How Social Media Managers Can Get Ahead

Social media managers are at the center of every company’s digital marketing strategy and have an important role to play in your company’s growth. But how can you make sure you’re getting ahead in 2019? 

In this post, we’ll walk through some key takeaways from our 2018 Social Media Management Report and show you how to keep growing your career as an SMM pro.

Takeaways
– Continuous learning is essential to stay updated with the evolving social media landscape.
– Effective communication skills are crucial for building relationships with both the audience and the team.
– Leveraging data analytics helps in making informed decisions and optimizing social media strategies.
– Being adaptable and open to trying new strategies can lead to innovation and improved results.
– Collaboration with other departments can lead to a holistic approach and better alignment with business goals.
– Building a personal brand can enhance credibility and showcase expertise in the field.
– Staying organized with content calendars and scheduling tools contributes to consistent and efficient management.
– Keeping up with emerging platforms and trends allows for early adoption and potential competitive advantage.
– Experimenting with various content formats can help discover what resonates best with the target audience.
– Balancing creativity and data-driven decisions is key to creating impactful and engaging social media content.

Always Be Ready To Prove Your Value

As a social media manager, you are tasked with achieving multiple objectives. You need to develop and execute a social media strategy that will increase brand awareness and engagement, generate leads, and drive sales. 

You need to monitor the effectiveness of your current strategy while constantly testing new ideas to see what works best for your audience. And you need all of this done within budget while maintaining the highest level of quality possible.

In addition to these demands on your time and attention, there are two other important areas where you can add value: internal communications and proving how much value you’re bringing to both your company and its clients every time something goes wrong (or right).

Discover how to replicate success and grow your social media presence in just one year. Learn from our journey of growing our social media following to 30k and gain insights into effective strategies.

Do A Deep-Dive On Quarterly Business Goals To Incorporate Social

Any social media manager should start by knowing the goals of their business, whether they’re an internal or external employee. If you don’t know what your company or client is trying to achieve, then it will be difficult to understand how your work fits into those goals.

Next, it’s important for managers and employees alike to know why they’re doing their job in the first place – what personal objective drives them? What about this job makes them want to come to work every day?

Once you have a clearer idea of what your company wants from its social media presence and where it fits into its overall strategy, it’s time for another deep dive into quarterly business goals and objectives. 

With that information in hand, now look at each project you plan on working on and ask: How does this project align with these goals?

Use Data To Tell A Story

Social media managers can use data to tell a story.

You might be asking yourself, “How?” Well, by using the right tools and making sure they’re all set up correctly, it’s easy to keep tabs on how your social media channels are performing and what content is resonating with your audience. 

You can use this information to help you make better decisions about things like:

• Content creation (what types of content are working best?)

• Marketing outreach (who wants what kinds of offers?)

• Audience engagement (who’s engaging with my account most often?)

Exploring the intersection of social media management and entrepreneurship can provide valuable insights. Delve into our in-depth essay on social media management and entrepreneurship to understand how these two fields are intertwined.

Take Advantage Of Facebook’s Targeting Capabilities

Facebook has a wealth of data and targeting options, so take advantage of that. For example, if you want to target people who recently purchased a specific product, Facebook will allow you to do that. 

If you want to target people who are more likely to work at the company where your client’s product is made, Facebook will allow for that too.

You can even narrow down your audience by demographics like age group or gender—or even by age and gender combined (Facebook offers lots of combinations for targeting). And don’t forget about the location! 

With Facebook ads, businesses can specifically target people based on where they live or work–and how many miles from home they are during their commute every day.

Host A #Socialchat Dedicated To Your Brand

A #SocialChat is a chat about a specific topic on Twitter. Hosting one can be fun, educational, and beneficial for your brand. Here are some tips to make sure it all goes smoothly:

• Set a time and date for the chat

• Create a hashtag that promotes your brand

• Invite influencers to participate in the chat, who will help spread the word and attract new followers to your account

• Be prepared by coming up with questions that get people talking and sharing their experiences

Promote the event with influencer outreach emails, social media posts, paid ads (if you’re lucky enough), etc., so that everyone knows about it

Become The Social Subject Matter Expert For Your Company/Clients

As an SMM, you are the go-to person for all things social media. It doesn’t matter if your company is small or large; you need to know everything there is to know about social media.

This means becoming the person who knows what is happening in the industry, who knows how to use the tools and who can best use them. 

If someone asks you a question about what’s new on Facebook or Twitter — don’t just give an opinion…give an informed answer backed up by facts. 

You should also be able to identify trends and patterns in how people are using different types of content (e.g., video vs text vs photos) across different platforms.

So that your company/client can make informed decisions about where it’s most appropriate for them to post content based on their target audience’s preferences.

Enhance your social media prowess by avoiding common pitfalls. Learn about the 16 social media mistakes to avoid and ensure that you stand out positively in the digital landscape.

Be Well Versed In Geo-Targeting, As It’s Key On Social Media

You can target a specific location, radius, or combination of both. If you’re interested in reaching a particular city or region (say, New York), you can use the search bar on Facebook and Google to find the geographic coordinates of your targeted locations. 

For example, I used this tool to find out that my current location is: 40° 28′ 19″ N 74° 0′ 5″ W. Then I could use those numbers as part of my message: “Join me for coffee in [location] at [time].”

Another way to target audiences with geo-targeting is to specify how far away from where you should be located. 

For example, if I wanted friends who live within 20 miles of where I currently am (you do understand what “current location” means here right?), then my message would read something like this: “Come join me for coffee within 20 miles of [current location] at [time].

Don’t Forget About Instagram Stories In Your 2019 Strategy

Instagram Stories are a great way to share behind-the-scenes content. For example, if you’re doing a podcast, you could link to your latest episode and talk about it in the story.

Instagram Stories can be used to share a link to a blog post or video, too for example: “We just published our latest podcast episode! Listen here.”

If you have something else that hasn’t been covered yet on social media, like an upcoming event or product launch (or even just an exciting new hire), consider creating an Instagram Story that includes all the details people need so they can join in on the fun!

Want to make an impact on social media? Discover effective strategies for getting noticed on social media and learn how to capture the attention of your desired audience.

Don’t Forget About Linkedin Ads And Sponsored emails

LinkedIn Ads are a great way to reach your target audience. They can be used as an extension of your company’s social media presence, or they can be used to create a new presence altogether. 

LinkedIn Sponsored InMails are another great way to reach your target audience through LinkedIn. 

The sponsored inbox feature allows you to send messages directly to the inboxes of members in your network who share interests with you and will therefore be more likely to read what you have to say.

LinkedIn is one of the most popular sites for professionals looking for jobs, so it’s important not only for recruiters but also for job seekers who want to find their dream job!

Use Twitter Lists To Follow Top Industry Leaders, Influencers, And More!

One of the best ways to get ahead in your social media career is to follow influential industry leaders, influencers, and thought leaders. Twitter lists are an easy way to organize these people and keep track of what they’re saying on Twitter.

You can create a list for just about anything: marketing, tech, and so on. Or you can create lists based on who you follow regularly (that way, for example, if one of your favorite accounts stops tweeting or gets suspended by Twitter for violating their terms of service).

You can also use Twitter lists to follow people that don’t follow back so that you don’t have any missed updates from them!

Check Out The Business Manager Feature On Facebook

Business Manager is a tool that allows you to manage your Facebook page and other Facebook properties. This can be helpful for social media managers because it allows you to track insights and see what’s working on your page, as well as manage ads and create custom audiences.

Keep up with the latest tech and trends at conferences like Social Media Marketing World and Social Media Week NYC.

It’s important to keep up with the latest tech and trends in your industry. Attending conferences like Social Media Marketing World and Social Media Week NYC can help you do that.

At a conference, you can learn from the experts in your field and be inspired by other social media managers who have gone before you.

You can also network with other social media managers who are further ahead on their professional journeys than you are and maybe even pick up some helpful tips from them!

Find Out If You’re Using All Of Facebook’s Tools By Taking Their Blueprint Quiz!

To use the Blueprint, you’ll need to create a Facebook page and permit it to access your account. The tool looks at information about your posts, groups, and pages and then provides insight into how you can improve your strategy.

For example, it will tell you how often content needs to be posted for it to reach the right audience or when content performs best (like on weekends). 

It also gives suggestions as to what types of content perform best on Facebook (for example, I found out that video works better than photo or link posts).

Ensure your social media management efforts don’t become problematic. Find out how to prevent being labeled as a social media management issue by exploring our insights on avoiding this label and maintaining a positive reputation.

Conclusion

Social media is an exciting, constantly-evolving field. The best way to stay up-to-date and keep your skills sharp is by keeping abreast of the news, monitoring trends, and learning from others in your field. 

By doing so, you will be able to stay competitive and position yourself as a valuable asset for any company looking to hire a social media manager!

Further Reading

5 Tips to Becoming a Social Media Manager: Explore essential tips to pave your way into the dynamic world of social media management.

4 Ways a Social Media Manager Can Help Your Business: Discover the ways a skilled social media manager can contribute to the growth and success of your business.

Organization Tips for Social Media Managers: Gain insights into effective organization strategies for managing social media responsibilities seamlessly.

And now, here’s the “FAQs” section based on the semantics of the titles:

FAQs

What are the key tips for becoming a successful social media manager?

Becoming a successful social media manager requires a combination of skills, strategy, and adaptability. Focus on consistent learning, effective communication, content creativity, platform expertise, and analytics proficiency.

How can a social media manager contribute to business growth?

A skilled social media manager can contribute to business growth by creating engaging content, building a strong online presence, increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, and fostering meaningful connections with the audience.

What are some effective organization tips for social media managers?

Social media managers can enhance their efficiency by employing organization tips such as using content calendars, scheduling tools, setting clear goals, staying updated on trends, and prioritizing tasks based on their impact.

What qualities make an effective social media manager?

Effective social media managers possess qualities like creativity, adaptability, strong communication, analytical skills, understanding of various platforms, ability to manage time and tasks, and a strategic approach to content planning.

How can social media managers stay ahead in the ever-changing landscape?

Staying ahead in the dynamic realm of social media requires continuous learning, keeping up with industry trends, experimenting with new strategies, staying engaged with the audience, and embracing technological advancements.