What Is Your Social Media Manager Responsible For?
On the most basic level, your social media manager is meant to…well, manage your social media. Social media managers are amazing, but they aren’t meant to be miracle workers! There are some big misconceptions around what social media managers are actually responsible for, so let’s clarify!
Here’s a breakdown of what your social media manager is actually responsible for, what they actually are not responsible for, and how to have a successful relationship with your social media manager!
Social Media Manager “Do’s” and “Don’ts”
A lot of people and businesses like to make the role of a social media manager into something way more complicated than it needs to be. Ultimately, their primary function is to help you define your social media goals and content pillars to put together a social media and content strategy. Some may look to a social media manager and expect them to design this robust marketing campaign, and that simply isn’t their job! (That’s what a director of marketing or anyone with “marketing” in their title is for).
As part of creating a strategy for your social media accounts, they can also assist you in growing your brand awareness and attracting a wider audience. They should continue to stay up to date with social media trends and best practices in relation to how they can help you accomplish your overall goals. If sales, however, are part of the goals you’re thinking a SMM can help you achieve, you’d be wrong. It isn’t their job to get you sales or fix bad products or offers.
Creating content that is specifically tailored to you and your social goals and analyzing said content are the bulk of what a social media manager can help you do. This is not to be confused with the notion of helping you “go viral.” If your primary goal in creating content for your audience is going viral and not providing thoughtful, education, value-full content…you may want to rethink your goals.
Keep in mind, your social media manager also doesn’t need to be working alone! They may work independently, but if they work with multiple clients (which they probably do) it is not unusual to have a team member helping them manage content calendars. It’s also not their job, a social media manager or an employee of theirs, to take your suggestions as gospel. If you are hiring them to do the work, it’s important to understand that they are the experts! It’s not their job to take every suggestion you dish out.
Tips to Have a Successful Relationship with Your SMM
Whether you’re working hand in hand with your social media manager or you are giving them free riegn with your socials, there are a few ways that you can set yourself up to have a successful working relationship. As a social media manager myself with a team working with me, these tips come from the heart!
Having a clear line of communication is key, no matter how cliche the phrase is! Start by clearly communicating your expectations ahead of time. If you want things done a certain way or are expecting them to be done a certain way, you have to be up front. Organization is also a large part of a successful relationship. Try your best to have photos, links, and any other asset organized before presenting them to a social media manager. Their job is to take those assets and turn them into great content, not necessarily to organize the assets for you.
Most importantly, remember that your social media manager (and their supplemental staff) are human beings too! Some SMM’s will go above and beyond for their clients, but it isn’t always necessary that they do so.. Some accounts and clients require the basics and some need a bit more support. What’s truly important is that they are appropriately compensated for the work that they are doing!
Going above and beyond for my clients is one of the things I pride myself on. I let them know that I'm their teammate, there to help. Not all social media managers do that (in fact, I would argue that most do not).
Do you have a social media manager? Are you looking for one? LMK where you're at in the comments!
