A Social Media Manager is someone who’s in charge of the social face of your business by managing and growing your brand’s presence on a variety of social media platforms. Responsibilities can include some or all of the following: scheduling, publishing, and monitoring content, keeping in close touch with your community, managing your account for growth, creating a content strategy, planning campaigns, managing influencers, and producing content.

The role of a social media manager?

The land of social media management is much like the wild, wild west; undefined, untamed, and just a little unruly. When you hire the wrong person it can be like the blind leading the blind.

What even is a social media manager? Do they moderate community commentary? Do they spend endless hours perusing the internet for pertinent cat memes? Do they write blog posts or long-form content that gets promoted on all of your channels? Or, Do they do a little bit of everything, from copywriting to graphics to strategy?

Social media is more than posts, engagement, and likes, it’s about taking a strategic approach to leveraging your brand personality, mission, and Unique Value Proposition (if you’re not sure about what this is, check out this article) for steady and sustainable growth.

If you decide to hire a full-time social media manager, here are some qualities to consider:

The makings of a great social media manager…

Because the term “Social Media Manager” means different things to different people, in lieu of focusing on the tasks and responsibilities that belong to this role, let’s think about the innate characteristics and qualities to look for in the human you’ll hire.

• They ❤️it. Social media algorithms reward action and time spent on the app, so if you hire someone who isn’t hashtag-obsessed with it, your accounts won’t grow as fast as you’d like. Pick someone who dreams digital with thumbs that scroll in their sleep.
• They are super-social-savvy. #DUH, but you wouldn’t believe the difference between someone who LIVES for all things social vs. someone who does it because it’s their job. It’s like challenging a millennial and a baby boomer to an Insta duel.

• They can write.

  I’m not saying you need a trained conversion copywriter, but a skilled wordsmith is a must. Clumsy wording, grammar mistakes, or boring content will sink your ship faster than you can say i before e except after c.

• They have an eye for design.

  If you don’t have a designer or photographer collaborating on your team, your social media manager will be the one picking images and designs to represent your brand. If your vibe is smashed avocado and grass-fed beef, make sure you find someone who’s not going to clog your feed with Frappuccino-flavored content.

• They are balanced humans with composure and maturity.

  On a scale from selfie-obsessed socialite to pearl-clutching puritan, you want someone balanced at the helm of your brand’s public image. Check out their own channels and find a steady human who’s socially conscious, intelligent, and thoughtful with their own personal content, plus has the natural ability to engage their friends in conversation.

• They are a collaborative independent.

  When you ask, “what are some of your greatest strengths,” answers that revolve around team player-ness or collaboration should pique your interest. Once you invest in your social media program, 50% of your organization will express opinions about what should get published, when, and how. Every once in a while it’s helpful, but ideas from that-person-that’s-not-a-digital-marketer are often strategically wrong. This hire needs to listen well and learn from others while having the ability to think for themselves.

• They are friendly and agreeable.

  Your social media manager will need to work closely with others (re: copywriters, photographers, videographers, editors, depending on the size of your marketing team). If they’re not friendly and flexible, managing them will totally suck.

• They’re business-minded.

  Gone are the days that social media is a shiny brand awareness tool. Done right, social will send more traffic to your website, drive product trial among new customers, and nurture loyalty. It’s fine if your candidate has a lot to learn, but they should show curiosity about how their role can impact the bottom line (or it won’t).

• They’re focused on the big picture, dialed to the last detail.

  Especially if your team is lean, your social media manager will be: Strategizing, planning, producing, scheduling, and monitoring. This scope of work requires a level of detail orientation many big-picture thinkers lack. You need a person in place who can think long-term without missing a single detail.

The list may go on, but these qualities are a great place to start.

If the idea of searching, interviewing, and finding “the one” has you exhausted already… Let’s connect!