Becoming a Social Media Manager: What Do You Need to Know?

So you want to be a social media manager?

I don’t blame you! 

I absolutely love my job, the flexibility, the creativity, the ability to work on projects for different industries, and being able to do it all on my own. 

I’ve been working in social media for over 5 years and I thought I’d compile a list of all the things I would tell anyone interested in becoming a social media manager– especially if you want to start your own business! 

Whether it be about posting, platforms, customer retention, engagement or analytics, I’ve tried to condense my most important pieces of wisdom into one blog post.

Here it goes. 

Really Understand Meta 

I’ll be honest, this is probably the part of my job that I enjoy the least, but it’s super important. 

For those of you who don’t know, Meta is the company that owns Facebook and Instagram. So if your primary platforms are going to be Instagram and Facebook, you’ll be at the mercy of Meta quite a bit during your work day.

From setting up accounts, to connecting your Facebook and Instagram accounts, to compiling analytics– you’re pretty much always looking at or working within a Meta platform. 

If you don’t understand what you’re doing on Meta (especially during account set up), you can make some pretty detrimental errors.

For example, I made the mistake of having professional Instagram accounts connected in my “Accounts Center” to my personal Facebook and when my personal Facebook was hacked a few months ago, I nearly lost 3 client accounts. It was one of the most terrifying moments of my career for sure. 

When working in Meta, you cannot be careless and you have to truly understand what you’re doing, but the good news is, there’s a ton of resources out there to help you learn about the platform and ensure you’re making good decisions for you and your clients. 

Don’t Offer Everything 

At the beginning of my social media management career, I took on just about any project that I could and attempted to provide every service possible. And while I learned a lot in the process, I wasn’t truly helping my clients to the best of my ability.

I was managing too many accounts, across too many industries and performing tasks for them that were outside of my scope and outside of my skill set. 

I even showed up with my mom’s old camera to a client trying to take high quality, professional level food photos. Needless to say, I was terrified the whole time and even though the photos turned out OK, the stress and terror I felt wasn’t benefitting my client or myself. 

As I’ve continued to work and establish my business and my skills, I have learned what kind of projects to take on, what kind of businesses I want to work with and where to outsource.

I now set expectations with my clients about what I provide as a social media manager and where we can bring in another professional to enhance my offerings (photographers, videographers, web designers, artists, PR professionals, graphic designers, etc..)

Be Consistent

This is true for every aspect of your work. 
Be consistently available for your clients and stick to a schedule.

Be consistent in creating high quality work. 
Be consistent in reaching out to potential new clients.

Be consistent in posting. 

You (& Your Clients) Don’t Need to Be on Every Platform

I’ll keep this short- if you answer no to any of these questions, you probably should stay off a platform:

• Do I have the time to create a high quality service offering or strategy for this platform?

• Do I have the time to be consistent on this platform?

• Is the target audience on this platform? 

• Can I create quality content for this platform? 

If it wasn’t a resounding “YES!” across the board when you read these questions, I think it’s safe to stay off that platform until you’re ready. 

This Isn’t (Always) a Glamorous Profession

As a social media manager you spend long hours at your desk, you receive a lot of feedback and edits, you’re constantly learning and evolving what you offer, you’re expected to know a LOT of information and you’re not always treated with a lot of respect when you tell people what you do.

But the days that are glamorous make it all worth it– helping a client achieve goals they didn’t believe were possible, attending a photoshoot and capturing incredible content, having a piece of content go viral, taking a stressful task off a client’s hands, learning a new skill… All of these moments make this job incredibly worthwhile!  

And nothing is better than proving the power of social media to someone who thinks this is a frivolous job or a silly expense.

Social media is powerful and in this role, you have the ability to change someone’s business. 

Engaged Following > Large Following 

This is true for your own accounts and your client’s accounts. You’d rather 100 people who are interested in what you have to say and what you’re bringing to the table than 100,000 people who scroll past your posts.

Never underestimate the power of an engaged following. 

Everything is Sales

No one wants to be a salesperson (don’t you even try to disagree with that statement), but it turns out, we all are a salesperson at some level. Especially those of us who work in social media. 

We’re selling our skills and offerings to potential customers. We’re selling our client’s businesses to their target audience.

This role is a lot more sales than I was initially prepared for, but researching sales strategies and techniques has helped me immensely! 

If you’ve made it all the way down here to the end of this blog, thank you! 

If you’re beginning your career as a SMM, I wish you the best of luck and I hope you feel encouraged and motivated to learn, grow and stay creative.