A trend is happening in workplaces and you may have noticed it: Some companies are hiring social media managers while others are outsourcing digital marketing agencies to manage online strategies.
There are recruiters who have a strict set of requirements for a social media manager position and there are top level executives who believe in wise and cost-efficient outsourcing. Whatever the case is, it all boils down to getting the right person to do the job.
A matter of discipline
In this age, a 10-year-old child already knows how to post a catchy status and an impressively-composed photo. But that, of course, does not make him a social media manager, even for his account.
For us folks at Third Team Media, social media management is an important matter of self and team discipline, which is reflected in the materials for our search for managers who will help our clients grow.
This post is sort of a hint for students and fresh graduates who want to embark into social media as a career to develop core competencies and attitudes befitting of a social media manager.
Core competencies
These competencies encompass social skills, tech proficiency, initiative, creativity, analytical chops, writing expertise, and marketing know-how. This means that competent social media managers’ breadth extends beyond monitoring current events and trends and goes right into nimble and creative strategy execution and in-depth data analysis.
Using Sprout Social as a source and gathering insights from our own experience, here is what we think it takes to be a successful social media manager:

Updated tools, no impulsive actions, right attitude

Oh, there’s a new tool launched this very minute? No news there. With the increasing population of people going online, the demand for solution-focused tools have increased a hundredfold. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of execution.

“For us folks at Third Team Media, social media management is an important matter of self and team discipline, which is reflected in the materials for our search for managers who will help our clients grow.”

Using a tool or platform any day is easy. However, a social media manager is advised not to rush and make decisions impulsively. He/she is required to weigh things and ask simple yet important questions:

• Does this platform have potential longevity?
• Does its purpose align with the client’s brand and social identity?
• Is the company’s current or potential audience present on this network?
• Will the company see a return on investment or energy if it joins this platform?

Strategy execution is not a solo effort. It requires a group of creative and talented people who knows how to communicate in any channel at any given time or place. Hence, a smart social media manager who is part of the team already appreciates the need for a “collaborative, participatory environment” to put things together and deliver them brilliantly.

Set strategy, sticks to the landing

As we have emphasized, self-discipline is important. Part of it is self-control. When a social media manager already knows the basics, he/she is still required to think wisely before any action is done.
By thinking, it requires a big picture perspective to include the company’s general business objectives, fiscal plans and sales goals and aligning these with the strategy he/she has in mind. Included in the thought process are some questions:

• Are my social goals support greater business goals?
• Are the social strategies and tactics outlined attainable?
• What processes are in place to test, learn and adjust as necessary?

Understanding limitations

Social media is 24/7/365, which means it is “always on” 24 hours everyday throughout the year. Unlike social media, though, a manager’s body needs rest. He/she does not have to “live and breathe his or her role all day and all night”. If he/she does, this will result to “sloppy posts, irrelevant content and a disjointed experience for fans and followers”.
A social media manager is not a robot. To deal with other people effectively, he/she must be, above all, human, too. By acknowledging this fact, he/she has become conscious of his/limitations. To cope with these, he/she can use data and tools after answering these questions:

• What are the best days and times to engage the brand’s audience?
• Should the company use technology that provides automated and optimal send times?
• Are there reliable teammates who could help the social media managers handle online communities?

Part of the limitations, too, is knowing, based on data, how to grow, where to double-up efforts and when to cut cords.
These are some things company recruiters have to consider when hiring, or when retaining, social media managers as employees. These must also be considered by companies that wish to do away with the expensive recruitment process and outsource a digital marketing agency like Third Team Media that already has a pool of reliable social media managers to do the work for them.
For more information about social media management, avail of our free consultation. And we’re hiring, too. Check out our job opportunities.
(with Mary Mae Edgilez Yburan/The Memoriter Writing Service)