social media manager is typically responsible for setting content strategy and driving engagement on a company’s social platforms. To be successful in that role, social media managers often need to possess a knack for storytelling, a keen eye for design, and an ability to analyze what does well with an audience—and what doesn’t. 

Social media has become a key marketing area thanks to its ability to reach and capture customers while learning more about their needs, desires, and frustrations. And it’s ubiquitous across industries—corporations, brands, non-profits, government officials, celebrities, and more have accounts to communicate directly with followers—which means working as a social media manager can lead to a variety of fields. 

In this article, we’ll explore the responsibilities a social media manager typically has, the key skills necessary to do this line of work, and how to get started. 

Social media managers are ordinarily responsible for developing strategies to increase followers, creating and overseeing social campaigns, producing content, reviewing analytics, and communicating with key stakeholders in a company. 

As a social media manager, your specific responsibilities will depend on the size of your company. For example, while many social media managers at larger corporations typically approve copy or videos rather than create them, it’s common for social media managers at smaller companies to take on more content creation. 

If you’re interested in working as a social media manager, your tasks may include:

Increasing followers and driving engagement: Boost a company’s profile on all active social platforms by increasing the number of followers they have and the amount of engagement (likes, comments, shares) they receive. You may be expected to develop written or visual posts to achieve both.  

Strategizing content and campaigns: To drive engagement, you’ll be responsible for ideating (and sometimes executing) social campaigns that align with a company’s larger marketing strategies. You may also generate ideas for timely and evergreen content or repurpose user-generated content.  

Analyzing data: In addition to creative work, you’ll also spend time analyzing data to draw conclusions about how a company’s posts and content are performing. This can include social listening—monitoring what social media users say about a brand or competitors.

Reporting metrics to key stakeholders: Companies want to know the work you’re doing has an impact, so you’ll likely be expected to report your achievements—or any problems that arise—to your marketing team’s and even the company's stakeholders. They’ll probably be looking to see how you grow followers, increase engagement, develop creative content and campaigns, among other metrics. 

Posting and monitoring social media platforms: Depending on the size of your team, you may be responsible for posting and monitoring all social platforms. In that case, you may need to schedule posts and observe followers’ responses. You may also be responsible for responding to comments and messages from followers.