Social media has become an integral part of most people's lives, opening the door to numerous business opportunities. Consequently, the need for social media specialists (SMM) is growing. An SMM specialist is a professional who specializes in managing and promoting a brand on social media. In this article, we'll explore who an SMM specialist is, what skills they should have, and what competencies are essential for a successful career in this field.
Who is an SMM specialist?
A SMM specialist is a social media professional who specializes in brand promotion on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others. SMM specialists create, plan, and execute social media strategies to attract and retain audiences, increase sales, build brand awareness, and improve a company's overall reputation.
What should an SMM specialist be able to do?
To become an SMM specialist, you must have knowledge and experience in the following areas:
- Strategic Planning: A SMM specialist must have an understanding of business strategies and be able to develop effective social media strategies that support these strategies.
- Analytics: A social media manager must be able to measure the effectiveness of their social media campaigns and determine which metrics are most important for achieving business goals.
- Content creation: An SMM specialist must be able to create high-quality content that attracts and retains an audience.
- Communicating with the audience: An SMM specialist must be able to effectively communicate with the audience and convince them of the need for a product or service.
- Social Media Advertising: A SMM specialist must have experience working with advertising.
Hard skills
Knowledge of social networks and platforms
One of the key hard skills for an SMM specialist is knowledge of the platforms they will be working on. Each social network has its own characteristics, nuances, and algorithms. For example, Instagram relies on the EdgeRank algorithm, which determines which posts a user will see in their feed. Facebook, on the other hand, relies on the EdgeRank algorithm to deliver content only to a small percentage of users to avoid feed clutter.
Knowledge of analytics
An SMM specialist must have analytics skills to understand which metrics to track and how they relate to brand goals. They must know how to analyze the data they collect and draw conclusions based on it. For example, on Instagram, analytics can track the number of likes, comments, and followers, as well as which content performs best.
Copywriting and design
An SMM specialist must be prepared to create content independently, especially if they work in a small company that doesn't have dedicated designers and copywriters. They must know how to create high-quality content that attracts attention and resonates with the audience. For example, they should know how to write sales copy and create eye-catching images.
Technical skills are also essential for an SMM specialist. It's important to know how to work with social media, manage advertising campaigns, manage a website, and conduct analytics. Some of the technical skills an SMM specialist should possess include:
- Ability to set up advertising campaigns on social networks;
- Knowledge of working with analytical tools such as Google Analytics;
- Ability to work with CMS systems (for example, WordPress);
- Knowledge of basic HTML and CSS;
- Ability to work with graphic editors (for example, Photoshop or Canva);
- Knowledge of SEO principles.
Soft skills
Soft skills, or soft communication skills, play a crucial role in the work of an SMM specialist. It's important to be able to communicate with clients, understand their needs, negotiate, and collaborate within a team. Some of the soft skills an SMM specialist should possess include:
- Communication skills and diplomacy. An SMM specialist must be able to establish contacts with a variety of people, work in a team, be open to dialogue, and be persuasive.
- Public speaking skills. The specialist must be prepared to give presentations, facilitate discussions, and answer questions.
- Organizational skills. A SMM specialist's work involves organizing events, running contests and promotions, and collaborating with bloggers and influencers.
- Planning skills. A specialist must be able to create social media promotion plans, monitor their implementation, and analyze the results.
- Creative approach. A SMM specialist must be able to develop unusual and interesting ideas for advertising campaigns, content creation, and audience engagement.
- Analytical skills. A specialist must be able to analyze data and statistics, identify trends, and understand how they impact social media promotion.
- Responsibility and results-oriented. A SMM specialist must take responsibility for completing tasks and achieving company goals, as well as be able to evaluate their performance.
Criteria to consider when choosing an SMM specialist
Let's look at the main criteria that need to be taken into account when selecting a candidate for the position of SMM specialist.
Reviews and recommendations
Before hiring a specialist, check out client reviews and their past work. Ideally, the specialist should already have experience in your niche and can provide case studies of successful campaigns. Don't hesitate to contact clients the SMM specialist has worked with and ask them questions about their work.
Cases: Originality, Quality, and Results
Case studies are an important tool when selecting a candidate. They should be reviewed and assessed for originality, quality, and effectiveness. Ensure that the case studies are relevant to your niche and target audience. Research the tools and technologies the specialist used to promote their brand.
Current social media pages
Explore the specialist's social media profiles where they promote themselves and their personal brand. Assess how active they are on social media, what topics and content they post, and what their audience is. This will help you understand how professional they are when it comes to brand promotion on social media.
Adequacy and literacy
It's equally important to pay attention to the specialist's professional qualities, such as their responsiveness, communication skills, and literacy. Check how the specialist answers client questions, their command of Russian, and their politeness. SMM specialists typically work with text, and poor grammar and punctuation can negatively impact the company's reputation.
Understanding the niche
Additionally, an SMM specialist must understand your niche and business specifics in order to create content that will be of interest to your target audience.
No guarantees
It's worth noting that a professional SMM specialist won't guarantee results. No one can guarantee that a specific social media post will lead to conversions or increased sales. However, an experienced specialist will be able to suggest a strategy that will increase the likelihood of success.
How to identify an incompetent SMM specialist?
An incompetent social media specialist can hurt your business instead of helping it grow. Here are a few signs to look out for to ensure you've hired a qualified professional:
- Inability to plan and create content. Content is what attracts your audience's attention and engages with your brand. An incompetent professional can create boring, uninteresting content that fails to attract attention and elicit reactions.
- Ineffective analytics. A social media marketing specialist must be able to analyze data to determine which posts and strategies are most effective. An incompetent specialist may be unable to interpret the data correctly, leading to poor planning and strategy execution.
- Fails to take into account the nuances of each social network. Each social network has its own characteristics and content formats. An incompetent specialist may simply not understand these nuances and create content that doesn't fit the social network's format.
- Lack of planning and strategy. A social media manager should have a strategy that supports your business goals. An incompetent manager may not have a clear strategy that will help you achieve your business objectives.
- Lack of communication skills. A social media manager (SMM) must be able to interact with your audience and respond to questions and comments. An incompetent specialist may lack these skills, which can lead to loss of clients.
- Failure to consider competition. A SMM specialist must analyze competitors' actions and take them into account when planning their strategy. An incompetent specialist may overlook competitors' actions, which can lead to a loss of competitive advantage.
- Furthermore, an incompetent SMM specialist may lack sufficient knowledge of social media platforms and may not understand their algorithms. For example, such a specialist may not be aware that using prohibited hashtags can lead to account suspension, and that insufficient use of keywords and hashtags can reduce the reach of posts.
- Furthermore, an incompetent SMM specialist may lack attention to detail and make typos, grammatical errors, and incorrect punctuation in their publications. This can negatively impact the brand's impact on the target audience and reduce trust.
Overall, an incompetent SMM specialist can be detrimental to a business and even damage its reputation and sales. Therefore, it's important to choose professionals with a good reputation and experience who can effectively promote a brand on social media.
The Pros and Cons of Working with Freelancers and Agencies
It's also important to understand that an SMM specialist isn't the only person who can promote your brand on social media. There are agencies and freelancers who can offer their services. When choosing a partner, consider their experience, ratings, and reviews.
Social media is an important tool for many companies and brands to promote their products and services. This raises the question of who to turn to for SMM promotion: freelancers or advertising agencies?
Freelancers typically work independently, meaning they're not tied to a specific company or agency. This can mean they're more flexible and can quickly respond to changes in the social media landscape. They can offer a customized approach to promotion and optimize it for each client's needs. Furthermore, freelancers typically charge lower prices than advertising agencies, which can be attractive to smaller companies or startups with limited budgets.
On the other hand, advertising agencies have experience and expertise in social media, which can be very valuable to clients. They often have a wide range of tools and resources for conducting broader and more advanced social media campaigns. They can also offer a full range of services, such as analytics, monitoring, and customer support. Furthermore, advertising agencies have a more established reputation and may enjoy a higher level of trust from clients.
Overall, choosing between freelancers and advertising agencies for social media marketing depends on a company's specific needs and budget. If a company requires a more flexible and customized approach, freelancers may be the better option. However, if a company desires a more advanced and comprehensive package of services, an advertising agency may be the better choice. It's also important to conduct a thorough market analysis and review each candidate's portfolio to select the one that best suits your needs.
Conclusion
Choosing an SMM specialist is a serious decision that can impact the success of your business on social media. It's important to consider not only experience and qualifications but also other factors to find a specialist who can effectively promote your brand on social media.
