WEARING THE SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER'S HAT

Apart from your identity card, another thing that identifies or characterizes you will be your hat.

Hats? Yes, Hats. I hated them. I felt they had their way of denying my scalp air as a little girl plus I though it looked clumsy. This week, I took the time to observe the number of people I have been in contact with. Some wore hats and some didn't. 

Here's my observation; Baseballs hats or caps are for the cool kids, fedoras are for the older men, berets are for the frat guys, floppy female hats are for the bourgie and classy women. 
Interesting, isn't it? So, perhaps you can decide to embark on this with me and place people wearing hats in a category (But, don't tell them, that I sent you).

Credit: CNCAPS 

Social media managers too get to wear hats. Most likely not the Fedora, baseball ball or even beret. But they really do. Their hats are more superficial yet innate. These are characteristics they need to have to enble anyone spot them and say," Ahaaaan! That's the social media fellow."

Social media marketing skills are critically important today. It is through social media channels that people gain their perception of a brand and social media managers have a lot to do with forming it.

If you want to be a successful social media manager, there are certain skills you will pick up through certification but you have to go way beyond simply creating social media pages and posting content. 

So, If you are on your way to peg the 'Social Media Manager' tag on your breast pocket, here is what you need;

You need to be 'Creative Caroline'

Creativity is a very important attribute for social media managers. To prevent content from becoming boring or repetitive, you must constantly come up with fresh, innovative ideas. From posting engaging videos to coming up with Facebook contests, you have to find ways to attract attention away from your competitors.

Content creation and curation

Curating content is an important part of the job. As a social media marketer, you have to know how to create content, what to share as well as when and how to share it to achieve the most impact. This means being familiar with different social media platforms, sources of content and the preferences of audience.

Communication

As a social media manager, good communication skills are most important. You have to engage with customers and represent your brand. You also need to relate well to colleagues and reach out to influencers.

Studying how to become a social media manager is just the first step. You need to be able to understand the audiences you’re connecting with on social media and find ways to resonate with them.

All the biggest brands have one thing in common on social media – a community. If you find ways to resonate with an audience, you can build a community.

Strategic thinking

You need to cultivate your ability to think strategically and plan carefully instead of posting in a haphazard manner and expecting results.

Sociability is needed

The best social media managers are usually those who love being sociable and participate on various social media channels in a personal capacity. If you know the ins and outs of the different channels and can use the vernacular suitable to each one, you will fit right in instead of sticking out like a sore thumb.

As a social media manager you need a diverse set of skills. Few people have all of these attributes but a good combination can make you the right person for the job. It can be an exciting and rewarding position, especially if you consider the impact you can have on the bottom line of your company.

You just have to be Mr Stretchy 

Change is a constant when it comes to dealing with social media. You must be flexible enough to respond to what’s happening, whether good or bad, and make adjustments where necessary.

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