What Does a Social Media Manager Do? (the perfect work from home job!)

In this day and age, many of us are looking for the perfect job that we can do from home. Fortunately, there are a TON of well paying jobs that you can do as a stay at home mom, and even (like myself) as a homeschool mom! Today I thought I would answer a common question – What does a social media manager do?

Social media managing is one of those jobs that is almost critical for most businesses today, but if you are not familiar with the field, it can seem overwhelming.

Since many of YOU may be exploring work from home options, and wonder if this is the career option for you, let’s walk through what the job involves.

Overall: As a social media manager, you will be in charge of a company’s entire presence on social media platforms.

This means – you create posts, you “talk” in their voice online, you interact with customers and drive people to their business.

Now, I want to pause here to make a little note…

Each company is different.

What makes sense for one company online does not make sense at all for another. Some companies already have a strategy and plan in place for their social media. Other companies are just getting started on social media and do not have anything in place.

So, this list of tasks and skills are not a “one size fits all companies” kind of thing.

When you are first discussing managing social media for a company, you would find out what exactly you would be in charge of managing, and can decide if that’s a right fit for you at the time.

For example, I have managed social media for a company where I did very little of the creative work. There was already a photographer creating great content, all video work was outsourced, etc.

Alternately, I’ve managed social media where I was a one-mom-show. I WAS the whole creative and online team. If there were photos or videos, I needed to take them or create them. I found myself writing blog posts for the brand. I was updating the website, and a whole host of other tasks.

Now, all of these things were known beforehand. I had discussed the scope of the job before I dove in, and charged accordingly.

All of that to say – this is a general list of tasks. The company you manage social media for may have you do more or less.

What Does a Social Media Manager Do?

#1. Post on all social media platforms.

Wherever the company has a social media page, you are there posting content. This may include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Tik Tok, (and whatever other social media platforms there are!)

Now, never fear. Chances are that a given company is not on ALL of those social media channels. They likely focus on a few of them, depending on where their audience hangs out.

You will be the one creating the posts, writing posts in the tone of the company, and making sure that posts are going up daily.

#2. Create or collect all graphics, photos, and videos necessary for social media posts.

You might find yourself in a program like Canva creating graphics for your social media posts. You might be heading into the company store or restaurant to take photos for posts. You might be creating videos for your social media posts.

OR, you may be collecting these things from others. It could be that the company has a marketing team in place that creates these things.

OR, you can even outsource some of this work yourself! For example, if you know going into the job that you don’t have the necessary creative skills (but you know someone who does), plan to outsource some of that work. The pay for those contractors may come out of your pocket (out of what you are being paid from the company), but you also had many less hours to put in.

Any option above is great for creating content, but in the end YOU will be the one in charge of having the content at the right time for your posting schedule.

Related post:
How to Add Text to a Photo with Canva

Which brings us to the next task….

#3. Create a social media posting schedule for the company.

You will need to be on top of what’s going on in the company. What big promotions are they planning? Are there events coming up?

In my experience, this process has started with a once-a-month meeting (or so), where I was kept up-to-date about happenings in the company, and news that needed to be posted. I used that meeting to ask questions and learned about what was coming up.

Then, I would go away and make a social media calendar for the coming month.

You will be planning the posts that will be going up. It’s crucial to plan these ahead of time. This way if you need anything like a certain photo or video, there’s time to make that happen.

It’s possible that you will submit your social media calendar to a marketing director, or someone similar. Or, you may just be in charge of owning the task on your own!

#4. Research hashtags and use relevant ones in your posts.

On some platforms, you will use hashtags in your posts (specifically Instagram and Twitter). Since this is one of the biggest ways to get your posts SEEN, you will need to be using some good ones!

You’ll be responsible for researching good hashtags to use, and also keeping up-to-date on which ones are working well.

#5. Reply to all messages and comments on social media.

The biggest thing you want to be developing on the social pages you manage is called Engagement. This means all of the conversation, comments, likes, etc.on the posts.

You will be the one responsible for responding to comments in a timely manner, commenting back to people, responding to direct messages, and interacting online for the company.

#6. Run social media ad campaigns.

How many ads you are running depends on the company itself. You may be running NO paid ads on social media. Or, you may be running LOTS!

Unless it’s a very large company that either has their own ads person, or else hires it out – chances are that you will be involved in the creation and monitoring of paid ads on social media.

#7. Analyze your social media posts and ads for further improvement.

You will need to be able to examine your social media posts and any paid ads and recognize what is working, and what’s not.

Depending on the company, you may also present this information to a marketing manager or someone similar.

This information is SO helpful in knowing what types of posts to schedule in the future!

#8. Set goals for the company’s social media pages.

Once you understand the company overall and what their goals are in business, you can start to set some relevant goals for the social media pages.

You will set the goals, act on them, keep track of the results, and possibly present these to a marketing manager or someone similar. (Or just enjoy the process on your own!) But either way, having goals to aim for gives your social media posting direction and momentum.

#9. Stay current on social media trends.

Regularly put some time into studying social media. Find a couple of good websites that tell you what’s trending and doing the best in social right now.

Keep track of these things and be in the routine of implementing things as soon as you can.

#10. Keep all business information current on the social media pages.

Make a routine of regularly checking through each social media platform’s “About” information. Make sure that the store hours are still correct, etc.

#11. Keep the social media pages looking active, fresh and engaging.

Make sure you are changing the cover photo every so often. Change up some colors to look like spring, or Christmas. Keep the pages looking fresh, not stagnant.

#12. Possibly manage others on your social media team.

Depending on the size of the company, you may have some employees that fall under your direction. For example, you might manage the contractors who are making the graphics. You might have other social media coordinators who are managing sub-pages of the company.

This is not always the case, but it’s something to keep in mind as you consider managing social media.

A Word of Encouragement:

If this list of tasks in any way looks overwhelming, remember this: You can learn anything! Once you understand the role of social media for a business, you can quickly learn some of the tasks involved.

Being a Social Media Manager can be a GREAT way to add some income to your family, and finally enjoy a flexible job that works around your family’s schedule!