Working on the content strategy
Everything a social media manager does starts with the content strategy. From understanding who the audience is to what type of voice you will communicate with. So many questions are answered in the content strategy that you need to know it, fully understand it, always keep it in mind, and tweak and optimise it when necessary.
Making sure there is always new content to post
Most social media managers rely on new content being posted consistently and regularly. New content is what helps you reach an audience and achieve engagement. This is why one of the main to-dos of a social media manager is to make sure there is always some new content ready to be posted. This is something that takes a lot of time and effort on a day-to-day basis
Setting up a content calendar
As a social media team within a company, you need to create and follow a content calendar in order to fully align your activities with other business areas and the external events within your field. This is what makes the content calendar so important for deciding what you do during your day. Not all content can be planned weeks in advance, but those evergreen content pieces that require more care and effort, certainly can and should.
Generating new content ideas
We all know the value a great and original piece of content can bring to a social media campaign. This is why spending time brainstorming content ideas is so crucial and why a social media manager should always allocate time for it. Without interesting ideas your page and results will suffer in the long run. You need to keep it fresh and interesting in order to continue engaging an audience. One way of generating ideas is to monitor competitors and other popular pages in order to see what content works for them.
Following news for reactive and timely content
Depending on the field you are in some of your content might be focused on the news and current events. This is why keeping yourself informed of news and events and being able to react quickly and creatively can boost your efforts. Many social media managers religiously monitor several different hashtags and Twitter lists in order to keep up the date and on top of the trending topics. When the opportunity comes, it is vital to be there ready to strike fast.
Working on imagery and design
Social media is now much more visual than only a couple of years ago. Without nice imagery and a visually stimulating way of presenting your content it is more difficult to reach and engage a large audience. Great content is no longer only about text and social media managers need to spend time creating or working with designers in order to produce visual elements such as stunning photos, infographics and videos.
Running social advertising
Organic reach is decreasing and it is extremely difficult to start a new Facebook page or to attract reach and engagement without spending money on advertising. Only couple of years ago most social media managers never needed to deal with ads but these days ads are the most effective way to get results. Community managers are no longer only expected to create and publish content, but are now expected to setup advertising campaigns and targeting options in order to get the content out to more relevant people. Check out this guide if you need help getting started with Facebook ads.
Communicating with clients
In many cases as a social media manager working in an agency you will need to work with a client in order to agree on the content to be posted. This is why for many social media marketers, spending time with the client to plan for the future is a necessary part of the working day. Meeting clients can help gain more insights into deciding what type content to create, what upcoming events there are that could be of interest, and any other moments and ideas where it makes sense to engage the fans.
Creating reports
Lastly but certainly not the least important responsibility is the reporting. Whether you work within a company or work with clients, it is vital for you to report on your activities, the results you have achieved and the upcoming plans you have. This is best done by sending regular reports that monitor the metrics you have agreed on with the client or your boss. Here is the full guide on creating a great social media report.
