what is a social media manager?

As a social media manager, you oversee your company's marketing team to drive online traffic and engage customers. Depending on the company's size, you may work with a large or small marketing team to manage social media marketing campaigns. Your primary role is to develop strategies for your business's social media platforms and oversee their implementation. You also monitor the performance of each social media channel by tracking the analytics to determine the engagement rates.

Social media managers work internally for a single employer and handle all the company's social media marketing. When you work for one employer, you specialise in their brand offerings. You use your social media marketing skills to raise product awareness and improve customer engagement with the company. You report the progress to the marketing managers and executive teams.

Some social media managers working for marketing consultancy firms manage social media marketing for clients in different industries, including mining and manufacturing. In such cases, you evaluate the current social media marketing strategies and help your clients devise new methods of engaging their target audience. When you work with multiple clients, you take up idea generation and oversight roles. However, in smaller companies, you also implement the ideas generated by your team.

social media manager
1

average salary of a social media manager

The average remuneration package of a social media manager in Australia is $80,000 per year. The salary fluctuates based on your experience level and the rank of your role in the company. When starting in the position, your earnings are as low as $70,000 annually. As your experience improves or if you manage a larger team, you are likely to earn over $90,000 per year. The remuneration packages may differ for social media managers working on a contract basis or freelancers since they set their rates.

what affects the salary of a social media manager?

As a social media manager, your earnings depend on various factors. For instance, the company size dictates the salary you are likely to receive. If you work for a big organisation, you manage a large team, which increases your remuneration prospects. Small companies need more resources and may be unable to pay higher salaries.

Your experience is crucial and influences your earnings. When you have extensive experience, you can negotiate a higher remuneration package. As your qualifications improve, your potential earnings increase since companies are willing to pay more for your expertise and skills.

Want to know more about what you will earn as a social media manager? Check out what you are worth with our salary checker.

social media manager
2

types of social media managers

As a social media manager, you work on diverse social media platforms or specialise in specific platforms. Some of the specialisation areas for social media managers include:

• social networks: you can specialise in social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter that connect people and businesses online. Social networks improve public awareness of your company's social presence, branding and lead generation.

• media sharing networks: social media managers also supervise content shared through Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. The audio-visual and video content shared on these platforms generates leads and builds brand awareness by encouraging content sharing.

• discussion forums: as a social media manager, you also participate in discussion forums to improve your company's online presence and visibility. Since the forums are used for sharing and finding different information, participating improves your brand's authority.

Womale sitting at her desk, looking away from computer screens displaying marketing content.
Womale sitting at her desk, looking away from computer screens displaying marketing content.
3

working as a social media manager

As a sales consultant, you help customers make purchase decisions and negotiate contract terms. Discover the daily duties, responsibilities and opportunities for career progression.

4

education and skills

Formal education gives you an advantage when seeking employment but is not mandatory for social media managers. If you want to pursue the formal education route to become a social media manager, enrol for the following courses:

• short courses: pursuing short courses that improve your social media management skills boost your career prospects. You will learn how to develop social media strategies and analyse social media analytics.

• degree: alternatively, pursue a bachelor's degree in advertising, marketing or public relations. Following the degree course after completing Year 12 increases your chances of landing high-paying roles. The bachelor's degree also prepares you for managerial positions.

skills and competencies

If you want to excel as a social media manager, here are the best skills to acquire:

• writing skills: you require exceptional writing skills to engage an audience on various platforms. Having excellent writing skills helps you relate to different audiences and curate the content for each social media platform. Aside from writing captions and headlines, you also edit content from the content creation team.

• creativity: as a social media manager, you need creativity to maintain user engagement. Your expertise in using images and visual graphics helps you create unique posts.

• flexibility: it is also crucial to be adaptable to the constantly changing social media landscape. For instance, as users move from written to video content, adapting your social media strategy will help you to avoid losing followers.

• project planning skills: most of the duties of a social media manager involve developing strategies for improving social media presence. Your role involves extensive planning to create compelling social media campaigns and plan upcoming content. Project planning skills are vital for the position.

• problem-solving skills: as a social media manager, you interact with customers and address their complaints and concerns. Problem-solving skills are crucial for deescalating and dealing with customer complaints while maintaining your brand's reputation.

5

FAQs about working as a social media manager

Here, you will find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the profession of a social media manager.

thank you for subscribing to your personalised job alerts.