Social media jobs: 4 skills you must have to be successful!

Social media jobs have been growing as companies are increasing recruitment in this sector, so much that we can speak of an area of ​​the future. Know which skills are most in-demand in the market!

Social media jobs have been growing as the number of social media users worldwide reached 3.5 billion in 2019. The number of accounts per person has grown across all demographic groups in response to new social media platforms but also because of their degree of specialization (for example, Twitch, Pinterest and TikTok). This has an impact on our daily lives – transforming the way we connect not only with each other, media and brands.

In this context, more and more companies are betting on the creation of social media jobs, not only to boost their presence in the world of social media but also to increase and improve their performance in a vast range of platforms.

On the other hand, although it has clearly brought benefits to society and companies, social media has also brought disadvantages and dangers, such as cyberbullying, online harassment, depression, insecurity about body image and FOMO (Fear of missing out). And it’s in this field that we are seeing a constant increase of social media jobs: previously left to self-regulation, several social platforms had to expand their staff of content moderators due to the need to regulate the content published by their own users. Another area also growing within social media is e-commerce: As more people depend on their phones to make payments, store information and organize their finances, the opportunities for social media to combine social and financial features into one platform are growing.

Due to COVID-19 and the social distance it brought with it, the time spent using social media increased significantly due to the need for users to stay connected with friends and family as well as entertainment options. Some platforms have achieved a larger, more diverse and more engaging user base than ever (as is the case with TikTok) and others have regained their respect for allowing us to stay connected.

As you see, the options for social media jobs are quite vast and there are numerous and different functions when it comes to a career in this area. We leave you with four skills that seem necessary to work in this clearly growing and expanding market area:

Communication

In essence, social media is communication so, as a professional in this area, you must have strong communication skills that can adapt to any platform, media, persona or audience.

On a given day, you may have to switch between communicating with customers in a brand’s inbox, having a meeting with a product team to share feedback, start a creative project or make a report of a specific social platform. You need to be able to communicate ideas to a wide range of stakeholders, both in your voice and in the company’s’.

As a voice for your brand to customers on social media, you should be able to participate in a trending topic in a comment box or handle a complaint from a disgruntled customer. You must be able not only to express yourself in writing but also through emojis, video, GIFs, images, stickers or any other tool at your disposal to convey your message clearly and comprehensively.

Customer service

Social media is not only a way of getting a message across an audience, but it’s also a way of listening. Companies generally use these channels to dialogue, receive feedback and address issues and these are types of social media jobs that fall mainly in the category of customer service.  Whoever occupies those functions needs to be open-minded, diligent and genuinely interested in what customers have to say through social media. Customer service combines personal skills and attention to detail. Developing a strong social customer service strategy is often an integral part of the role of a social media manager within a company.

More than 45% of consumers contacted companies on social media in 2019. Therefore, companies need to hear and understand customer concerns, needs and appraisals. It is necessary to be able to read, for example, a direct message (DM) and identify the “why” behind the reason for customer dissatisfaction, as well as being able to find a smart way to surprise and delight a longtime customer.

Analytical capabilities

All companies that bet on social media have the purpose of marketing. And that is why analytical skills are so important. On functions like Data analyst and AdOps Representative that go beyond checking metrics and reports, you must have an analytical mind to be able to understand all the data collected – so that informed decisions can be made instead of relying on assumptions.

Social media provides a variety of ways to measure the performance of posts and tweets: from public information such as shares, likes, views and comments, to private information. These metrics help you discover what works best for each brand/company. With that insight, you can adjust topics, formats and times of publication to maximize the impact and reach of your publications. You should be able to analyze data and have excellent Excel skills to transform them into actions on different platforms: how to identify trends, develop recommendations and communicate an action plan. The analysis provides solid and valuable information for the company, employees and even other departments.

Traditional and digital marketing

If your role is focused on meeting goals on social platforms, notions of marketing, experience in customer service and sales will be highly valued. Despite the multidisciplinary nature of social media jobs, 47% of digital marketers say that developing social strategies that support their overall business goals is their main challenge. The ability to connect social strategy to global business marketing KPI’s is what will take your career to the next level!

To create a social strategy with an impact on business, it is important to understand other approaches to digital and traditional marketing: email marketing, events, lead generation, PR and more. This knowledge will help you to position the social within the broader context of how the brand connects with customers, boost sales and, ultimately, generate revenue.