what is a social media manager?
As a social media manager, you oversee your company's marketing team to drive online traffic and engage customers. Depending on the company's size, you may work with a large or small marketing team to manage social media marketing campaigns. Your primary role is to develop strategies for your business's social media platforms and oversee their implementation. You also monitor the performance of each social media channel by tracking the analytics to determine the engagement rates.
Social media managers work internally for a single employer and handle all the company's social media marketing. When you work for one employer, you specialise in their brand offerings. You use your social media marketing skills to raise product awareness and improve customer engagement with the company. You report the progress to the marketing managers and executive teams.
Some social media managers working for marketing consultancy firms manage social media marketing for clients in different industries, including mining and manufacturing. In such cases, you evaluate the current social media marketing strategies and help your clients devise new methods of engaging their target audience. When you work with multiple clients, you take up idea generation and oversight roles. However, in smaller companies, you also implement the ideas generated by your team.
view rolesaverage salary of a social media manager
The average remuneration package of a social media manager in New Zealand is $80,000 per year. The salary fluctuates based on your experience level and the rank of your role in the company. When starting in the position, your earnings are as low as $65,000 annually. As your experience improves or if you manage a larger team, you are likely to earn over $85,000 per year. The remuneration packages may differ for social media managers working on a contract basis or freelancers since they set their rates.
what affects the salary of a social media manager?
As a social media manager, your earnings depend on various factors. For instance, the company size dictates the salary you are likely to receive. If you work for a big organisation, you manage a large team, which increases your remuneration prospects. Small companies need more resources and may be unable to pay higher salaries.
Your experience is crucial and influences your earnings. When you have extensive experience, you can negotiate a higher remuneration package. As your qualifications improve, your potential earnings increase since companies are willing to pay more for your expertise and skills.
types of social media managers
As a social media manager, you work on diverse social media platforms or specialise in specific platforms. Some of the specialisation areas for social media managers include:
- social networks: you can specialise in social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter that connect people and businesses online. Social networks improve public awareness of your company's social presence, branding and lead generation.
- media sharing networks: social media managers also supervise content shared through Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. The audio-visual and video content shared on these platforms generates leads and builds brand awareness by encouraging content sharing.
- discussion forums: as a social media manager, you also participate in discussion forums to improve your company's online presence and visibility. Since the forums are used for sharing and finding different information, participating improves your brand's authority.
working as a social media manager
Social media managers create promotional strategies to improve a company's digital presence. Read on to learn more about the duties and responsibilities of social media managers.
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social media manager duties and responsibilities
The typical daily responsibilities of a social media manager include the following:
- managing the social profiles of companies: as a social media manager, you coordinate the social media profiles of your company. You keep the social media profiles of brands, public figures and influencers active by engaging the audience and posting. You also recommend the latest social media platforms a company should leverage to boost growth.
- devising digital strategies: as a social media manager, your primary task is to maximise the company's return on investment through social media. Hence, you create digital marketing strategies on social media to boost traffic and increase conversions. You develop the best strategy for each social media tool.
- analysing social media trends: social media managers interpret data using analytical tools to monitor trends. After tracking and monitoring social media trends, you can devise an effective communication strategy for your brand. When you have solid communication strategies, you prepare a social media plan for your company.
- planning, creating and distributing content: as a social media manager, you develop a plan for executing the social media strategy. For instance, you plan content creation and publication on social media. You create the content, including images, videos, surveys and interactive competitions. You determine the best social media sites to generate user interest and engagement.
- monitoring the performance of social media pages: you supervise the performance of each social media profile by tracking the number of retweets, followers, comments, and shares. You also create key performance indicators that you can use to measure the return on investment of each social media profile.
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work environment
Social media managers work in various business sectors, from manufacturing and mining to retail and financial services. Any company that relies on social media and an online presence to generate revenue requires social media managers to curate content and brand messaging on various platforms.
Social media marketing is a desk job that involves working in the office most of the day. You also attend meetings and conferences to improve your social media skills, but work-related travel is minimal. Since social media managers can perform most functions from a computer, remote working opportunities are available.
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who are your colleagues?
Depending on your employer and industry, your colleagues might include digital marketing managers, copywriters, content writers, UX designers, web developers, web designers and public relations managers. You might also be working close to brand managers, communications managers, and other specialists that could consist of, but not be limited to, SEO specialists, marketing coordinators, marketing executives and content marketing managers.
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work schedule
The work schedule of a social media manager is 38 to 40 hours a week. Most social media managers work regular business hours, but sometimes you attend events and customer engagement sessions outside the traditional working hours.
You work full-time as a social media manager, but many companies provide flexible work schedules, from part-time positions to working-from-home options. Some social media managers work as freelancers or on short-term contracts.
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job outlook
Social media managers have a clear career progression path. You can progress to a higher position in digital marketing or communications from a social media manager role. For instance, you can become a digital marketing manager before moving to a communications manager or director position. Some social media managers improve their skills and become web content creators or editing specialists.
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advantages of finding a social media manager job through randstad
Finding your social media manager job through Randstad provides essential benefits such as the following:
- a wide variety of training and development opportunities
- an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
- a range of opportunities in your area
- get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
- temporary and permanent contracts
Want a permanent contract? A temporary job as a social media manager is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent career. Thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers every year thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too.
education and skills
Formal education gives you an advantage when seeking employment but is not mandatory for social media managers. If you want to pursue the formal education route to become a social media manager, enrol for the following courses:
- short courses: pursuing short courses that improve your social media management skills boost your career prospects. You will learn how to develop social media strategies and analyse social media analytics.
- degree: alternatively, pursue a bachelor's degree in advertising, marketing or public relations. The bachelor's degree also prepares you for managerial positions.
skills and competencies
If you want to excel as a social media manager, here are the best skills to acquire:
- writing skills: you require exceptional writing skills to engage an audience on various platforms. Having excellent writing skills helps you relate to different audiences and curate the content for each social media platform. Aside from writing captions and headlines, you also edit content from the content creation team.
- creativity: as a social media manager, you need creativity to maintain user engagement. Your expertise in using images and visual graphics helps you create unique posts.
- flexibility: it is also crucial to be adaptable to the constantly changing social media landscape. For instance, as users move from written to video content, adapting your social media strategy will help you to avoid losing followers.
- project planning skills: most of the duties of a social media manager involve developing strategies for improving social media presence. Your role involves extensive planning to create compelling social media campaigns and plan upcoming content. Project planning skills are vital for the position.
- problem-solving skills: as a social media manager, you interact with customers and address their complaints and concerns. Problem-solving skills are crucial for deescalating and dealing with customer complaints while maintaining your brand's reputation.
FAQs about working as a social media manager
Here, you will find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the profession of a social media manager.
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what are the daily activities of a social media manager?
As a social media manager, your job is to understand the company's online audience and create content and social media posts that customers can relate to. You develop a brand voice and carve out a niche for your company on social media platforms. You also interact with customers through comments and replies to messages.
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how do you become a social media manager?
You don't need formal educational qualifications to become a social media manager, but it improves your competitiveness in the job market. A bachelor's degree in public relations is the best way to kick-start your career in social media management. You also require extensive experience and skills to improve your job prospects.
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how much does a social media manager earn in New Zealand?
The average salary of social media managers in New Zealand is $75,000 per year. When you are in an entry-level position, your starting salary is $65,000 annually. The amount increases gradually to over $85,000 annually. Your remuneration package may vary according to your experience and educational qualifications.
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is social media manager a stressful job?
Becoming a social media manager is an exciting but demanding job. Social media managers have complex roles and tight deadlines, which can be stressful.
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how do I apply for a social media manager vacancy?
Applying for a social media manager job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our job offers for vacancies in your area. Then simply send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here.
