How to Become a Social Media Manager in 2023

Before the pandemic, I was a fresh-out-of-school graduate who had one thing – an Android phone and social media pages to my account. I was hyperactive and all I did was post, like and comment. This gave me a feeling that I had qualified as a social media manager.

I bragged a lot about it and how efficient I was on social media because technically, I was a “noisemaker” on social media. This continued till April 2020 when I realized there was more to social media management than just showing up every day without a plan and activity in mind.

Social media management is much broader than presumed. It is a demanding task that requires a lot of data analytics and strategy. It also demands strong communication skills and mastery of social media. So, contrary to the “easiness” of how it is, social media is a lot.

The average salary for a social media manager per annum is $72,860 in the U.S., CAD$58,500 in Canada, £34,481 in the UK, S$45,739 in Singapore and ₦700,000NGN in Nigeria, according to salary data estimates.

Quite several people are unaware of what social media is and what it is about, and if you are interested in venturing into the profession of social media, this article would be a good guide for you.

What skills do you need to become a social media manager?

For you to launch your career as a social media manager in 2023, you need to have a deeper understanding of what social media management is, and how it operates and hone a broad and diverse skill set – as it is a blend of hard and soft skills to become one. It might interest you to know and note that social media management also requires no “formal tertiary education”; although graduates of communication studies have an advantage in becoming social media managers.

To be a social media manager, here are the skills and tools that you need:

• have a general knowledge of social media management;
• understand social media algorithms and how to factor them;
• have a knack for problem-solving and storytelling. this would help you in creating relatable content;
• a good knowledge of how to analyze and interpret data;
• a high level of interpersonal relationship;
• strong communication skills. this would help you in communicating with your audience;
• know how to conduct good research. this would help you to understand your demographic and how your content can meet their needs;
• ability to prioritize certain ideas and items relating to your preferred social media channel;
• ability to properly troubleshoot multiple challenges;
• creating editorial calendars of possible content related to timing and channel;
• publishing content to share through various social media channels;
• responding to user-generated comments and feedback to create a positive brand experience for strong engagement;
• creating campaigns with messages that represent the brand voice;
• tracking content and campaign success through engagement ratings, metrics and analytics;
• participating in visual design strategies;
• generating engagement and promotional strategies, such as influencer marketing, generating organic traffic and paid advertising;
• presenting findings to upper management to assess and guide strategy moving forward;
• recognizing and reassessing if a certain platform is not producing the acceptable ROI;
• maintaining brand guidelines across all channels and working with team members to ensure brand messaging is consistent.

Six Steps to Becoming a social media manager

1. Understand the role of a social media manager

Before diving into the specifics of how to become a social media manager, it's important to understand what this role entails. A social media manager is responsible for creating, curating, and publishing content on various social media platforms to build and maintain an organization's online presence. Additionally, they are responsible for analyzing the effectiveness of social media campaigns and adjusting strategies as needed.

2. Develop social media skills

To become a social media manager, you need to have a solid understanding of how social media works. This includes knowing how to use various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, as well as understanding social media algorithms and analytics. You can start by practising on your personal social media accounts and experimenting with different types of content.

3. Get educated

While you don't necessarily need a degree to become a social media manager, it can be helpful to have some formal education in marketing, communications, or a related field. There are also plenty of online courses and certifications you can take to enhance your knowledge and skills.

4. Gain experience

One of the best ways to gain experience as a social media manager is to work on social media campaigns for a company or organization. You can also start by doing freelance work or volunteering for non-profit organizations to build up your portfolio.

5. Build your brand

As a social media manager, it's important to have a strong personal brand that showcases your skills and experience. This can include having an active presence on social media, creating a personal website or blog, and networking with other professionals in the industry.

6. Keep up with trends

Social media is constantly evolving, so it's important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and changes. This can include attending industry conferences, following industry leaders and influencers, and reading relevant publications and blogs.

Key Resources for Social Media Managers

There are a lot of resources online for anyone who wants to learn social media management, including books, blogs, videos, and courses. In this article, we curated some of our recommended resources available. Of course, the list is by no means exhaustive.

Videos

• How to Become a social media manager 2023 - Beginners Guide: Flick Multi-Social Marketing Tool provides a step by step guidance on how to become a social media manager in 2023. The 10 minutes long video is a proper guide for whosoever wishes to launch their career as a social media manager in the tech ecosystem.
• Social media management: Skills & Tools you need: In this video, Latasha James, a content creator and YouTuber gives detailed information in regard to the tools and skills needed in social media management.
• Social media management - Freelancing 101: Romie Carillo in this video explains what social media is and how to navigate it as a freelancing career.

Courses

• Coursera: Coursera is offering a free social media class that would provide skills in social media management. It would provide aid on how to manage social media. It offers a Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate at the end of the training.
• Great Learning: Great Learning is offering free social media courses for beginners on how to handle social media platforms, develop marketing strategies, use different management tools and launch social media campaigns.
• HubSpot Academy: HubSpot Academy is offering a free certification course that would help users in creating a successful social media career.

Books

• One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days by Brendan Kane: One Million Followers by Brendan is one of the most popular books on social media growth. As the title suggests, Kane built a combined social media following of one million users across different platforms in one month. This experiment, combined with his experience building online presences for big brands and celebrities, gives the author the authority and credibility to advise about what kinds of content and strategies produce the best results. While most readers may not hit the million mark so quickly, following these guidelines means winning the battle for attention in an oversaturated social landscape.
• The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success by Lon Safko and D.K Barke: The Social Media Bible is comprehensive 700-plus page social media resource that will teach corporate, small business, and non-profit marketers strategies for using social media to reach their desired audiences with power messages and efficiency.
• The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick: This book guide breaks the art of marketing on social networks down into a series of quick and digestible tips. The table of contents makes it easy to navigate through subjects, and the main text consists of flowing lists and bullet points broken up with illustrations.

Final Thoughts

There is an increasing need for social media managers in the world today. Brands and individuals are looking out to get people to properly manage their social media accounts and platforms and it’d be of benefit for you to hone this skill in 2023.