- Savvy With Tech
- Understands Marketing And Branding
- Enjoys Interacting With People Through Digital Channels
- Is Patient And Empathetic
- Remains Informed About Social Media Platform Changes
Understanding the characteristics of a successful social media marketer can help any student determine if this is the right profession for them to enter. Marketing can be a lucrative career and digital marketing in particular is an in-demand niche. Specializing in social media can present even more opportunities as organizations continue to want to grow their social media presence. All of the following traits are highly beneficial for anyone looking to pursue this career path.
Savvy With Tech
First and foremost, a successful social media marketer needs to be highly knowledgeable on technical subjects and how they affect the habits of the general population. These professionals must be comfortable working with devices such as computers, tablets and mobile phones. They also need to have a strong understanding of how social media sites function as well as how users interact with these sites. Being tech savvy will allow social media marketers to more easily learn and adapt to changes as devices, software and social media platforms continue to evolve going forward.
Understands Marketing And Branding
This is a basic qualification for this position but is worth discussing. Social media marketers need to understand basic marketing principles in addition to principles that are more specific to both digital marketing and marketing on social media. Knowledge of branding, including creating, maintaining and controlling a brand’s image, is also necessary. Branding is essentially the conveyance of what an organization is, including what it promises to do for its customers, who it appeals to and its core values, according to Entrepreneur.
Enjoys Interacting With People Through Digital Channels
Another important characteristic of a successful social media marketer is that they have strong interpersonal skills. They interact with a brand’s fans and general users every day on social media platforms and should be both comfortable and enjoy engaging with people through these digital channels. Digital communication offers unique challenges that in-person or even over the phone communication does not. Online communication does not provide important cues such as tone of voice or body language. It is therefore imperative that social media marketers are also excellent communicators who can word content, comments and messages so the words say exactly what they intended to convey.
Is Patient And Empathetic
Social media marketers have much in common with customer service professionals and must display some traits needed in that profession as well. Learning how to effectively market on social media and keeping up with changes put forth by the platforms requires a lot of time and patience. Interacting with customers and potential customers on social media platforms also requires significant amounts of patience and empathy. The ability to turn an unhappy customer into a content one by connecting with them is highly important and will make a social media marketer more valuable to any marketing team.
Remains Informed About Social Media Platform Changes
Like most tech fields, social media changes at a rapid pace and social media marketers must be able to keep up. An even stronger emphasis is placed on continuing education in this profession than in other careers. This is particularly due to algorithms, or the way social media platforms display posts, which change frequently. Social media marketers must remain aware of any algorithm changes and adjust their marketing strategy accordingly to ensure their employer’s posts remain as visible as possible. This need to remain updated encompasses every social media site, both major and minor.
Conclusion
Social media is a valuable area in which to specialize for any marketer. This job is only poised to grow as more businesses and organizations work to expand their social media presence. Anyone who possesses the above characteristics of a successful social media marketer should consider this profession.
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