10 Social Media Manager Skills To Improve Your Career

Kristyn Miller

If you’re looking to get ahead in your social media marketing career, honing in on leading social media manager skills is a must. It’s no secret that social media platforms are the best way to stay connected with customers and promote your brand’s voice. The use of social media channels has seemingly taken over every aspect of life, and the marketing world is no exception. From posting to Facebook to posting to Instagram to posting to Twitter, social media managers use various social platforms to find new customers, grow their businesses, and increase their revenue.

Unfortunately, with so many new social media platforms and social media tools for business available, it can be hard for a social media marketer to keep up. Nearly 4 billion people actively use social media worldwide, with hundreds of platforms to choose from. So how does one make their voice —or brand, rather— heard?

Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered.

Understanding the Role of Social Media Managers

Understanding the role of social media managers is crucial for mastering the essential social media manager skills.

In today’s digital landscape, social media managers are pivotal members of the marketing team, responsible for crafting and executing effective social strategies. A great social media manager possesses platform expertise across various social media channels, ensuring a consistent online presence.

Moreover, a good social media manager understands that consumers expect engaging and relevant content that resonates with their interests and needs. Hence, social media managers are pivotal in building brand awareness, engaging audiences, and driving business growth through strategic and creative social media efforts.

The Evolving Role of Social Media Managers

The role of social media managers is continually evolving, requiring a dynamic set of social media manager skills to stay relevant in the digital landscape. With the proliferation of social media platforms, the demand for professionals with essential social media skills has surged.

Today, social media manager positions encompass a wider scope, including in-depth analysis of social media data, understanding trends, and adapting strategies accordingly. Effective social media outreach has become a crucial part of the job, enabling businesses to connect with their audience authentically.

As social media continues to shape the digital sphere, social media managers must remain adaptable and innovative to thrive in this ever-changing field.

The Importance of Social Media Management

Now, social media manager skills are more vital than ever. A proficient social media manager plays a pivotal role in enhancing a brand’s online presence and reputation. With the constant evolution of digital platforms and consumer behavior, the guidance of skilled social media managers is indispensable.

These professionals are not only responsible for maintaining an active and engaging online presence but also for crafting strategies that align with a brand’s goals.

In essence, the work of social media managers can significantly impact a company’s success in the competitive online landscape, making their role of utmost importance in the realm of digital marketing.

Essential Social Media Skills

Below, we’ll provide you with ten important skills for how to become a social media manager.

Writing Skills

At the core of cultivating an online community is copywriting skills. The ability to write and carry out a valid content strategy goes hand in hand with the ability to communicate effectively in online community management.

Whether you are writing ad copy, crafting a social media post, scheduling a tweet, creating graphics for social posts, or engaging directly with a customer, you must know how to create content that both embodies and enhances your brand.

Great social media managers understand how to properly tailor their content creation to fit various social media users and social media platforms. For example, you might alter a post for Twitter to read more conversational, while a similar post on Facebook might come across as a bit more formal.

Likewise, a great social media manager wouldn’t want to occupy the entire 2,200 character limit on an Instagram caption, as the target audience on that social media platform focuses more on graphic design and images.

Use this to your advantage when creating your social media manager contract and negotiating your social media marketing salary!

Communication Skills

Social media marketing strategies revolve around professional community management. What once began as merely friend-to-friend communication has since grown into communication between celebrities and fans, politicians and citizens, and yes, even brands and their customers.

Finding your brand’s voice and then using that voice to engage your audience using social media data is a key aspect of becoming a successful social media manager.

Social Media Managers Need Social Interaction Skills

If you want to improve your social media manager skills, you’ll need to master social media outreach. If you aren’t comfortable communicating with customers or creating content around the latest social media trends, you may want to outsource social media efforts to a social media manager who can.

Social Media Managers Need Internal Interaction Skills

An ideal social media manager will have communication skills beyond basic social media content creation.

Regarding communication, social media manager skills don’t begin and end with you and the customers. Communication must take place internally, as well. This means that interaction between your coworkers and collaborators is just as important as interaction with your audience.

A social media kit and social marketing planner can help with this!

Connection Making Skills

Most businesses don’t require public speaking skills to land a social media job. However, many social media manager positions require the social media manager to establish and maintain digital relationships.

Successful social media management depends on how well a brand can identify, understand, and communicate with its target audience across various social media accounts.

This means social media managers must develop a sense of acute awareness through social listening. Being aware of what your audience wants and how they want it delivered is essential to the success of your social media strategy.

With this in mind, it’s also important that social media managers remain politically correct.

We’ve all seen the ghastly effects of “cancel culture” across social media channels and what it can do to a person or entity. One wrong move can seemingly nip an entire business in the bud.

Organizational Skills

As a social media strategist, your job entails more than just conceptualizing ideas for your social campaigns. Social media managers must also distribute social media content to the public in an appealing and organized manner.

The best way to create a regularly occurring and organized social media strategy is to keep a social media content calendar and schedule posts.

Lucky for you, we can help with just that. Kiopi is one of the best social media management tools specifically designed for maintaining organization in your social media presence by scheduling your social posts.

Natural Creativity

As a social media manager, your level of creativity will affect your social media efforts. A social media manager can have all of the content strategy and graphic design experience in the world, but lacking this essential skill will hold you back from having a successful career as a social media manager.

Essentially, every brand has the similar goal of piquing people’s interest. Social media managers earn more when they can compile helpful resources and social media advertising campaigns that are different from run-of-the-mill social media strategies.

The ability to create content that resonates with the target audience based on audience research is invaluable for many small business owners looking for a long-term social media specialist.

So, how do your social media marketing campaigns stand out from the rest?

Accuracy and Research

Social media managers must understand how to read and compile various social media metrics and social media analytics.

Social media platforms can be a double-edged sword when it comes to audience research and helpful resources. While there is a world of information right at your fingertips, there is also an endless amount of false information intermingled with it.

So, social media managers must learn how to develop analytical skills to consistently provide top-quality industry news, especially for the most rapidly changing i

Efficiency and Dexterity

If you were unaware, the social media landscape is constantly moving and changing. A strong social strategy from a year or two ago likely won’t cut it in today’s world.

A good social media manager must have efficiency and dexterity, meaning they can quickly think on their feet and keep up with the constant flow of the latest social media trends. (A good way to accomplish this is through reputable social media listening tools.)

That is why it is crucial that, as a social media manager, you can adequately adjust your social strategies at the drop of a hat.

Data Analysis Skills

When someone inquires about how to become a social media manager, they often don’t put much thought into the fact that it requires a lot of data analysis. Good social media managers regularly analyze the data they receive and turn that information into action.

When developing data analysis skills, you need to pay attention to not only quantitative data but also qualitative data using Google Analytics or other project management tools.

The number of people your social posts reach is certainly important, but what is equally as important is that the content receives interactions and engagement.

As a social media manager, you must pay attention to the social media metrics you receive in your data reports and use that to influence your social media strategy. If you notice a certain social media post is doing really well, continue optimizing that sort of social media content while keeping it new and fresh.

(One way to keep your social media content fresh is by capitalizing on user-generated content.)

On the other hand, if you notice that another type of content is not doing so well, learn from it and establish a different route. Kiopi’s social media analytics tool can work wonders in this aspect.

Outstanding Customer Service Skills

Last but certainly not least, a social media manager must be skilled in customer care. This means that the social media manager must be adept at customer service, possess good people skills, and have an eye for opportunity to be a good contender for social media management.

With customer care comes the need to listen to the concerns, demands, and even praise of your consumers and show them that you understand.

Personalizing your interactions with customers, as a social media manager, is a good way to demonstrate that you are listening and that you care about what they have to say.

In terms of social media management skills, good customer service and care are expected from your audience, and your ability to meet those expectations directly contributes to the success of social media strategies and social media campaign management.

General Social Media Marketing and Advertising Skills

Every social media manager is essentially taking on social media marketing. How social media managers approach both organic and paid campaigns on social platforms will certainly affect the overall social media strategy for the entire business.

Social media marketing is a source of invaluable business intelligence. The ability to develop a social strategy that supports and even enhances the overall business goal is the key to success.

To do this, the social media manager must possess a broad understanding of both traditional and digital marketing approaches. This may include things such as email, SEO integration, lead generation, tech PR, event hosting, and more.

Improve Your Social Media Manager Skills With Kiopi

By now, we all know that social media management for small businesses and large businesses alike plays an integral part in marketing campaigns these days. With the fast-paced, ever-changing world of social media, it’s crucial that you, as a social media manager, stay on top of social media trends and maintain good social media management skills to incorporate into your social strategies.

By mastering these social media management skills and integrating useful social media management tools such as Kiopi, you can boost your business and significantly improve your career as a social media manager.