Six Social Media Roles: Is This a Position For You?
The vast world of social media offers several different roles depending on business size. Understanding the business audience is the first step in developing a solid social media plan and then fleshing it out with content. But whose job is it to determine audience type and who develops content? Who manages the business’ social media platforms and ensures a consistent message is bringing a positive return on investment (ROI)? Who reports to business leaders?

Online Community Manager:
The primary voice of the company to the outside world is the online community manager. Outreach may include press releases, blogs, website content, social media content, review sites, and forums. By awareness of a company’s online reputation, you will address complaints professionally and timely, and voice appreciation of positive remarks. You will either define the voice of the company or take a predefined voice and ensure consistency and professionalism. Part of your job is to shape the interaction of people within a community, such as matching a support person with a consumer who needs help.

To be successful you will work closely with the company marketing director to align online goals with overall business goals. You will generate relevant reports to deliver to business leaders to show ROI. Relevant reports will change based on the business. A company heavily invested in customer support will need to see customer satisfaction, number of complaints received and resolved, and ideas for future innovation. However a company more invested in sales will see reports based on lead generation, website visits, and interaction with potential consumers.

Social Media Marketing Manager:
Are you very familiar with the most popular social media platforms and able to easily navigate their never-ending changes? Do you collect social media key performance indicators and analyze that data to measure results? Are you able to responsibly delegate tasks and oversee execution of those tasks in a professional manner? You may fit best in the role of social media marketing manager. You may work closely with a marketing strategist or social media strategist to design a plan based on an event or timeline. You will be in charge of providing content to reach event goals and also evaluating data to monitor results. Understanding your business audience is a must, including the specific social media platforms that they use.

You need to be a creative person, proficient in developing content as well as researching and repurposing relevant content, and excel in engaging consumers online. You will follow the style guidelines of the business to provide consistent voice, style, and “feel” to the created content. You should be comfortable working with a variety of individuals inside of the business including IT (for help with computer needs and potentially website needs), business leaders (to ensure business goals are recognized and met and that the appropriate voice is being used) and employees (for content creation and ideas).

Social Media Strategist:
A social media strategist develops a strategy for compelling content for online audiences, including content on social media, blogs, websites, and press releases. Simply posting cute kitten photos will not convert viewers to buyers on your social media; the content needs to direct people to your website or store front and encourage them to make purchases. You will design a plan based around business goals. As the brand ambassador, you present the company’s brand on social media platforms to engage and generate leads.

What makes a good social media strategist? They are usually goal-oriented people who understand social media audiences and their behavior, and are able to communicate clearly and succinctly with those audiences. You also communicate to business leaders ROI for social media plans, and have a deep understanding of social media data, with a way to track results inside the business.

Social Media Marketing Coordinator:
A social media marketing coordinator could be a combination of a social media strategist and social media manager. You must be adept in designing social media campaigns and developing content for those campaigns which elevates the business brand. Having an intimate knowledge of the social media landscape and an ability to learn new social media platforms as needed is required. You need to thrive in fast paced environments, learn quickly, be self-motivated to learn new things, and be team-oriented. You will work closely with many members of the business to garner ideas for content and you will need to have an excellent ability to listen to consumers and deliver to their needs and desires. You may also be providing photos and videos for your social media accounts.

 Social Media Marketing Consultant:
Are you more interested in working for yourself and consulting other businesses on social media? Do you love the challenge of designing new plans based on each company’s needs and goals, and enjoy working with a wide range of professions? Do you have a excellent understanding of the various social media platforms to develop a solid plan for any type of business? Then social media marketing consultant may be the profession for you!

A consultant is able to step into any company, from arboretum to zoo, bank to hair dresser, and develop a social media plan to help them grow. You need to be a good listener and observer, able to navigate intricacies of each individual business to find things that make it stand out in its area. Working closely with the business manager, owner, or marketing specialist, you provide training on social media platforms from the bottom-up, sometimes creating the business pages for the company and educate on content creation and planning. A consultant’s gig may last for just a few hours, providing a company with ideas and solutions, or it may last a few weeks while the consultant transforms the company’s social media presence. A consultant may also present social media to a group of individuals, such as classes Martin Brossman and Karen Tiede offer.

 Blogger/ Social Media Copywriter:
This position may be included in one of the above or may be a stand-alone, depending on the business size and needs. A social media copywriter writes, reviews, and edits materials such as social media posts, blog posts, website content, press releases, and more. You will work closely with team members across a business to understand goals and the target audience. Superb written and verbal communication skills are required as well as project management and organizational skills. A blogger has to work well under pressure to meet deadlines and adapt quickly and efficiently to the business needs.

As the blogger/copywriter you will likely be providing photography or graphs for your content. Start compiling your stock photography now and treat every day like a photo shoot. Label and organize your photo files so that you can easily recall a photo for content. A basic understanding of a photo editing software is helpful and understanding of a graph developing software, such as Microsoft Excel, is important.

A blogger creates content that engages and attracts readers, often redirecting them to the business website in order to generate leads.

 It is apparent that there are many different types of social media jobs. Depending on the size of the company all or just one may be needed to successfully manage the company’s online presence. If you are knowledgeable in social media and you’re interested in taking your career to the next level, start researching companies who are hiring for these positions to see if it’s a good fit for you. You may also benefit from many classes taught by Martin Brossman and Associates.

by Heather Cutchin Evans – learn more about Heather at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/heathercevans

Learn more about the Social Media Management Training at http://smmcp.wpengine.com