Social media is one of the biggest innovations today. Its presence is ever-growing and has moved from a mere entertaining platform to a business portal for brands.
Social media powerhouses like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn have become hotspots for networking, making sales, harnessing customer loyalty, and more.
With so much at stake, brands simply cannot overlook the importance of a social media manager in their business.
An efficient social media manager is expected to have both hard and soft skills in order to craft engaging content and identify opportunities. They are responsible for generating leads, drive conversions, and more.
Here are some top skills that a social media marketing must develop in order to be at the top of their game.
Who are Social Media Marketers?
If you are reading this article then you are the one 🙂
The job of a social media marketer encompasses a plethora of tasks like cultivating brand image, promoting products and services, building customer relationships, etc. As a social media marketing specialist, you can either work as a freelancer or as part of a bigger marketing department.
Top Social Media Marketing Skills You Must Have in2024
1. Communication
Your job is to promote and represent your company on social media. Having effective communication skills is a non-negotiable. Here are three different types of communication skills that you must master:
- Social Communication: Every brand should maintain a voice that’s uniquely their own. Your job is to understand your audience and write blogs or captions that they like while also maintaining your brand’s tone.
- Client Communication: This involves conveying project/work details in a thorough yet straightforward manner. It also involves negotiating service charges, deadlines, pitching proposals, etc.
- Team Communication: Communicating efficiently with your colleagues and ensuring your team is on the same page is a necessary skill. This ensures minimum obstacles and a smooth workflow.
2. Copywriting
Efficient communication also means being able to articulate and write eloquently. This is one of the most important tools through which your brand will convey messages that your audience can easily understand.
Additionally, you can take your content up a notch with editing and proofreading skills for better readability and engagement.
3. SEO Proficiency
You need to know your way around Search Engine Optimization (SEO) if you want to produce viral content. Double down on your brand’s traction by feeding just the right tricks, words, and formats that the algorithm wants.
Optimize your content by influencing the interface to redirect traffic to your posts. This will not only increase your reach but will also grow your clientele.
4. Customer Service
Since social media is all about nurturing relationships with your audience, you must know how to conduct yourself with customers.
This means putting systems in place where customer concerns like shipment, refunds, and returns are immediately and efficiently addressed. You also need to actively engage in the comments section, messages, and emails whenever customers reach out with complaints or compliments.
5. Graphic Designing
Graphic designing is another key component in social media marketing. Which is why marketers must know how to visually convey thoughts and concepts on behalf of the brand.
More often than not, visual marketing always takes centre stage in social media campaigns because people, in general, consume things better when consumed visually.
If you find yourself lacking in this area, you can get hands-on experience with graphic design tools like Canva.
6. Video Production
Did you know Facebook videos get more views than YouTube? Having a good video marketing strategy in place is imperative.
You don’t need a degree in video production to be able to pull this off. Most of the video creators record on their smartphones.
Get some hands-on practice with tools and software for video editing, and you will be good to go.
7. Social Media Management
Social media platforms are open and active round the clock. This means you also have to be available round the clock which is humanly not possible.
Learn to leverage tools that can simplify your job and keep you free outside of your workplace.
The right tools will help you to curate unique social media feeds, track your posts, efficiently schedule and organize, and even analyze your competitors. Using analytics tools will also give you insights into what’s working and what’s not.
8. Social Listening
Social media marketing is not just about posting engaging content on time. It is crucial for you to track and analyze how your audience is responding to your content.
This is where your social listening skills will be needed.
Social listening involves monitoring discussions about your brand across different social networks. It may be something as simple as customer feedback or discussions on different social media channels or forums.
By closely monitoring feedback and brand mentions like this, you will be able to identify opportunities that can be very helpful when developing social media marketing strategies.
9. Analytical Skills
The ability to think analytically is one of the most advantageous and valuable skills for a social media marketer. Social media is a massive platform, and you will be inundated with data when you engage with it daily.
With analytical skills, you will be able to process a large amount of data and repurpose it to create better ads. Leverage tools like Google Analytics, Google Trends, etc., to manage your strategies efficiently.
10. Building Relationships
It is crucial for social media marketers to have the ability to foster relationships and establish connections. Relationship building is a key component because trust grows only when customers are able to connect directly with businesses.
Cultivate emotional intelligence and practice empathy. Ask for customer feedback and learn how to listen.
Conclusion
Social media platforms are constantly evolving. Trends change, algorithms change, and attentions quickly shift to the latest events.
Keeping up with all these is essential, but what’s more important is laying a strong foundation.
As a social media manager, you need to be creative, have a fair number of technical skills, and many more. From analyzing complex data to creating engaging content in order to stay up-to-date, having in-demand social media marketing skills can help you curate social content that resonates with your audience.
This inevitably drives traffic to your business. As social media continues to evolve, social media marketers must keep learning new skills to stay on top of the game.