by Kate Tilton (@K8Tilton)
Kate is the social media manager for BookDesignTemplates.com and has been doing an incredible job running our month-long NaNoWriMo promotion this month. Today Kate takes on the question of what exactly a “social media manager” does, and whether hiring one might be good for you. Her last article here was Are You Stressed Out? Overwhelmed? Maybe You Need an Author Assistant.
In today’s world people expect companies and brands to be present and active on social media. You know you’ve seen it: restaurants adding social media logos to their menus, ads telling you to connect online, and numerous contests and discounts from your local Bath & Body Works.
It is a changing world for marketers and the businesses they work for. New jobs are popping up all over the place to accommodate this new online reality; community managers, brand managers, social media managers, and more.
But why do companies hire personnel solely to work with social media?
Because running social media accounts properly and on a large enough scale to make a difference requires a huge time commitment. Thus the social media manager positions are created.
What makes a good social media manager?
Take a moment to think about what things you like to see on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Did you make up a list? Good. Now let me guess what you have on it. I’m guessing it has something to do with value and entertainment, right?
On social media, we users look for people and companies who offer us value:
- Give us discounts on products we love.
- Share the latest news (we actually care about).
- Provide tips and tricks we can use and need.
We also look for those who entertain:
- Share funny stories about life.
- Show us beautiful pictures from around the world.
- Fill up our home feeds with interesting facts and content.
Looking For a Social Media Manager
So when seeking a social media manager, what traits do you look for? What type of person creates great content to reach your audience?
Personality. So many companies forget this. Real people like real people. And what makes people real? Personality.
Find someone who you can trust, who enjoys life and sharing, and who is social media savvy. If you can find that great personality and let them morph that into a great company personality, you’ll do fine.
Dove: A Real World Example
Earlier this year Dove launched the “Real Beauty Sketches” campaign. Dove launched this social experiment with the mission of showing women “You are more beautiful than you think.”
Dove hired an FBI-trained forensic artist who sketched each women based on their description of themselves alone. Then Dove asked each woman to meet with a stranger and get to know them.
The forensic artist then sketched each woman again based solely on the description these strangers gave of each woman. The sketches were then placed side-by-side in a gallery where each woman got to see the difference between how they see themselves and how the world sees them.
This was a powerful message that spread virally across the Internet.
The original YouTube video has over 50 million views with equally impressive shares all over social media including Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. The “Real Beauty Sketches” campaign is still being shared today, months after its original launch.
What is the takeaway from this campaign?
- The importance of developing a REAL message.
- The importance of having a VALUABLE message.
- The importance of a great presentation (e.g. no typos, weird formatting).
- The value of having a social media manager who can create or find content that matters and share it in a way that speaks to people.
The Average Day of a Social Media Manager
Social media managers are all about content. We create content, curate content, and share content. The average day for my social media endeavors goes something like this:
- Wake up and immediately check phone for any messages that my company or I received on Twitter and Facebook.
- Check work emails on my cell phone as I turn on my computer and go to get my contacts on. (I’d be blind without them!)
- Scan my list of valuable content creators on Twitter for great content to retweet (share).
- Browse online news outlets and blogs for great articles to share on each social media platform.
- Shoo the new kitten away from eating my laptop charger (as she likes to do every ten minutes).
- Google search for interesting pictures to add to Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest.
- Remember I forgot to eat breakfast and hurry over to microwave a breakfast sandwich while checking in on Twitter again.
- Come up with interesting content to share that doesn’t involve links. (We have to keep up with those Twitter rules you know.)
- Spend some more time thinking about engaging updates our users will enjoy while trying to mix in facts, tips, pictures, articles, videos, and everything in between.
- Take a break to work on my other jobs.
- Check in again at the end of the day to see what’s happening on each platform and to make sure I didn’t miss anyone’s comment, like, retweet, or favorite.
- Go to bed so I can be up and ready to start all over again in the morning.
It is a busy job that requires a lot of constant connection and serious organization and sorting skills. But at the end of the day I love what I do and that is what makes me valuable to my team.
We want to know. What companies have the best social media presence? What do you like about them?
Kate Tilton has been in love with books for as long as she can remember. Kate believes books saved her life and strives to repay authors for bringing books into the world by serving as a dependable author assistant. A cat-lover and fan of many geeky things, Kate can likely be found curled up with the latest Doctor Who episode, plotting world takeover, or assisting authors and readers in any way she can. Kate is also a self-proclaimed Twitter addict. You will find her hosting #K8chat, her own creation, every Thursday night on Twitter from 9-10 pm Eastern. You can connect with her on her website, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.
Photo: bigstockphoto.com
