What should an SMM specialist be like in 2021?

Brand promotion on social media is one of the mechanisms of an overall marketing strategy, and SMM is one of the main tools of internet marketing. It's important, but not the only one. The greatest results can only be achieved in combination with other tools:

This requires not only a budget but also knowledge. Therefore, the value of good SMM specialists and marketers who can provide opportunities for brand growth and development is extremely high.

Modern SMM has long since evolved from text and graphic blocks. It's now a multifaceted, comprehensive tool based on numbers.

?Current SMM trend— Live in sync with the platform. This means monitoring all changes in the platform's formats and functionality, and if it launches a new product (advertising or content), adapting it to achieve your own business goals whenever possible.

The success of a company's SMM strategy depends on the professionalism of the individual. What skills should a brand's SMM specialist possess when working with social media? We'll discuss these essential qualities in our article.

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Faith in the product

Without the SMM specialist's sincere belief in the brand's product, other skills simply don't work. The paradigm of a specialist who is genuinely interested in the project's success automatically adapts to the search for opportunities that will achieve the best results.

Flexibility

Not long ago, a brand's dedicated SMM strategy was typically developed a year in advance. And the brand adhered to the planned promotion even if it became clear that some (or even half) of the prepared content wasn't working.

Trends have changed. Social media now uses an agile approach, which prioritizes:

⏩ working product, and not regulations, descriptions, instructions, etc.;

⏩ people and their interactions, not work processes and tools;

⏩ productive communication with the customer, rather than a formal agreement on the terms of the contract;

⏩ adaptability and quick response to changes, rather than blindly following a plan.

Current social media marketing— is SMM based on A/B testing of new audiences, new formats, etc. Every hypothesis is tested. If it produces results, "takes off," they develop it further; if not, they look for other opportunities and generate new ideas.

The implementation of the listed tools requires flexibility:

• you need to be able to test different content formats;
• analyze the results and select the best – what worked;
• do not reflect on options that turned out to be ineffective.

Observation

An effective SMM manager is someone who:

• regularly follows various brands on social media and tags content that he finds interesting;
• reads cases and studies trends (including SMM digests of market leaders);
• monitors information on channels covering platform updates.

Systematicity

Only coherent and logically interconnected content can retain users. And since specialists must constantly monitor changes in platform algorithms and deal with numbers, systematizing work processes (posting, launching advertising campaigns, etc.) is essential.

The use of automated services provides significant assistance in this regard.

For example:

⇨SMMplanner

Simplifies post scheduling, project collaboration, image editing, and automatic posting to multiple social networks.

⇨DataFan

Helps generate analytics and dynamic reports on social media activity

⇨Pepper Ninja

This is a convenient search for specified parameters of thematic communities and target audiences on social networks.

There are many creative SMM specialists who create incredibly interesting content. But because they don't understand the system, their work goes to waste because no one sees it. We live in an era where any creative work needs to be digitized. Therefore, in SMM work, numbers and consistency are now more important than creativity.

How can an SMM specialist understand that he is doing something wrong?

Track the numbers

If you see a steady decline in reach over the course of a month, it's time to change something—try something new, search, implement, and test. At the same time, you should consider the impact of circumstances beyond your control. For example, in the first months of the pandemic, brands' SMM metrics plummeted as audiences actively discussed COVID-19. And content on any other topic was downgraded on the platform.

Listen to customer feedback

Moreover, it should focus on the voice of the core target audience. This means focusing on the interests of the audience that generates the lion's share of the company's profits. Content experiments that are embraced by 18-24-year-olds are unlikely to appeal to older audiences. And if they constitute the core audience, their opinions should be taken into account. In other words, an SMM specialist should think in terms of "customer service."

The content released must be liked by the SMM specialist himself

It's important to enjoy what you post. Otherwise, burnout is just around the corner.

One person or a team?

Is it possible to single-handedly manage a brand's social media marketing? If you have an experienced specialist, it's entirely possible. But the main problem is that a single person doesn't always possess the skills to create creative content and an in-depth understanding of algorithms.

For example, you might have advanced advertising setup skills, which would be sufficient for a small project. But working on a larger one will also require strong analytical skills, including hypothesis testing, audience re-launch, and so on. All of this is a painstaking and time-consuming process.

? And finally, the most important thing. One of the pleasant (and at the same time challenging) features of the work of an SMM specialist is the learning that never ends.

To advance your career, you need to constantly hone your social media skills. The more effort you put into developing these skills, the better results you'll achieve and the more you'll understand the impact your work has on the overall business.

More information on this topic can be found in our article “Business idea: Work as an SMM specialist and create your own agency"