What Is a Social Media Marketer: Skills and Qualifications

The immense power of social media plays a critical role in shaping and strengthening a brand’s social media presence. Hiring a social media marketer has become an SOP for businesses, whether for individual campaigns or for full-time management of their social pages. What is a social media marketer? What does this role require in terms of knowledge and skills? 

Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you get started on your social media marketing journey. 

How To Get Into Social Media Marketing

What does a social media marketer do? Well, a social media marketer or manager helps promote a brand and its offerings via social media. They typically manage the brand’s social media pages, creating content and growing and engaging with the brand’s audience. 

As the brand’s “representative” on a social media platform like TikTok, for example, marketers develop strategies to establish the brand’s identity and achieve the brand’s social media goals. They’re typically at the forefront of the brand’s social media activities.  

What Do You Need To Become a Social Media Marketer?

What are the required skills for a social media marketer? Basic requirements include the following:

• Advanced communication skills 
• Copywriting and copyediting
• Background in marketing
• Knowledge of marketing strategies
• Experience in social media marketing
• Ability to develop/adopt a brand’s unique voice for various social media platforms
• Experience in building and sustaining a brand’s social media communities
• Ability to analyze and utilize marketing and social media analytics
• Ability to drive and sustain community engagement
• Critical thinking

Having a degree in business, communication, or marketing is a bonus. These days, however, you can learn everything you need to know through online courses. If you’re eager to take this career path, take online courses, observe webinars, and even read blogs. You should also consider taking courses that offer certifications to give you an edge in this competitive industry. 

The following certifications are worth considering:

• HubSpot Social Media Marketing Certification. Take a comprehensive course on the important aspects of social media marketing. 
• Facebook Blueprint Certification. Learn about advanced advertising strategies for Facebook and Instagram. 
• Google Analytics Certification. Learn how Google Analytics works to help you track and optimize website and social media performance. 

Social Media Marketing Career 101: What Are Your Responsibilities?

What do social media marketers do? Brands on social media primarily use their pages to reach and engage with their target audience, build brand awareness, and grow their following. The ultimate goal is, of course, to drive sales. Social media managers perform functions that help a brand achieve these goals. 

As a social media marketer, you’ll be responsible for the following tasks:

• Maintaining and optimizing a brand’s social media profiles and pages across multiple platforms. 
• Creating content that promotes and authentically represents the brand. 
• Engaging with the brand’s target audience and followers via comments, direct messages, etc. 
• Building and managing relationships with followers, customers, influencers, and content creators to build a community around the brand. 
• Developing marketing strategies for a brand’s social media pages to achieve specific targets, such as follower growth, website traffic, sales, etc. 
• Utilizing social media marketing tools and resources to create and manage marketing campaigns. 
• Utilizing analytics tools to keep track of the brand’s social media key performance indicators (KPIs) and measuring campaign performance against KPIs. 
• Researching and keeping track of social media and industry trends and adapting the brand’s marketing strategies to stay relevant. 
• Evaluating the brand’s social media marketing strategies to identify weaknesses and make the necessary improvements. 

Real-Life Examples of Social Media Marketing

Here are some of the most impactful social media marketing campaigns in recent years:

• Dove’s Project #ShowUs Campaign on YouTube. The 2019 campaign showcased beauty in its many forms. Project #ShowUs built a library of more than 5,000 photographs of female-identifying and non-binary individuals from all over the world. The original YouTube video generated over 33.5 million views.
• Apple’s Study With Me Campaign. The campaign featured actress and then college junior Storm Reid in a 90-minute video. Reid used the Pomodoro Technique while studying on her MacBook Air. The technique employed 25 minutes of study sessions and five-minute breaks in between. The campaign successfully tapped into students’ need for virtual companionship, generating over 18 million YouTube views. 
• Freeform’s Cruel Summer Nostalgia Influencer Campaign. Freeform built up excitement for the second season of the successful Cruel Summer series by tapping into the power of nostalgia. The social media campaign also involved collaborations with throwback influencers, like Mario Lopez and Lance Bass, to leverage ‘90s nostalgia. The campaign generated a total reach of over 22 million and 3.7 million organic impressions. 
• P&G’s #DistanceDance on TikTok. Proctor and Gamble designed the campaign to encourage social distancing at the height of the pandemic. They got TikTok star and competitive dancer Charli D’Amelio on board to promote the #DistanceDance campaign. The hashtag has generated over 2.3 million posts so far, and Charli’s video received seven million likes and over 135,000 comments. 

Does Social Media Marketing Work? Improve Your Strategy With High Social

Social media marketing can only be effective if it keeps up with and adapts to trends and the audience’s evolving interests. 

What is a social media marketer but another type of “influencer?” Like an influencer, a marketer on social media employs strategies to influence audience behaviors. You’ll also utilize best practices to reach potential new followers and customers and build lasting relationships within your community. You’ll employ available tools to establish your brand and optimize its social media performance. 

And if you want to amplify your audience-targeting strategy to enjoy maximum growth, sign up for a High Social plan! Take advantage of High Social’s top AI targeting technology to connect with more viewers who’ll instantly tap your Follow button. 

Enhance your TikTok presence with High Social today!

Frequently Asked Questions 

Let’s answer a few more questions, to sum up everything you need to know to start a career in social media marketing. 

TikTok 101