The stats are there – 13 million South Africans are on Facebook, 2.68 million on Instagram, and 7.4 million users on Twitter, which means social media is an important marketing tool for businesses and brands to reach new audiences and increase sales.
What is Social Media?
Social media is a family of online communications networks based on communities.
- Input
- Interaction
- Content-sharing
- Collaboration
Social media marketing is the use of social media to enhance a company’s visibility and customer base. The aim is to produce content that will drive users to share it with their social networks.
Companies are reassessing their traditional marketing approach as 90% of people aged 18-29 use social media, and a third of Millennials use social media as their preferred way to communicate with brands and businesses.
Immerse yourself in the world of inbound marketing, which businesses use to help attract customers to their products or services, and use the following three strategies:
- Social media marketing
- Content marketing
- Search engine optimisation
How Will This Affect You and Your Social Media Marketing Abilities?
Kiara Havenga, Head tutor for the University of Cape Town Social Media Marketing online short course, says that the social media landscape is changing every day and businesses and brands must make sure that they have a strategy and staff that can keep up with the changes. “This has led to an increase in job openings for social media marketing professionals who are flexible and adaptable in an ever-changing digital landscape.”
What is the Role of a Social Media Marketing Specialist?
Understanding the role of social media in marketing brands and businesses is all about how you can navigate through the social media landscape. The role of a Social Media Marketing Specialist can be broken down into the following six categories:
1. Social Media Strategy
A Social Media Marketing Specialist is responsible for defining, developing, and incorporating a social media marketing strategy for a business or brand. They do this by:
- Defining what is involved in conducting a social media audit and competitor analysis.
- Understanding the components of a social media audit and competitor analysis.
- Communicating and connecting social media goals to other marketing goals.
- Identifying content pillars that will be the drivers for social marketing strategy.
2. Social Media Advertising
Kiara says that now, it’s a ‘pay-to-play’ world: if you’re not paying, you’re not playing. “It’s crucial for a business to have a social media advertising budget in place, and an expert with the know-how to put it to use on various platforms.”
A Social Media Specialist can be a trusted and knowledgeable individual who the company can count on to create and implement a budget for a content distribution plan that leverages a variety of tools most appropriate to a company’s overall marketing strategy.
3. Manage Social Media Platforms and Tools
Kiara says, “Due to the fact that social media platforms and tools change constantly, Social Media Marketing Specialists need to have an agile awareness of how trending features can best be used to communicate a brand’s principles.”
What you choose to use Instagram stories, Twitter scratchpads, or Facebook LIVE! today, will not be relevant or effective in six months when updates come to the app.
A social media marketing course can be taken to gain the core communication skills that aren’t tied to a particular platform and can be used for a variety of marketing goals.
4. Creation and Sharing of Content
Content is key to creating a social media presence, and a Social Media Marketing Specialist is able to ensure that the right content is distributed to drive engagement. They’re able to lead content creation strategies to serve a range of company objectives and marketing priorities.
5. Community Management
Kiara says, “News moves quickest on social media, both good and bad. “This is how a Social Media Marketing Specialist is able to stay on top of what is being said about a brand; knowing how to develop an online reputation proactively and how to manage it.”
The Social Media Marketing Specialist’s focus is on the community and the company; they strive to:
- Advocate the business or brand on a variety of social networks
- Being active in the online world and the customer base
- Maintaining a fast response time and service through brand-aligned messaging
- Establishing, implementing, and reviewing community management approaches
- Helping to conduct market research to understand the customer’s perspective through crowdsourcing
6. Social Media Reporting
Kiara notes how “anyone can use social media for marketing. Not everyone can use social media for marketing effectively. In order for a business or brand to understand the effectiveness of their social media marketing, they need to be able to measure it.”
This is where the role of the Social Media Marketing Strategist is key. Being able to report, measure, and optimise your social media ROI is the key to a successful performance.
What does a Social Media Specialist do?
The management of social media marketing is ubiquitous in all enterprises that have a marketing role. The scope of career paths and diverse range of roles mean that whether you’re a Community Manager, Content Marketer or Media Coordinator, social media marketing is a transferable skill that can make an impact on your career or business goals.
Additional careers where a Social Media Marketing Specialist’s career path might dovetail to some degree include the following:
- Sales Manager
- Public Relations Manager
- Office Manager
- Small Business Owner
According to Payscale, most people with the role of Social Media Marketing Specialist move on to other positions after 10 years in this field.
Career options for a Social Media Marketing Specialist:
- Chief Marketing Officer
- Brand Manager
- Digital Marketing Strategist
- Marketing Analyst
- Creative Director
- Entrepreneur
So, how much can a Social Media Marketing Specialist make?
- Search engine optimisation
- Copywriting
- Digital photography
- Graphic design
What Education and Training is Needed for a Social Media Marketing Specialist?
This job is not only based on a degree or diploma, but rather on experience, and if you’re interested in it, there are various ways you’ll find on Social Media.
Work experience in social media marketing, across any sector:
Often organisations want a Social Media Specialist who has hands-on experience conversing, engaging and working with different social media channels and can exhibit strategic thinking across a variety of social media platforms.
An online course:
By mastering social media marketing, you can be an asset to any business. Upon finishing a Social Media Marketing course, you will be able to do more than what you’ll have been asked to do in your job description, and you’ll open yourself up to even more possibilities.
Earning a certificate from a world-leading university will help you advance your career and raise your earning potential. You’ll also be able to enhance your professional reach and network building by expanding your knowledge on related online short courses in marketing.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the role of a Social Media Marketing Specialist?
A Social Media Marketing Specialist is a professional who is responsible for managing social media marketing campaigns, developing engaging content, expanding the audience, and assisting companies in meeting their marketing objectives via social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
2. Which job should I apply for to become a Social Media Marketing Specialist?
Get trained in Social Media Strategy, Content, Analytics, Paid Advertising, and Audience Engagement to become a Social Media Marketing Specialist. Your skills will also be developed through practical experience gained from personal projects, internships, or freelance assignments.
3. Do I need to gain experience in social media marketing?
No, it’s not always necessary to have a particular degree. Practical skills and applicable certifications, creativity, and a portfolio showing social media campaign management skills are important.
4. What are the skills needed for social media marketing?
The necessary skills are content generation, copywriting, social media strategy, analytics, communication, creativity, audience research, SEO, and paid social advertising.
5. What is the best social media website to learn?
You don’t have to become an expert on all of these platforms in order to begin. You don’t need to be an expert on all of these platforms to start out.
6. What is the best job in the world?
Yes, social media marketing is a lucrative career for several reasons: First, there are numerous businesses in various industries that need someone to enhance their online profile, engage with the audience, and create tangible marketing outcomes.
7. What are the requirements for Social Media Marketing?
Yes. The initial steps can be learning the basics and making your own projects to show off your skills. An organized portfolio can make up for a lack of work experience.