A Day in the Life of a Social Media Marketer

Let’s Look at a Day in the Life of a Social Media Marketer

What does a social media marketer do all day? There’s more to social media marketing than Community Management.

Job titles vary, and nothing seems to be settled yet in terms of prescribed, expected tasks. The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t really have a listing although they do acknowledge that social media is out there. They seem to be more or less placing it under Public Relations-style work.

However, a review of recent job postings reveals what social media personnel are mainly expected to do on the job, whether they’re called Social Media Marketers, Inbound Marketers, Social Media Specialists or something else.

Platforms

Tasks related to platforms. This is what most people think of when they think of Social Media Specialists, and it includes:

• Blogging – either creating and maintaining one, or encouraging the business or engineering sides to create or maintain blogs, or commenting on and keeping blogs active. May also include polishing prose, suggesting topics and performing research

† Facebook – creating and maintaining a fan page or pages. Possibly make an account (or more than one) to communicate with users and potentially also find rogue fan sites (e. g. those not created by the company).

Perhaps to have them shut down or changed (usually at the behest of the Legal Department)

• Twitter – creating accounts and maintaining them, tweeting to followers, reciprocally following as necessary/desired and possibly also helping to design a background or logo for the company’s Twitter account(s)
† LinkedIn – creating and maintaining the company’s profile on LinkedIn, plus adding job openings as necessary
• Sharing and bookmarking services (these have changed over time) – create and maintain accounts. Make sure that blog posts and any company articles and press releases go to these services, and keep track of all mentions of the company and its products on these services

† Articles and Press Releases – working with the Public Relations Department. Release non-secret information in the form of articles and press releases as circumstances permit
• Podcasting and YouTube – working with the PR Department and if there is a Media Relations Department at the company. Create and release appropriate content as circumstances dictate
† Community Management – create, moderate, manage and promote any online communities owned by the company

More Tasks

Other possible tasks include:

• Search Engine Optimization Efforts – in conjunction with the Webmaster, work to promote the site’s Page Rank on Google and other search engines, though a variety of activities including but not limited to article marketing, the addition of backlinks from quality resources and helping to select the best keywords for the site

† Analytics – reviewing Google Analytics 4 (or Yahoo Analytics or Omniture or whatever the company is using). Help the Webmaster reduce bounce rate, increase loyalty, and increase the number of new users and page views
• On-Site Advertising (if applicable) – work with the Marketing Department and the Webmaster. This is to increase overall online advertising presence or decide on advertising for the site (e. g. banner versus skyscraper, etc.)

† Strategy – this is probably the biggest task for a Social Media person. Although it can also be more of a manager’s job. Strategy should be defined and covered with the Board of Directors (or owner if the company is small).

Small changes such as adding a link here or there probably don’t have to be a Board vote.

But major decisions on direction should be. This can also encompass working with Marketing, such as to determine better ways of presenting and delivering content. This can include A/B testing.
• Meetings and the Like – apart from the ones above, the Social Media Specialist should find him/herself as a part of many different teams, potentially assisting with advertising, marketing, public relations, media, and web design

Social Media Marketer: Takeaways

There’s more to it than just the tools. What a real Social Media Marketer does is far more strategic and analytical and design-oriented. Twitter, etc. are only the beginning, and may be replaced by the next new thing(s) in time.

But well thought out strategy, carefully observed analytics and usable, pleasing design are timeless pieces of the Social Media Marketer puzzle.

And Later Still…

Social media marketing now can also encompass email marketing, or content marketing and management. It veers into the land of SEO as well. There’s nothing perfect about it, and it keeps on changing.

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Want More About Social Media?

If my experiences with non-platform-specific social media resonate with you, then that’s awesome! So, please check out my other articles about navigating our social media obsessed world.

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† Social Media Background Check Being Used For Jury Selection
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† Social Media Balance.
• How Social Media Can Ruin Your Life
† Happy Holidays, Social Media Style

Reviews of Books on Social Media

• Social Media Marketing by Liana Evans
† Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen.
• The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Hyder Kabani

For a Social Media Marketer: Working with Social Media

† A Day in the Life of a Social Media Marketer
• Five Ways for Charities to use Social Media
† Four Important Social Media Stats
• Social Networking/Social Media Tips

† The Best Lengths for Social Media Posts and More.
• Jell-O on the Wall: Social Media Perfection is Fleeting
† When NOT to Post on Social Media Platforms

Social Media for Writers

• The Power of Social Media (Neurotic Writers’ Edition)

† Social Media and Writing
• Writing Part 2.
† Social Media and Writing Part 3

• Are You Promoting Your Writing With Social Media?

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