhere as long as they have an internet connection, a mobile phone and a laptop. Some start off by providing basic services to small companies, like posting or engaging and monitoring their social channels. Since this is a 24/7, 365 day a year job, and it is not physically possible to always be on the job, scheduling off-hours posts are essential.
A career in social media management can be appealing for someone who already spends a considerable amount of time on social media. Some learning institutions offer social media management courses, and like the field itself, these courses are constantly evolving. Online courses are also available, and many choose to learn as they work. It may also be possible to learn under a mentor or to volunteer. Plenty of small companies would love the help, and it can start with something as simple as creating a Facebook page or taking over the social media posts.
As a social media manager works their way up the ladder, they can benefit from online webinars and continuing their education in writing, social media strategy and customer care. Using a social media calendar is the best way to stay organized and effective; This can be shared with clients, team members and management. Many successful social media managers use these devoted blocks of time every day to certain tasks, which keeps them on top of all their responsibilities.