The role of a social media manager has expanded in a massive way. This position has evolved from basically nonexistent, to happening, to sought after, crucial and extremely coveted. Today, managing and representing the social embodiment of a brand means wearing many hats each day, becoming a jack of all trades – or watching a YouTube video on said trades – fully mastering the art of social listening, and ultimately knowing a brand better than it knows itself.
Over the past few years and since the early days of digitized social happenings, social media managers’ jobs have evolved in ways that none of could have ever imagined, creating a new niche in this digital space, and being recognized as essential components in the majority of business strategies we see today. They now find themselves overseeing vital parts of brands that greatly impact business outcomes, with incredible pressure to stand up against the competition. The responsibility of captivating audiences, improving customer experiences, and building a better business while simultaneously building a better world fall heavily on the shoulders of these social architects who manage a brand’s ability to fully flourish in our modern world.
The early social giant, Meta (Facebook), continues to morph, buy out, and replicate any and everything the competition does and was previously one of most successful social platforms to reach business goals(Hutchinson, 2020) With the rise of e-commerce, in-stream shopping, AR, VR, bots, live-virtual events, analytical capabilities and video-centric platforms like TikTok and IG, brands have realized the necessity of figuring out where they fit in and which social channels mean the highest ROI; this is where the social media managers come in. According to Social Media Strategy, a book focused on social media marketing and customer engagement, in order for a brand to be socially successful, build social currency, and “meet their audience wherever they spend their time”, social media managers must focus on the ABC’s-the brand’s Audience, the Brand and it’s social presence, and the social Campaigns, which are aimed at increasing customer conversion, engagement, and retention.
There are both positives and negatives to this social shift that has taken place in regards to the way social media managers have had to pivot in order to keep their brand’s afloat, but at the end of the day, Pandora’s box has been opened and there is no caging the beast that is social media. Also, as they say, if you can’t beat them, join them.
The growing responsibilities, endless new platforms, and coveted ad space gives social media managers an advantageous new level of control over the growth, level of involvement, and relatability of their brands according to their customers. This power also has opened a new realm of understanding regarding what ads are working, what their customers want and expect, and where their customers are most readily found, thanks to platform’s analytic capabilities. These platforms also give brand’s the ability to sell directly to their client base, expand their reach, and use targeted marketing strategies instead of blanket gorilla marketing.
Unfortunately, with great power comes great responsibility, as we’ve already touched on. The role of a social media manager is no longer a set it and forget it type job, and a brand can no longer flourish socially without being strategically managed at all times of the day. These managers have to be creative and analytical, methodical and curious, and detailed and fluid. The social landscape is ever-changing, and social media managers have to not only keep up with the Jones’ in terms of which platforms they are using, but they also have to constantly make sure someone is available, that someone usually being them, to post written content, design graphic content, film and share video content, respond to comments and concerns, market new products, push new campaigns, form partnerships, all on the right platforms, on the right days, at the right time of day, like it’s groundhog day. Further, these managers are forced to tailor their methods to the specific industries they are in because there is no one size fits all approach that works when it comes to social media.
The technology being utilized by social media giants is rapidly changing and evolving, and with that, comes benefits for social media marketers like automation. Unfortunately, it seems as though with every evolution, there is a new problem created by each new solution, making the job of a social media manager “on paper” quite ephemeral. Fortunately, and in reality, social media managers simply understand that’s the nature of this beast that is social identity.
Resources:
Alfred Lua, A. L. (2019). 10 Important Skills and Traits Your Social Media Manager Will Need. Retrieved from https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-manager-job-description/
Hutchinson, A. H. (2020). 25 Predictions for Social Media Marketing in 2021. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/25-predictions-for-social-media-marketing-in-2021/589785/
Hootsuite. (2020). Social Trends 2021. Retrieved from https://www.hootsuite.com/pages/social-trends-2021
