Social media has become an integral part of most people's lives, and this has opened the door to many business opportunities. As a result, the need for social media specialists (SMM) is growing. An SMM specialist is a professional who specializes in managing and promoting a brand in social media. In this article, we will consider who an SMM specialist is, what they should be able to do, and what skills are important 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, enhance brand awareness, and improve the overall reputation of a company.
What should an SMM specialist be able to do?
To become an SMM specialist, you need to 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 those strategies.
- Analytics: A social media specialist must be able to measure the effectiveness of their social media campaigns and determine which metrics are most important to achieving business goals.
- Content creation: An SMM specialist must be able to create 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 main Hard skills for an SMM specialist is knowledge of the platforms on which he will work. Each social network has its own features, nuances and algorithms. For example, Instagram works on the basis of the EdgeRank algorithm, which determines which posts the user will see in his feed. Facebook works on the basis of the EdgeRank algorithm and ensures the delivery of content only to a small proportion of users to avoid feed overload.
Knowledge of analytics
An SMM specialist must have analytics skills to understand what 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 that data. For example, on Instagram, analytics can track the number of likes, comments, and subscribers, as well as what content works best.
Copywriting and design
An SMM specialist should be ready to create content independently, especially if he works in a small company that does not have separate designers and copywriters. He should know how to create quality content that attracts attention and generates a response from the audience. For example, he should know how to write sales texts and create effective images.
Technical skills are also important for an SMM specialist. It is important to know how to work with social networks, manage advertising campaigns, manage a website, and conduct analytics. Some of the technical skills that an SMM specialist should have 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);
- Basic knowledge of 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 an important role in the work of an SMM specialist. It is important to be able to communicate with clients, understand their needs, negotiate and interact in a team. Some of the soft skills that an SMM specialist should have include:
- Communication skills and diplomacy. An SMM specialist must be able to establish contacts with different people, work in a team, be ready for dialogue and be able to persuade.
- Public speaking skills. The specialist must be prepared to give speeches, demonstrate presentations, conduct discussions and answer questions.
- Organizational skills. The work of a SMM specialist is connected with organizing events, holding competitions and promotions, as well as working together with bloggers and influential people.
- Ability to plan. The specialist must be able to draw up plans for promotion in social networks, monitor the implementation of plans and analyze the results.
- Creative approach. An SMM specialist must be able to develop unusual and interesting ideas for advertising campaigns, content creation, and audience attraction.
- Analytical skills. The specialist must be able to analyze data and statistics, identify trends and understand how they affect promotion in social networks.
- Responsibility and focus on results. An SMM specialist must take responsibility for completing tasks and achieving the company's goals, and also be able to evaluate the effectiveness of their work.
Criteria for choosing an SMM specialist that need to be taken into account
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, read customer reviews and their past work. The ideal option is when the specialist already has experience in your niche and can provide cases of successful campaigns. Do not hesitate to communicate with clients who have already been served by the SMM specialist and ask them questions about their work.
Cases: originality, quality and results
Cases are an important tool when choosing a candidate. They need to be studied and assessed for originality, quality, and effectiveness. Make sure the cases match your niche and target audience. See what tools and technologies the specialist used to promote the brand.
Current pages in social networks
Explore the social media profiles of the specialist, where he promotes himself and his personal brand. Assess how active he is on social media, what topics and content he publishes, what audience he has. This will help you understand how professionally he approaches brand promotion on social media.
Adequacy and literacy
It is equally important to pay attention to the professional qualities of the specialist, such as adequacy, communication skills and literacy. Check how the specialist answers clients' questions, how well he speaks Russian, how polite he is. As a rule, an SMM specialist has to work with texts, and if his grammar and punctuation leave much to be desired, this can negatively affect the company's reputation.
Understanding the niche
In addition, an SMM specialist must understand your niche and the specifics of your business in order to create content that will be interesting to your target audience.
No guarantees
It is worth noting that a professional SMM specialist will not give guarantees of results. No one can guarantee that a certain post on social networks will lead to conversion or increased sales. However, an experienced specialist will be able to offer 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 some signs to look out for to make sure you've hired a qualified professional:
- Failure to plan and create content. Content is what grabs your audience’s attention and gets them to engage with your brand. An incompetent professional can create boring, uninteresting content that doesn’t grab attention or elicit reactions.
- Ineffective work with analytics. An SMM specialist must be able to analyze data to determine which posts and strategies work best. An incompetent specialist may not be able to correctly interpret the data, which leads to improper planning and strategy management.
- Does not take into account the subtleties 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 does not correspond to the format of the social network.
- Lack of planning and strategy. A SMM specialist should have a strategy that supports your business goals. An incompetent specialist may not have a clear strategy that will help you achieve your business goals.
- Lack of communication skills. An SMM specialist should be able to interact with your audience and respond to questions and comments. An incompetent specialist may not have these skills, which can lead to loss of clients.
- Doesn't take into account competition. An SMM specialist must analyze the actions of competitors and take them into account when planning their strategy. An incompetent specialist may not pay attention to the actions of competitors, which can lead to a loss of competitive advantage
- In addition, an incompetent SMM specialist may not have sufficient knowledge of social media platforms and may not understand their algorithms. For example, such a specialist may not know that using prohibited hashtags can lead to an account being blocked, and that insufficient use of keywords and hashtags can reduce the reach of publications.
- Also, an incompetent SMM specialist may not be attentive to details and allow typos, grammatical errors and incorrect use of punctuation marks in their publications. This can worsen the impression of the brand among the target audience and reduce trust in it.
In general, an incompetent SMM specialist can be of no use to a business and can even damage its reputation and sales. Therefore, it is important to choose professionals with a good reputation and experience who can effectively promote a brand on social networks.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Working with Freelancers and Agencies
It is also important to understand that an SMM specialist is not the only person who can promote your brand on social networks. There are agencies and freelancers who can offer their services. When choosing a partner, it is worth considering experience, rating and feedback on the work.
Social media is an important tool for many companies and brands in promoting their products and services. In this regard, the question arises, who to contact for SMM promotion - freelancers or advertising agencies?
Freelancers tend to work independently, which means they are not tied to a specific company or agency. This can mean that they are more flexible in their work 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. In addition, freelancers usually work for lower prices than advertising agencies, which can be attractive to smaller companies or startups with a limited budget.
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 to run a broader and more advanced social media campaign. They can also offer a full range of services, such as analytics, monitoring, and customer support. In addition, advertising agencies have a more established reputation and may have a higher level of trust from clients.
Overall, choosing between freelancers and advertising agencies for SMM promotion depends on the specific needs and budget of the company. If the company needs a more flexible and individual approach, then freelancers may be the best option. If the company wants a more advanced and complete package of services, then an advertising agency may be the best choice. It is also important to conduct a thorough market analysis and study the portfolio of each candidate to choose the one that best suits your request.
Conclusion
Choosing an SMM specialist is a serious step that can affect the success of your business on social networks. It is worth considering not only experience and qualifications, but also other factors to find a specialist who can effectively promote your brand on social networks.
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