How to Become A Successful Social Media Manager – Easy Steps
Every business needs a social media presence, whether it’s a local store, a travel company, a real estate agency, a life coach, etc. Social Media is an important part of every marketing strategy. This team in the company usually helps businesses raise their brand awareness, connect with their customers, and boost their leads and sales.
Social media platforms are growing fast and changing constantly, so the best time to start a social media marketing career is now.
If you are not sure where to start, have a read at the guide below which will answer your questions and give you some practical tips on how to become a social media manager….if that’s your dream!
1. Learn New Skills
There’s a common myth that Social Media Marketing is easy and that everyone who knows how to post a photo on social media platforms can be a social media manager.
Whilst this is definitely not the case, anyone with the right skillset can indeed become a social media manager but only by studying and learning what works.
So, you’re probably thinking ”What skills do I need to become a social media manager?” “Are there any courses I can take to improve or add skills under my belt?”
Even though a degree in marketing is not required (but it might help with your first job), you will have to possess the following skills if you want to start the parth of managing social media account(s):
- Strategic planning
- Strong communication skills
- Creativity
- Basic Graphic Design Skills
- Photo/video editing skills in Canva or Photoshop
- Copywriting
- An eye for design
- Content writing
- Time management
- Analytical skill
- Business-minded
There’s always something new in the social media world, so be prepared to learn constantly and to keep up with the algorithms.
2. Learn Your Platforms and What Works Best on Each
It’s important to decide whether you’re going to specialise in one or more social media platforms. Remember that less is more because you can’t be an expert at everything. It’s better to be an expert at one or two things than be average at many things.
For example, you could be a super user of platforms like Hootsuite or Later after playing with them for a while and taking an online course where they show the tool’s capabilities and how to use them.
3. Get the Necessary Tools
There are some awesome scheduling tools that will not only help you save your time, but also provide you with analytics and a visual planner. Many of them offer a free plan, so you don’t need to subscribe to a paid plan when you’re just starting out. Later is my favorite all-around social media scheduling tool. You can not only schedule your posts but it also offers Personalized insights, tools to help you find the right content, stock photo library and much more.
4. What Does a Social Media Manager Do?
A Social Media Manager does a lot of things, including social media strategy creation, content planning and creation, monitoring, managing social media partnerships with other brands, photo/video editing, etc.
Some Managers have great photography skills, so they take photos for their clients. It’s very interesting to add a complementary skill to your services and offer more value to your client. It’s really up to you if you want to add any more services to your offer.
5. Choose Your Niche
Finding your niche is the first thing you should do when starting your Social Media business.
When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one. The niche should be the intersection of you skills with what you love doing as a hobby and your creative space.
So, how do you find your niche?
The best way to find your niche is to ask yourself what your passion is, what things you enjoy doing and are knowledgeable about. Let’s say you’re passionate about travelling and you have a lot of knowledge about this sector. You can then use this passion and experience to help any business in the travel industry. And if you want to be more specific, you can narrow it down, and help businesses that focus on female travel trips or so.
Here are some of the small businesses that need this service and there are high chances the competition on these niches will be small.
- Fitness studios
- Hair stylist
- Clinics (aesthetics, dentist,…)
- Makeup artists
- Restaurants
- Real Estate Agencies
- Local businesses
6. Get Testimonials
Becoming a Social Media Manager is easy, but it’s hard to get the first client with no previous projects. All potential clients will want to see your portfolio and the results confirming your work as social media professional or freelancer.
There are many ways to get testimonials, including offering some free work ( I don’t recommend this one unless it’s a non-profit organization). Instead, you can try to get a junior position in a small company, build your own profile, or offer an audit in exchange for a testimonial.
7. Write a (social media) Business Plan
Every business needs a business plan. It’s basically a road to success. Your business plan should include the following:
- What do you offer?
You should describe here what services you offer
- What is different about your offer? Why people should buy from you?
-To stand out from your competition, you’ll need to set yourself apart.
- How do you help people? How will people benefit from your service?
This is one of the most important things, if not the most important. People don’t care about your offer if they can’t benefit from it. The thing people care about is the result or solution that will solve their problems.
- How much will you charge for your services?
Some Social Media Managers have monthly packages with a fixed price while some others charge per hour.
Create an Onboarding System
So, you’ve just signed your first client and you’re nervous and don’t know what to do next. I know that feeling! That’s why you need to create an onboard system to make sure everything will go smoothly.
Some of the first things to do are planning and asking questions. It’s essential to fully understand your clients’ brand, their needs and expectations, their tone of voice, and have a plan to follow through on their goals. This will also make you become a better Social Media professional as you learn more about your niche and clients. Afterwards, it will become much easier to land new clients or improve your offering.
Create a Social Media Strategy
A Social Media Strategy, like any other strategy should come before start the actual work. It’s an essential part of Social Media Marketing. Your strategy should include everything you plan to do, all actions that will be taken as well as your goals. The more specific your plan is, it will be more effective.
To help you create an effective social media strategy for your clients, you can answer the following questions:
- Who is their target audience?
- What kind of content will you share?
- Which platform will you use?
- What is your brand’s tone of voice?
- How often do you plan to post?
What are the goals, or results you want to achieve?
While these are just some of the most important things you’ll need to know, there are many more things you’ll need to learn once you get started. The best Social Media Managers never stop learning as the market changes quickly.
Now that you know what you need to start your social media career, you can proceed with learning the skills and looking for some opportunities on the market in specific niches.
