Social media managers are at the forefront of how the world communicates. Sitting in freelance roles or intricately connected to an organization’s communications and marketing team, their responsibility is twofold: to manage the organization’s outgoing communications on various social media channels, and to interact and engage with its audience.
The role has grown in scope and importance in recent years, and because of this, social media managers need to rely on a complex and extensive set of skills to perform their job effectively.
This article discusses everything you need to know about the top skills needed to succeed as a social media manager, including a list of the top skills needed, and some tips and tricks to develop these further so you can take your brand’s online success to the next level.
What are social media skills?
Social media skills are the unique abilities and qualities needed to effectively use and interact with social media platforms for professional purposes, such as communication, marketing and networking. They involve soft skills related to how to get the most out of social media platforms, as well as some technical expertise.
The evolution of social media skills
Social media skills have been shaped by the rapidly changing face of social media platforms and the immense technology that drives them.
In the infancy of social media in the late 90s into the early 00s, pioneering platforms like Blogger, Myspace and Facebook were focused on text-based posting and uploading pictures, requiring only basic skills to interact with them.
Over time, these sites, along with newer ones like Instagram and Snapchat, began to develop complexities that social media managers had to understand and work with to ensure their content generates traffic, clicks, likes and shares. Newer social media platforms specialize in video sharing and reels, meaning that alongside platform ability, essential social media skills now include understanding video editing and production.
Finally, as social media has become an increasingly important part of our lives, its landscape has become very competitive. Consequently, social media skills have evolved further to incorporate media and communications, networking, and marketing abilities as well.
Top 10 social media manager skills
Social media managers need to draw upon a broad set of skills and apply them to the ever-changing social media landscape. Here, we discuss 10 must-have social media skills, including what they bring to the role and how they’re important for success as a social media manager.
1. Adaptability
In the world of social media management, nothing stays the same for long. Deadlines change, priorities might shift frequently because of customer demands and preferences, and the technology and algorithms you might work with will also be updated. Consequently, social media managers need to be agile and adaptable to their business landscape.
Adaptability is a useful skill, as it is used at all stages of a social media manager’s career. It enables them to think and act one step ahead of the crowd, being able to keep up with industry changes, and seamlessly and calmly adapt to them. Consequently, it’s highly valued as a skill.
Adaptability can be practiced through keeping up to speed with industry trends so adapting to them causes less stress. It also means that social media managers can switch their expertise seamlessly between different platforms, another important ability. Building resilience skills is also a good way to hone this ability.
2. Campaign planning
Strategic planning skills might seem a little out of place in such an agile and dynamic industry as social media management, but this is exactly why they’re so important. Being able to develop long-term strategies to maximize future engagement is a vital aspect of sustaining social media impact, and this isn’t easy.
In addition to designing posts and content, the best social media managers also develop future-focused marketing plans to ensure the impact of what they’re working on lasts long after the first week of clicks and engagement.
A strategic mindset can also help in understanding how social media content creates lasting impacts — for example, how it can be tied into other marketing channels, or understanding if it might be received negatively by the press or unfamiliar users.
3. Community management
A brand’s audience is one of its greatest assets, and this audience will be enthusiastic about engaging with its social media content, positively or constructively. Managing this online community is, therefore, a key skill for social media managers.
Not only will social media managers need to respond to all comments, showing excellent customer service, but they must also foster a positive environment by monitoring conflict and abuse, and moderating content by giving feedback, reporting it or removing it in a timely manner. Not doing this can irreparably damage your online brand.
Social media managers must also monitor community engagement, look for trends and issues, and work out a strategy to mitigate these and ensure the community thrives — not just in terms of atmosphere, but also in size. Doing this will enhance a positive brand image and create a more engaged audience.
4. Content creation
Content creation is the backbone of a social media manager’s remit; they need to be able to develop various types of content, including text, images, videos, polls, quizzes, interviews or infographics.
If social media managers are not responsible for creating content, they’re responsible for managing it or strategizing its placement, audience and tone.
Effective content creation skills ensure that the message on social media lands well and is pitched towards the right people. Social media managers often have to create content, either through writing it or using a variety of editing and graphic design tools, posting it in the right places at the right time.
Some social media managers will have to edit content and be more responsible for how and where it’s posted rather than the creation aspect itself. Nevertheless, the core purpose of social media rests on how this skill is executed, and it is, therefore, essential to every social media manager’s repertoire.
5. Creativity
Creativity and innovation are essential parts of a social media manager’s skillset. The demand for engaging and relevant content is increasing, and the sheer volume of it available to consumers means that attracting and holding audience attention can be challenging.
Creativity skills can be especially useful to social media managers at the conceptual stages of generating new content ideas, or designing a strategy to engage with the audience and encouraging them to come up with rich user-generated content.
Social media managers also need to have a creative approach to problem-solving, looking at ways to overcome challenges and responding to shifts in trends and consumer behaviors.
Creative social media managers are like gold dust, so honing your creativity skills will give you a competitive advantage in the job market, as well as drive growth and interaction on the platforms you manage.
6. Customer service
A large part of a social media manager’s job description is to engage with their audience. This is essential to increase reach, as many social media websites’ algorithms are geared to promote content that is being actively and meaningfully engaged with.
Effective customer service also drives trust, strengthens relations between the brand and its customers, and increases the chances of interaction with the content. Consequently, it’s a quick and easy way to build the brand’s reputation.
Social media managers, therefore, need to have a passion for interacting with people and reading the room, responding to users in a way that’s engaging and genuine. They must have tireless energy to do this, as in some cases the number of comments and questions to respond to can be overwhelming.
Social media managers must also professionally respond to complaints on their social media channels calmly and respectfully. This takes a lot of patience and emotional intelligence.
7. Data analysis
Social media managers need data analysis skills to understand and present all the metrics relating to the social media content they manage, such as its reach, audience profile, interactions, reception, clicks and views.
Social media is extensively measurable, and being able to understand this data and present it effectively will be critical to every social media manager’s credibility. To this end, social media managers will need to understand a few things.
Firstly, they must understand where to find the data, and then how to present it. This will require strong knowledge of Google Analytics, social media dashboards, Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. They should develop ways to use numbers to tell a story, presenting to their managers and other stakeholders a relatable and understandable dashboard of social media data.
They must also use their data management skills to set actionable key performance indicators to track their own progress.
8. Platform-specific skills
Social media managers need to be expert users of a variety of social media platforms, as being skilled at just one website would be ineffective, given that posts are often coordinated and managed across different mediums for maximum impact.
As such, social media managers need to understand the nuances of platforms such as LinkedIn (professional networking), Instagram (visual engagement) and TikTok (videos and reels), to name only three.
They also need to understand how to use the analytics and SEO for each platform, as well as how they operate. Understanding the strengths of each website, as well as its limitations, is critical to social media brand presence. Staying up to speed on emerging social media trends and new platforms is also important to maintain competitive advantage.
9. Search engine optimization
SEO is a fundamental ability for social media managers to possess. It’s the key to making content visible, driving traffic and ranking well on different search engines.
Social media managers need to understand how different search engines process and rank content, and what tools drive this and what approaches cause a ranking to move. Given that these algorithms change frequently, sometimes for little reason, keeping up to speed with SEO trends is vital.
Social media managers can use a variety of tips to drive SEO, such as writing content in certain ways, researching and using the right keywords and meta tags, and through carefully and sparingly using hashtags.
They must also be competent in analyzing SEO performance using search engine analytics, tailoring their approach and adjusting strategies to reach wider audiences.
10. Writing skills
Social media managers need to have great writing skills, as they will be asked to create engaging and well-presented written content across a variety of platforms — the writing standards and the best approach might vary across each.
They need to write persuasive, attention-grabbing posts that are concise and tailored to the target audience. They, therefore, need to adapt their writing not just to the different platforms they will use, but also to various audiences, sometimes with tight deadlines and writing several different posts at once.
Accuracy in writing is also important, as once the content is posted, it will be quickly viewed by thousands of people, and even swift amendments might be too late.
As well as writing fundamentals such as spelling and grammar, social media managers also need to be masters of storytelling, using their writing style to convey an irresistible message that will get the audience wanting to come back for more.
How to develop your social media skills
Social media skills are diverse and complex. It is, therefore, important to constantly develop them to become an expert in your field and to remain competitive in the changing technological landscape. Here are five great ways to develop your social media skills:
1. Collaborate with others
Partnering with other social media professionals is a win–win. It’s a great way to develop new skills by learning from others, and you can increase your own reach by tapping into new audiences.
2. Create diverse content
Where possible, diversifying your content will broaden your social media skills. Just posting pictures, for example, won’t help you learn anything new, but trying videos and polling techniques will.
3. Engage consistently
Not only will regular and consistent engagement help your social media reach, but you’ll also be able to hone your skills in real time and develop a brand voice. Think of it as constant, steady practice and experience.
4. Experiment with new tools
Keep up to speed with social media trends so you can understand and learn new tools. This helps to keep your skills current and marketable.
5. Follow experts
Connect with and follow social media influencers and experts, learning about their best practices. Don’t be afraid to ask them for tips and tricks.
FAQs about social media skills
If you’re looking to develop your social media skills for professional success, here are some frequently asked questions that might demystify the process a little:
Q: Which roles require social media skills?
Many different roles require social media skills, not just ones connected to social media careers. The skills are focused on teamwork, branding and customer service, making these skills valuable in many different professions.
Q: What platforms should I focus on to build my skills?
Focus on platforms that are relevant to your target audience and industry. That said, being able to work across different platforms is very important to developing great social media skills.
Q: How can I measure the development of my social media skills?
Your social media skills can be measured through platform-specific analytics. The common metrics are engagement rates (such as likes, clicks and shares), follower growth, website traffic, and increased revenue or conversion rates.
Key takeaways
Being a social media manager is a hugely responsible role, as you’re at the sharp end of the organizational communication strategy. The role is challenging and multifaceted, and consequently requires the use of many different skills.
Here’s a summary of what you should know:
- Social media skills are completely transferable across platforms and professional areas.
- They need to be consistently developed to keep up with the pace of social media trends.
- Social media skills are extremely diverse, requiring expertise in many areas, from creative ability to analytical prowess.
- Social media managers don’t just post content and track it; they might also produce it as well.
By being aware of these skills and setting up a personal development plan to improve them, you’ll be well-placed for success as a social media manager and be in the best position to effect lasting positive change to your organization’s brand.
What other skills do you think are important for a social media manager? Let us know in the comments section below.
This article is a complete update of an earlier version originally published on March 12, 2018.