Just 10 years ago, the profession of a social media manager was rare and poorly paid. Today the SMM specialist is one of the most sought-after jobs in the labor market worldwide. The popularity of the profession can only be compared, perhaps, with seals.
How to become an SMM specialist? What skills are required to work in social networks? Who and how can you earn on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter? We have prepared a detailed guide for you in which we will answer all these questions in detail. Ready to conquer new professional peaks? Go for it!
What were social networks 10 years ago? They were platforms for dating, socializing, and sharing personal content. A lot has changed since then. In the process of development, social sites have added the function of creating enterprise pages, and it has become possible to add goods and services.
In the present time, social networks have undergone global changes. Brands and organizations, media, and bloggers are now represented. Today we use social networks not only to communicate but also to get news, look at trends, rate reviews, shop, and be inspired by the creativity of talented people.
An SMM specialist is a social media marketer who performs the tasks of strategic planning, content creation and promotion, brand reputation management, sales promotion, and audience engagement.
The definition above covers the social media management profession comprehensively. As companies and personal brands have increased their presence on such platforms, the roles in social media management have expanded. Now the concept often includes not just one person, but an entire team of narrow specialists. What are these professions? We will talk about them in detail below. In the meantime, here are some more interesting facts and figures about the development of SMM.
The skills of an SMM specialist
A career in social media starts differently for everyone. Some choose the path of internships in various companies or with popular content-makers. Some take a thorough approach and take an SMM specialist course. Such an approach helps to cover all possible areas of the profession at once in a comprehensive way, gain basic knowledge and skills for work, and start earning good money. Despite the fact that the training is not easy, the write essay for me services help to perform tasks and master the hard profession.
What SMM specialist skills are valued in the labor market these days? We have broken them down into several categories, and we have a fairly extensive classification that is easy to navigate when preparing to start in the profession.
Learnability
The ability to learn quickly is often seen in brand job postings in a variety of specialties. In SMM work, tracking trends is part of the profession, without which you can’t do it. So, if you want to work in social networks, you will have almost daily to learn something new.
In addition to responding quickly to changing trends, you will also have to constantly predict. That is, learn how to strategize, plan content, and adjust to various contingencies and events that affect the brand and its customers. To summarize, the ability to learn quickly (and adapt quickly) is a critical core skill without which your social media career will end before it begins.
How do you develop a learning and planning ability? Follow industry publications, blogs, and SMM Influencers.
Copywriting
Copywriting skills are another important experience you should get before you get off to a serious start in the SMM profession. Social media texts are the voice the brand uses to communicate with its audience. The overall marketing strategy always decides what that voice will be (tone of voice), and how you should and should not speak to customers.
Now many foreign brands choose a simple and accessible style of communication with customers, focusing on the younger generation who grew up watching Instagram feed. A great example is the Cinnabon buns account, which is loved by millions of people around the world. The easy Friendly style of small posts is well-received by the audience and helps promote the brand’s products.
What’s important to understand about mastering the skill of writing for social media? You can’t just copy a popular brand or competitor’s post. You need to learn how to develop a unique style of communication with consumers that will differentiate you in the marketplace. Of course, a natural sense of humor, taste, style, and basic knowledge of spelling and grammar rules are also important here.
The ability to analyze is an important skill in working on social sites. This skill determines the effectiveness of the specialist’s work, which is evaluated by employers. How do you understand how effective an SMM specialist is? Ask him for a report with a detailed analysis of the indicators.
Data analysis
Don’t know how to analyze? This skill can be developed, don’t worry. Training will show you in detail and tell you where to look and what to look for when analyzing data. Although, if you haven’t been good with charts and math since you were a kid, you may have some problems.
Creativity
It’s hard to work in social media without creativity. Creativity is a must, and it’s not just about formulating your thoughts.
The most important component of a brand account is visual. Today, the visual design includes a “profile cap” and stories (highlighters), as well as daily stories and posts. There is even a separate profession, storismaker – a specialist in creating creative stories that will provoke reactions from the audience (an important indicator for algorithms in social networks).
Creativity as a skill can also be developed. First, it is influenced by “seeing” – the more creativity you see, the easier it will be for you to create something unique. Second, the “steal like an artist” rule also works here. You can always adapt good ideas to the company’s corporate identity, for example, by changing some shapes, colors, and fonts, and adding unique elements. You can also always develop creative ideas at the brainstorming sessions that the marketing team.
Communicating with customers
Alternatively, this skill can also be bluntly referred to as “sociality.” Your ability to cope with out-of-the-box customer service situations also depends on how well-developed your social skill is in general.
Yes, many brands now have dedicated employees who are solely dedicated to customer service. This can also be a sales manager. Often, the sales manager is a separate specialist who gives consultations, and presentations, and answers customer questions. There is also often a community manager – a person who administers a community in social networks. But in a small business owners often cannot physically keep track of, for example, comments from subscribers, and salespeople are busy with correspondence or phone calls. Then this function also falls to SMM.
Where to look for SMM jobs
The great news is that jobs in social networks are in most cases remote. A huge part of vacancies considers specialists not only in their city, but also all over the country, or even the world. We offer you three proven options on how to find a job in SMM:
- LinkedIn sites, Glassdoor;
- Channels with jobs in social networks;
- Freelance exchanges.
Of course, there are even more job search options. Especially if your English or other language is not yet up to the level required by overseas employers.
If you want to show off your experience and creativity right away, don’t forget to include links to accounts where you can admire your work in your CV or message the employer. You can also make a separate portfolio document, such as Google Docs.
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