From regularly updating your compliance knowledge to the comfort of wearing lots of hats, here are 22 answers to the question, "What are the important things every social media manager needs to know and why?"
DIVE DEEPER:Forecast of PR and marketing trends for 2023
- Stay current with legal and regulatory compliance
- Match or fall back
- Remember, results take time
- Exchange ideas with like-minded companies
- Cultivate curiosity for strategic planning
- Stay up to date on industry trends and changes
- fix problems
- preserve authenticity
- Rely on data for decision-making
- Create valuable and engaging content
- Conduct audience research
- Stick to best practices
- Understand the dynamics of different platforms
- Stretch a budget
- Enable a real human connection
- master crisis intervention
- Expand your analytical skills
- Practice public speaking
- Learn basic psychology
- Take responsibility for every detail
- Speak your story
- Be a jack of all trades, master of most
Stay current with legal and regulatory compliance
In my opinion, this is essential knowledge for any social media manager as social media platforms are now subject to legal and regulatory compliance. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines are examples of laws and regulations that could impact your business.
If you want to keep your brand's reputation intact and out of court, you need to ensure your material adheres to certain rules and regulations.
Gerrid Smith, Chief Marketing Officer,Joy Organics
Match or fall back
I believe every social media manager needs to understand the importance of staying current with the latest trends and best practices in the industry. Social media platforms are constantly evolving, and what worked yesterday may not work today. By staying informed and adaptable, social media managers can stay ahead of the curve and ensure their strategies remain effective.
This includes regularly researching and analyzing industry trends, examining the latest algorithm changes, and monitoring emerging technologies and innovations. It also means actively engaging with their audience, responding to feedback and monitoring performance metrics to continuously refine their approach.
Ultimately, social media is an ever-changing landscape, and it requires a proactive, informed, and flexible approach to succeed. By prioritizing continuous learning and adaptation, social media managers can not only survive, but stay ahead of the competition and deliver results for their brands.
Vincent Orleck, President,Social-Media-Club Phoenix
Remember, results take time
It will take some time to see the results of your campaign. Although you may or may not know this personally, as a social media manager, you will probably explain to a client more than once that the turnaround in a social media campaign won't happen overnight.
At least from the perspective of many companies, even those that we would consider fully modernized, the actual metrics of social media's impact on a business can be a bit of a muddle, or in some cases a completely foreign concept.
As a social media manager, there's no harm in collecting this data occasionally so you can show your work to clients in a way that's easy for them to digest.
Liza Kirsh, Chief Marketing Officer,Dymap
Exchange ideas with like-minded companies
Don't just wait for followers. Instead, follow companies with similar interests to get them following you back. You can also like and comment on their posts. It's important to be active on social media (besides posting) to make the most of it. Other companies will appreciate your commitment and reciprocate.
Drew Sherman, Director of Marketing and Communications,number of revolutions
Cultivate curiosity for strategic planning
Every social media manager should know that they need to have an inquisitive and strategic mindset for planning. Curiosity is a crucial skill and it is imperative that your social media strategist frequently explores new features, engages in social listening, and understands your competitors' actions.
Having a manager who is not just focused on getting the job done, but who can find quick solutions and develop long-term strategies is a valuable asset. An excellent social media manager should agree strategy and planning with the upper team and marketing department to understand their goals and integrate all social media campaigns in the same direction. We need to connect each campaign to a business objective and fit into the overall strategy.
Georgi Todorov, Founder,ThriveMyWay
Stay up to date on industry trends and changes
For example, a social media executive working for a fashion brand discovered that Instagram's algorithm had recently changed. The algorithm now prioritizes posts with high engagement rates, which means posts with lower engagement rates are seen by fewer people.
To adapt to this shift, the social media manager shifted its strategy to prioritize engagement, using strategies like influencer collaborations and interactive content to boost engagement rates. This allowed the brand to maintain its reach and visibility on the platform.
By staying informed of industry trends and changes, social media managers can adjust their strategies to keep up with the latest developments and ensure their brand stays relevant and visible to their audience.
Dejan Kvrgic, Founder,ProContent Service
fix problems
Managing social media requires you to be an excellent problem solver and adapt to the ever-changing networks. Very often platforms are updated and you need to figure out how to deal with these changes without disrupting your customers' social posting schedule too much.
You can certainly ask for help or rely on online support articles, but often the problems you encounter as a social media manager are highly situational and not easily solved using popular methods. Learn things as you go and adapt to those bumps along the way to make a more successful manager.
Ashley Romer, SEO-Manager,PaperStreet-Webdesign
preserve authenticity
Social media users have spoken to their "likes" and "follows" — if they need to be marketed, let it be authentic. For example, user-generated content, informal branded Q&A, and personal stories work well because they are relatable. If your content doesn't feel accessible, potential customers may not feel connected to your products.
Lyudmyla Dobrynina, Marketing Leader,Optimal
Rely on data for decision-making
Every social media manager should understand the need for data-driven decision making and how it can inform future strategies. Gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data from metrics and analytics enables the social media manager to create evidence-based strategies designed to better meet their clients' needs and effectively engage with prospects.
Without understanding this data, it can be extremely difficult to develop content that resonates with followers or track the success of deployed campaigns. A data-driven approach easily shows what's working and what's not, allowing them to adjust their strategies accordingly. Therefore, data should be at the heart of every social media manager's efforts to remain competitive.
Kate Wojewoda-Celinska, Marketing Director,space elevator
Create valuable and engaging content
Every social media manager needs to understand the importance of creating valuable and engaging content. While it may seem obvious, many social media managers fall into the trap of creating content that has to be more sales-oriented or simply uninteresting to their audience.
Creating content that delivers value to your audience can build a strong relationship with them and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry. This can increase engagement, higher conversion rates, and even brand loyalty. Additionally, creating engaging content can help you stand out in a crowded social media landscape and capture the attention of potential customers.
Ultimately, social media is about building relationships with your audience, and valuable and engaging content is vital. Social media managers can create a solid and effective social media presence for their brand by focusing on delivering value and building relationships.
Shane McEvoy, MD,Flycast Media
Conduct audience research
Social media managers need to know their audience well. In my opinion, they need to examine their target audience's demographics, interests, behaviors, and preferences. This data helps companies create content that resonates with their audience and increases engagement.
Holly Cooper, Marketing Manager,Lucas Products and Services
Stick to best practices
To get the most out of your social media efforts, you should be familiar with the best practices recommended by each site. To avoid being blocked, follow the platform's posting guidelines. Don't forget to fill out your profiles by adding a bio, photo and cover. If you want your material to rank higher in search results, add hashtags, keywords, and alternative text.
Matt Magnante, Director of Content and SEO,fitness was
Understand the dynamics of different platforms
Every social media manager needs to understand the dynamics of their platform. You need to know the best practices for engaging with followers, the best strategies for creating content, and the most effective ways to measure and track performance. Knowing these key components of social media management will help ensure posts, campaigns, and activities are optimized for maximum effectiveness and reach.
Jaya Iyer, Marketingassistentin,Digital Marketing by Teranga
Stretch a budget
All good social media managers need to know the basics of budgeting to get the most out of what they're allotted. A social media budget can get surprisingly difficult between paid advertising, design and content commissions, and training on new courses to keep up with the latest technologies. A solid understanding of budgeting can greatly improve the effectiveness of each aspect.
Alexandre Robicquet, Co-Founder and CEO,cross thoughts
Enable real human connections
Consumers can reach out to businesses directly through social media with comments, questions, and concerns. The interactions customers have with a brand's social media accounts are public, so it's important to be polite and helpful in your responses.
It is possible to show the authenticity of your business and your desire to help your customers in any way you can by enabling real conversations and human connections online.
Alex Constantinou, Managing Director,The Fitness Circle
master crisis intervention
Social media managers must be prepared to handle social media disasters. In my opinion, companies should have a strategy in place to respond to bad comments, reviews, or posts that can damage their brand's reputation. They should also be able to successfully communicate with their audience during a crisis and take the appropriate actions to resolve the issue.
Jeff Romero, Founder,Octiv Digital
Expand your analytical skills
Until long after the advent of the medium, there were no metrics to track the success of your social media marketing and advertising efforts. Neither Facebook nor Twitter had any kind of metrics section.
A media executive's job was to blindly scroll through feeds, posts, and pages to find the formula for success. More of a work of art than a methodical study. What is working and what is not can now be monitored in real time. Sentiment analysis is a viable area of study today.
James Nathan, Founder,market glass
Practice public speaking
Communicating clearly and boldly in front of a large audience is, in my opinion, the foundation of public speaking ability. You see, things have changed in the world of social media advertising since the advent of Facebook and Instagram Live Streaming. Brands need to appear in front of and speak to a live audience, as 82% of viewers would rather engage with a brand's live stream than their social posts.
Additionally, live stream retail stores focused on social media platforms are becoming more and more common. If you're a social media manager and want to use live streaming, you need to be comfortable with live sessions, answer viewers' questions instantly, and conduct real-time interviews.
Mathew Bowley, Marketing Director,Solmar villas
Learn basic psychology
Understanding what content audiences want and how it should be presented is an indispensable skill for social media managers. This helps get a better view of audience minds and allows them to create engaging content.
The better a social media manager understands psychology, the greater their chances of success. This also helps them predict the outcomes of their content strategy, which is crucial for setting expectations and goals.
Byron Redhead, Director and Co-Founder,First page
Take responsibility for every detail
One thing every social media manager should understand is that the details aren't the details; You are responsible for the design. Making a spelling mistake isn't the end of the world, but it should be treated as such by a social media manager.
The results will reflect your ability to keep your communication and strategy razor sharp. No brand wants to be associated with sloppiness or inconsistency. The attention to detail applies not only to the social media post, but also to the team you work with.
Sarrah Pitaliya, Head of Digital Marketing,Radixweb
Speak your story
The biggest thing I enjoy about social media is being able to look behind the scenes, so to speak. Through social media, we build relationships with people we might otherwise never be able to meet.
With this in mind, social media managers must primarily curate content that fits that person's story or mission. This helps foster the relationship that social media builds and keeps the interactions flowing.
Cassie Mace, owner and creator,She is Sew Vain
Be a jack of all trades, master of most
A good social media manager is someone who can essentially function as a one-person social media team given enough time. You must have a solid understanding of graphic design, content writing, research and analysis, time management, project management, and stakeholder management—a high requirement that most cannot complete on their first day.
This means that the side job of being a good social media manager is to be an excellent learner. You should always strive to evolve and stay current with the latest developments and best practices for the platforms you operate on.
Onno Halsema, CEO,Contentoo