With social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram becoming so popular, it’s not surprising that so many people want to know how they can become a professional social media manager. These are the men and women responsible for running the social media sites associated with major companies and individuals and the ones maintaining the reputations of their clients online. While you might think that you can get one of these jobs with little experience most managers come from a marketing background.
Become a Social Media Expert
Before applying for management jobs, you need to develop skills that show you are a social media expert. You can’t expect to have a personal Facebook page and think that qualifies you for these jobs. You can also need to understand how other sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest work. Experts know how many characters they can use in a status update, how they can shorten a URL to make it fit within the giving amount of space, how to use HTML formatting in posts and even ways to use keywords and hash tags to gain more followers.
Take Marketing Classes
If you want to become a professional social media manager, you should seriously consider taking a few marketing classes. While you do not necessarily need a college degree, some of those professionals who achieved success in this field have a bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in marketing or advertising. Those courses teach you how to identify the needs of a customer base and ways you can market to each of those groups. You may even take classes that look specifically at how companies use social networking sites to appeal to customers.
Have Unique Skills
There are millions of people who think they can do social media management, but those who are the most successful are those who have a unique set of skills. Jayson DeMers of Forbes lists some of the skills that these managers need, which include strong writing skills, SEO knowledge and graphics creation. Graphics creation refers to the way media managers incorporate videos, photos and drawings into posts. Managers also need strong writing skills and the ability to make even the shortest of posts count. Any knowledge you have of SEO techniques and how to use the proper keywords can help you land one of these jobs too.
Search for Positions
Searching for open positions is the best way to become a professional social media manager. Instead of going directly to companies and applying for positions with little experience, try finding clients willing to take a chance on you. Use freelance sites to find jobs that require you post to social networking accounts and manage online operations for smaller companies and individual clients. While these jobs might not pay as much as you would like, you’ll have the chance to develop some great skills, gain social media expertise and develop a strong reputation for yourself, which may lead to future job offers.
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Social media managers are the professionals who help companies and clients succeed online through the use of videos, pictures and status updates that they post to the top sites. To become a professional social media manager, you need some marketing knowledge, an understanding of social networking sites and skills like writing and SEO skills.
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