Did you get the same reaction from your parents when you told them you are going to study marketing as if they heard something like this: “Dear parents, I am leaving behind my character which you were working on so hard and I will make my living on lies and stealing from people. Well, If I won’t end up on the street because, in the news, they said they are too many marketers and companies don’t want them.”
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It took me a while to explain to my parents at least a bit about what exactly I am doing and why my profession is not waste of time (not sure they still trust me). But I did understand their reaction – their reaction is based on old fashioned experience.
Forget the times when Facebook was only a catalogue of pretty pictures and motivational quotes. Over the last few years, they have worked hard to become serious a media outlet (and they did it indeed). That means if a company wants to spend their precious money, they need to think how much to spend on Facebook or Instagram and what their communication is going to be about.
When I tell you that one-quarter of digital advertising in 2016 was spent on Facebook you will choke on a nut. That’s why these days it is very important for people working with this media to know exactly what they doing and why they are doing it.
But now to the point.
The social media business has not been around very long so each agency basically did it differently. In some agencies, one social media manager (or “socialist” as we call it here for fun) has 8-9 brands and they are only working on content. Whereas in other agencies, each socialist has fewer brands, but much more complex duties. And these socialists are actually called social media (brand) managers. That means they are the protectors of brand values, style of communication and specific language. They are creating content and always trying to find the best solution in each helpless situation. They are like an invisible ambassador of the brand. You would say – “blah, blah, blah”.
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So let’s see how many traditional agency positions a social media brand manager needs to become:
The job of the account manager is to translate between the agency and their clients. Since a socialist knows the best, they are able to communicate with clients straight away. For this reason, they always attend campaign presentations, preparing reports about brands and lots more.
Do you know where the brand is going when it doesn’t know where it should go? I can tell you, but it wouldn’t be appropriate. One of the most important things for a social media brand manager is creating a communication strategy for a brand. They are going to speak for the brand so they need to know everything, including strategy. After that, they will have that brand in their DNA and their word will always be taken seriously since they know the brand the best.
Obviously, there are always other strategists for different campaigns, but they work very closely together with socialists and can always bring very important insights to the table.
Knowing how to prepare a strategy is one of the most important things you can learn while being a socialist.
On Facebook, you are fighting literally with almost 2 billion other people for their attention, so if you don’t know how to write, well good luck! Socialists need to write ultra good and become extraordinary copywriters. Sometimes they need to get special brand wording connected with the exact brand. So they need to sometimes be a house lady for the cooking company, an Adidas trendsetter or a hipster for a new beer flavour.
Socialists need to think visually, so things on Facebook will look trendy or tasty. Often they need to do stuff themselves, take photos or video – or if they ask somebody from the team to help, they need to know exactly what they want. Easy to say, but not so easy in reality. Trust me.
But don’t worry, after a year or something you will learn exactly which things are O.K. and which are K.O. And if you have this skill and end up in a company without a graphic specialist you are not going to be lost anymore and already have this precious skill!
Socialists can be as happy and proud as they want about their beautiful content, but it is important to know what is working and what is not. And what people react to the best. That’s why working with analytics and data is another important element in the socialist package deal. Otherwise, you are just throwing money into the air.
If you are talking to the client you also need to know how to present things. I don’t mean tell them empty words just in order to persuade them, actually the exact opposite. Socialists need to say the important information in a short amount of time without being boring. This role is not easy because when you need to do this twice per month, we are talking here about serious skill. Also, presentation and report for client need to be clear and short and right to the point!
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All of this stuff is the basics for socialists and after this, they can actually work as an account manager, copywriter or strategist, or even when they decide to switch sides and work for a client. I don’t see a problem there either.
I know it does look scary, with all these skills you need to know at the same time. But as a socialist, you are never alone and have people around you who are willing to help you.
Well if you still think being a social media (brand) manager is nothing, well I am surprised. Anyway, it is your opinion 🙂
Take care and say hello at home.
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