Everyone from tiny businesses to major companies has a social media presence these days. And they all need someone to help them build, refine and manage that presence to create consistent engagement and build a loyal following. This is where you come in, digital nomad! Become a social media manager and you can work from anywhere.
Social media management is all about scheduling posts and responding to comments and queries on a brand’s social networks to help maintain the brand’s public persona. It is an excellent job for a digital nomad because finding remote work in this field is easier than most careers. All you need to do the job well is a good data plan and decent internet, making it a good choice for someone who is always on the move.
How do you become a social media manager? Read on for all the answers.
What does a social media manager do?
This seems like a question with an easy answer. Social media managers surf the internet and social media websites all day. Right?
Well, it’s not wrong. Social media managers get paid to engage with people through likes, comments, and shares and schedule content for the client’s profile. However, that’s not all the job is.
Here are some other services and duties a social media manager might perform, depending on their clients’ needs:
- Develop marketing strategies for the client goals
- Help with the setup of social media accounts
- Create and post graphics and text on behalf of clients
- Keep up with trends and news relevant to the client’s business
- Checking stats, messages, and comments
- Maintaining content calendar
- Increase the number of the client’s followers
In short, as a social media manager, your responsibility is to grow the client’s communities, serve customers and be the voice of the client’s brand by engaging with social media users.
What skills or background do you need to become a social media manager?
If you’ve ever wondered if you need any specific qualifications or certificates to work as a Social Media Manager, then rest assured you don’t. You needn’t be a marketing expert, a digital marketer, or a social media analyst to do this job.
What you do need to become a social media manager is :
- Solid grammar and writing skills
- Good and consistent time management
- A basic understanding of how different social media platforms work
- Excellent communication skills and ability to engage people through content
Experience and/or knowledge in more specialized skills like SEO, keyword research, Google Analytics, web design, copyrighting, and at least basic HTML is always helpful. Still, you don’t need to be an expert at any of these things when you’re starting out. You can, however, try to become better at these added skills by educating yourself through online courses on offer across various sites.
Where can you train for a career in social media management?
Whether you want to learn the basics of social media or you’re keen to refine specific skills, there are many online courses available.
- In Skillshare’s Introduction to Social Media Strategy class, you’ll learn to create a solid foundation for a brand on social media. This free 45-minute class delves into brand awareness, increasing web traffic, crafting social media strategy, and buying advertising.
- Constant Contact’s Social Media Quickstarter is another course that provides a clear overview of social media management. The class includes a step-by-step guide to building a presence on social media platforms from LinkedIn to Snapchat.
- When you’re ready to move beyond the basics, Udemy has an entire list of affordable courses covering everything from graphic design for social media to using hashtags and creating viral content. With this range of courses, you can learn all you need to be a well-paid social media management superstar.
Social Media Management – The Complete 2019 Manager Bootcamp.
How to launch a social media business?
You know what you’re meant to do as a social media manager; you have the knowledge and skills. Now it’s time to launch the business.
Starting a social media business requires relatively little investment and equipment to get started. However, you will need some experience and a portfolio of work.
Be proactive and start building your network of business contacts, freelancers, and clients.
Attend networking events on Facebook and Meet-Ups. Let people who are already within your network know you’re trying to build your portfolio as a social media manager. Offer to create posts for a friend’s or relative’s business for free, in exchange for their feedback (and a testimonial, if they like your work).
Once you start looking for clients and land one, you’ll likely gain referrals, then more referrals from that, and so on.
Keep experimenting with different trends and tactics, measure results, and learn to adapt accordingly. Before you know your social media business will be up and running.
Where do you find clients?
Finding clients who will help you gain experience and generate more leads is especially important when starting out as a freelance social media manager. Here some of the best sites to begin hunting for clients and jobs :
Working Nomads: A platform for clients looking to hire remote freelancers. Working Nomads is a great starting point for any social media expert who is also busy traveling the world. The platform enables users to create and job opportunities that freelancers can choose to apply to.
Upwork: The largest freelance marketplace on the internet with over 12 million users. Upwork helps remote freelancers from various niches connect with clients for specific projects that could be long-term or one-time. If you perform well, you’ll have a high Job Success Score, increasing your chances of getting more clients.
Simply Hired – This is a job search engine that pulls and lists job advertisements from other websites. This site is an excellent choice for someone wanting to level up to more well-established clients.
Remember that more straightforward options like Facebook, LinkedIn, even Twitter, and Instagram are always reliable options.
As social media becomes an essential element in every facet of life, this career field will continue to grow. As a social media manager, you will be a precious part of any brand’s core identity. You’ll be instrumental in engaging consumers and developing your client’s brand.
This post is part of a series on digital nomad jobs.
FAQ
As is the case with most remote, freelance jobs, how much a social media manager makes depends on the client and the individual. Depending on the years of experience and whether you charge by the hour or offer packages, PayScale reports that social media managers can earn anywhere between $35,000 and $79,000 as of February 2021.
As long as you either have some experience managing social media accounts – a brand’s or your own – or you’re willing to learn skills as you do the job, starting as a social media manager does not require much more than proactivity to network and find your first clients.
Yes, it is. Due to the relatively low requirements in terms of investment and equipment and the ease of finding remote work in the niche, social media management is an excellent entry-level job for digital nomads. All you really need is a good data plan and stable internet.
A social media manager switches between various platforms to create and schedule content, keep up with comments, and engage followers. It’s a busy, fast-moving job that’s much more than just surfing social media.
by Malvika Padin, an award-winning, NCTJ-qualified, freelance journalist and content writer with experience writing about music, TV/film, culture, lifestyle, food and mental health.
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