What Does A Social Media Manager Do? Key Roles And Responsibilities

Did you know that Canadians spend an average of 2 hours on social media each and every day? With social media being such a significant part of our daily lives, it’s no surprise that businesses, big and small, are jumping on board to make the most of it. They use these platforms to connect with their audience, build their brand, and increase sales.

It’s for this reason that they are constantly in search of skilled social media managers who can take their customer engagement to the next level. But what exactly does a social media manager do to establish and improve a brand’s presence online and reach their ultimate goal of driving sales? Let’s take a look at the key responsibilities of a social media manager…

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What Does a Social Media Manager Do?

A social media manager is often the voice of a brand on social networks. They can lead a team of specialists for large corporations or work alone to deliver results for local businesses. When you see an engaging post, a trending campaign, or a quick response to customer query, it’s usually posted by these social media experts. But that’s not all!

They also engage in various offline activities to ensure a brand’s success. While their day-to-day tasks include posting on social platforms, replying to comments, managing a content calendar, and monitoring competitors, their role covers broader responsibilities. These include planning strategies, managing a brand’s online community, creating and running paid and organic campaigns, tracking and analyzing brand performance, and staying ahead of industry trends and the latest tools.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these core responsibilities and why they are so important:

Planning Brand Strategy

Ever wondered how brands always seem to have the perfect post at the perfect time? That’s because social media managers meticulously plan every detail. Planning a brand strategy involves several key elements:

• Defining Brand Identity: Establishing who the brand is and what it stands for.
• Defining a Visual Identity: Creating a visual style that represents the brand across all platforms.
• Defining Target Audiences: Identifying and understanding the specific groups of people the brand wants to reach.
• Determining Specific Goals for Campaigns: Setting clear objectives for what each campaign aims to achieve.
• Using the Right Platforms: Choosing the social media channels that best fit the brand and its audience.
• Using Analytics to Tweak the Strategy: Continuously analyzing performance data to refine and improve the strategy.

These elements combined ensure that every post is strategically planned and executed to maximize engagement and drive results. It’s all about knowing what resonates, maintaining brand voice consistency, and developing a social media presence that reinforces the brand strategy, keeping followers engaged and coming back for more.

Running Organic Campaigns

Social media managers excel at running organic social media campaigns; creating posts, reels, and stories designed to meet a specific goal like engaging followers or increasing sales.

The purpose of these campaigns goes beyond mere content creation. They are usually defined by time constraints and are defined by a certain theme or a message that pushes audiences towards their ultimate objective.

For instance, Coca-Cola’s ‘Share a Coke’ campaign involved personalized Coke bottles with popular names, encouraging people to find and share a Coke with friends and family. It included:

• Personalized Posts: Photos and videos of people finding their names on Coke bottles.
• Influencer Partnerships: Influencers sharing their personalized Coke bottles, creating buzz.
• Contests and Hashtags: A social media contest where people shared their bottles using the hashtag #ShareACoke, fostering community engagement.

This campaign had a clear goal of increasing sales and brand engagement during the summer months. It resonated with audiences by personalizing the experience and prompting them to interact with the brand in a fun and engaging way.

Running Paid Campaigns

Have you noticed how some ads seem to really connect with you on a personal level? It’s no accident! Some social media managers are tasked with planning out social media advertising campaigns that will resonate with their audience and result in sales for their business. To do this, they need to be well-versed in paid ad strategies.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn let businesses and brands target ads based on your location and interests. This means that social media managers can use these tools to deliver their message to you effectively, all within a specific budget.

Creating Content

Creating engaging content is the bread and butter of social media managers. They start by analyzing what you like and how you behave online using tools like Social Media Analytics and Google Analytics. With this information, they create detailed calendars mapping out what to post, when to post, and where to post it. Every move is data-driven to ensure maximum impact.

Their content comes in all shapes and sizes—text, images, videos, gifs, infographics, you name it! Each piece is finely tuned to fit the vibe of different social media platforms, ensuring it grabs your attention. For example, they might break down a blog post into a series of snappy tweets or transform a lengthy webinar into fun, bite-sized video clips.

Besides that, social media managers are experts at repurposing content to keep things fresh and appealing, making sure you stay hooked and eager for more. So next time you find yourself captivated by a post, you know who’s behind it!

Tracking And Analyzing Campaign Performance

Once the content is posted and campaigns are live, social media managers actively monitor how well their posts are performing, making sure every campaign hits the mark. They can use social media analytics tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Buffer to track metrics such as likes, shares, and comments across multiple platforms or use the analytics in the social media platforms themselves.

No matter where they choose to find their data, this real-time feedback helps them pinpoint what works and what needs improvement. For instance, if a particular post gets good engagement, they can use target audience analysis, competitive analysis, and engagement insights to understand the reason behind its success and replicate the winning formula.

Engaging And Managing A Brand’s Online Community

Social media managers know how to keep a brand’s online community buzzing with excitement. Take Airbnb, for example; their social media strategy involves encouraging guests to share their travel stories with hashtags like #AirbnbExperiences, showing off real-life adventures that inspire other travellers.

Then there’s Nike, who has built a tight-knit community of athletes and amateurs on social media through sub-accounts like Nike Running and Nike Football. These accounts engage users with tailored content, interactive challenges, and user-generated posts across various platforms.

By regularly interacting with followers, practicing social listening, sharing authentic content, and launching interactive campaigns, social media managers excel at online presence management, creating a loyal follower base and making the community proud to be associated with the brand.

Staying Ahead with Social Trends and Tools

Social media managers are always on the lookout for latest trends and social media tools to get people talking about their brand. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? Brands jumped in, raising ALS awareness and showing their playful side. Then there was the ‘Stay at Home’ challenge during the pandemic, where brands encouraged people to share their home routines or DIY projects, promoting community engagement and cultivating a sense of togetherness.

Besides viral challenges, social media managers keep an eye on trending content and use it to their advantage, such as making engaging TikTok and Instagram Reels videos or using Instagram Shopping for easy online buying. To achieve this, they may rely on a variety of tools:

• Analytics tools like Google Analytics and Sprout Social help track engagement and performance.
• Content creation tools such as Canva and Adobe Spark are used to create graphics and videos.
• Scheduling tools like Buffer and Hootsuite ensure consistent and timely content delivery.
• Social listening tools such as Brandwatch and BuzzSumo monitor brand mentions and identify trends in real-time.
• Influencer marketing tools like AspireIQ and Upfluence manage influencer partnerships to amplify reach.
• E-commerce tools like Instagram Shopping enable seamless online buying experiences directly from posts.

By exploring these trends and tools, social media managers constantly aim to make their brand stand out from the rest.

As you can see, being a social media manager is an exhilarating role that blends creativity, strategic thinking, and data-driven decision making, offering fresh challenges and continuous learning opportunities.

If you pursue this career, you will be creating compelling posts as part of goal-driven strategies, building an active online community, running effective campaigns, and staying on top of the latest trends. This dynamic role is crucial for any brand wanting to connect with its audience and stay relevant in the digital world.

If social media excites you, the next step is to explore Sundance College’s Digital Marketing & Social Media Management diploma program. You’ll get to learn the various aspects of digital marketing, including social media marketing, PPC, SEO, and email marketing. From developing marketing plans and creating logos to establishing a strong social media presence and analyzing performance, this program covers everything you need to know. With industry-experienced instructors by your side, you’ll learn how to create a brand from scratch—whether it’s a store, a service, or a concept—and bring it to life by applying your coursework knowledge into practice.

To get started with your social media marketing career, connect with one of our admissions advisors by filling out this form. They can provide more information on the program as well as admission requirements, practicums and student aid you are eligible for.