Social media marketing professionals aren’t ninjas, gurus or wizards—but they’re also more than just managers. What was once an individual role is now enough work for a whole crew, and the list of possible social media job titles keeps growing.
The landscape of marketing is constantly changing, and it is evident that social media requires teamwork. Companies that want to fully utilize the potential of social media channels must consider the advancement of their social media team’s careers. By investing in your team now, you can increase customer acquisition, loyalty, and business growth in the future.
In this list of social media job titles and descriptions, we cover all the positions you need on your core team. We also included a round up of emerging titles forward-thinking companies are hiring for to secure a social-first competitive advantage.
- Key job titles in social media management
- 4 emerging social media marketing job titles (and what they mean)
- How to get buy-in for social media team headcount)
Core social media job titles
Social velocity affects more than just the latest fashion trends in denim. It has tangible consequences on consumer expectations, market share, and ultimately, careers in marketing.
If you have tenured social media professionals on your team, chances are their jobs have evolved far beyond whatever they were hired to do. Whether you’re looking to redistribute responsibilities with new hires or you’re just in need of a refresher, here are the essential roles you need on your social media team.
Social media manager
Social media manager roles vary by industry and team size. For example, a social media manager at a global retail brand will have a very different day-to-day than a social media manager working at a regional insurance company.
Despite these differences, there are certain core elements that unite social media managers. In addition to strategic and creative abilities, a skilled social media manager will also counsel internal stakeholders on current best practices, emerging trends, and data analysis. These traditional skills are crucial for integrating the importance of social media within an organization.
Social media director
If you work for a brand that has multiple franchises, locations or business units, you need a social media director.
This individual is responsible for building a vision and execution plan for how your brand shows up on social media. Their work serves to unite teams together around a cohesive strategy that creates a unique, singular brand voice across several profiles and networks. Beyond marketing, they also act as a connection point for stakeholders across sales, merchandising, customer service, research and development and more.
If this crucial position is absent, there is a risk that valuable social data will be confined to a marketing silo, leading to an inconsistent brand image in different markets.
Social media specialist
Social media specialists are junior employees who work alongside social media managers to expand organic reach through content creation and social media monitoring efforts.
An ideal hire for this role would be someone with a demonstrated passion for the channel. Here’s what that can look like in absence of solid professional experience:
- A deep comprehension of every social media platform – including optimal practices, current trends, and typical engagement behaviors.
- Informed opinions on the current and future state of social media
- A grasp on brand marketing basics like voice and tone, design, brand personality and positioning
Paid media specialist
Handling Meta Business Suite requires a dedicated commitment.
Just kidding—kind of. The truth is, paid social is complex across the board. It requires a keen eye for detail and the ability to adjust on the fly. Any marketing strategy that relies on a robust paid social arm needs dedicated resources to manage spend and optimization rituals, especially if you’re running ads across multiple social platforms.
An ideal paid media specialist is incredibly detail and process-oriented. No UTMs are missed on their watch, and the findings from A/B tests are always stored away for future reference.
Community manager
What distinguishes a community manager from a social media manager? A social media manager is responsible for managing a brand’s own profile strategy, whereas a community manager concentrates on interacting with audiences on various social media platforms to enhance brand loyalty and establish genuine relationships.
In the vast landscape of social media, this work can take many different shapes. A social media community manager’s day-to-day might include tasks like closed community moderation (think a private Facebook group or a Discord chat), proactive engagement duties and fan appreciation initiatives to name a few.
For example, Oatly Community Manager Paula Perez drives connection by participating in the comment sections of TikToks relevant to the coffee and food space.
This job aids in achieving Oatly’s aim to become the premier plant-based brand by engaging in pertinent discussions to develop a loyal fan base.
Influencer marketing strategist
Behind every #sponsored post is weeks—if not months—worth of contract negotiations, creative brief revisions, content feedback sessions and campaign strategy work. It takes a lot to get influencer content over the finish line. No buts about it, any company that routinely works with creators or influencers absolutely needs a dedicated influencer marketing role.
More brands are buying into the creator economy, meaning the race to court high-value influencers is on. Your ideal influencer marketing strategist will have a keen eye for identifying and cultivating relationships with individuals that meet your business’s unique criteria for brand fit and reach.
Influencer marketing requires a significant level of account management. Influencers may need varying degrees of guidance and assistance during the entire partnership process, from initial negotiations to the day the content goes live. Professionals in influencer marketing handle these interactions and work with internal team members to make sure there is strategic agreement and to optimize return on investment.
4 emerging social media marketing job titles (and what they mean)
Cutting-edge brands aren’t letting social media outpace their strategy. Instead, they’re experimenting with new titles and team structures that support evolving marketing standards. Here are four emerging social media job titles on their way to becoming industry standards:
Social media intelligence analyst
Important conversations don’t happen in a single place or platform—they span across all corners of the web. It’s the role of a social media intelligence analyst to identify and monitor the conversations that can move the needle on your brand reputation with social listening and reporting tools.
Allocating dedicated resources to finding and distributing social insights can increase the channel’s impact on your business strategy exponentially. We can’t say for certain what the future of social has in store, but our forecast says this will become a core role sooner rather than later.
Think about bringing someone on for this position if: Your basic social media positions are filled and you’re aiming to elevate your approach.
Social media engagement manager
A social media engagement manager is the architect of your brand’s overall engagement strategy, from community management all the way to social customer care. They’re responsible for implementing the tools and workflows that create better audience experiences for current and future customers alike—that can mean case routing, surprise and delight initiatives, cross-functional reporting standards and more. Think of them as the connection point between marketing and customer service teams.
If you recognize that there is potential for improvement in your social customer care efforts, but find that taking advantage of those opportunities consistently falls by the wayside, you should think about hiring for this position.
Content producer
Content production roles are showing up under a variety of titles—content producer, content editor, creator-in-residence or simply content creator. This is a creative role that is responsible for ideating, producing and editing platform-specific content that delights and engages online communities.
Consider hiring for this role if: You’re trying to push your brand further into the social entertainment era through innovative, authentic storytelling.
Social operations manager
This position for a digital project manager is essential for companies that want to streamline their content and resource management with one highly organized person. Depending on the company’s requirements, this role may involve managing budgets, scheduling distribution, acquiring technology, and establishing team routines. Having a social operations manager in a leadership role enables the creative and strategic members of the team to concentrate on their strengths and work as effectively as possible.
Consider hiring this role if: The number of stakeholders involved in your social strategy is starting to cause workflow hiccups.
How to get buy-in for social media team headcount
It’s always challenging to justify adding more employees, particularly when your team is already meeting its targets. With the expenses of salaries, benefits, and equipment piling up, hiring additional staff can be costly. To gain approval, marketers need to present a well-researched and data-driven plan that demonstrates the potential achievements of an expanded team.
If headcount woes are what’s standing in between your brand and a stand-out social media strategy, here’s how you can make a hiring case to your leadership team:
- Start from a solid foundation: A big part of advocating for social media teams is educating senior leaders on the nuances and needs of the channel. To lay a solid foundation for your ask, proactively share the hurdles and opportunities that arise from the shifting social landscape.
- Conduct an analysis of your competitors on social media to gain insight into how your brand compares to others in your industry. Identifying potential opportunities or areas for improvement can help justify the need for more staff.
- Highlight the urgency: Your social media presence plays a critical role in your brand safety efforts, especially given social’s growing role in customer care. As you make your case, be sure to highlight the brand reputation risks that come with under-equipping your social team.
What do social media job titles say about the future of marketing?
If you strip away the daily tasks, the job titles in social media reveal a lot about the future direction of the marketing field. Each new title offers a valuable hint that can assist you in predicting what’s on the horizon for the industry.
The marketers who keep up with the changing tides are uniquely positioned to push their businesses into their next stages of growth. Stay ahead of the trends by checking out this interactive article on future-proofing your social media team.
The post Emerging social media job titles you need to know for 2024 appeared first on Sprout Social.
The world of social media is constantly changing, and with it, the job titles associated with it. As technology advances, so do the job titles associated with social media. As we look to the future, it’s important to understand which job titles will be in demand in 2024.
One of the most in-demand job titles in 2024 will be Social Media Strategist. This role will involve creating and executing strategies to maximize a company’s reach on social media platforms. This includes creating content, managing campaigns, and optimizing performance. Social Media Strategists will need to have a deep understanding of the different platforms and how to use them to their advantage.
Another important job title in 2024 will be Social Media Manager. This role will involve managing and overseeing all aspects of a company’s social media accounts. They will be responsible for creating content, responding to comments, and engaging with followers. They will also need to have a good understanding of analytics and be able to use them to measure the success of their campaigns.
Content Creator is another job title that will be in high demand in 2024. Content Creators will be responsible for creating content for a company’s social media accounts. This could include writing blog posts, creating videos, and designing graphics. Content Creators will need to have an eye for detail and be able to create engaging content that resonates with their target audience.
Finally, Community Manager is another job title that will be in high demand in 2024. Community Managers will be responsible for managing a company’s online community. This includes moderating comments, responding to customer inquiries, and engaging with followers. They will need to have strong interpersonal skills and be able to build relationships with customers.
As technology advances, so do the job titles associated with social media. In 2024, Social Media Strategists, Social Media Managers, Content Creators, and Community Managers will be in high demand. Those who are interested in pursuing a career in social media should start preparing now by gaining experience and learning the necessary skills for these roles.
Source: sproutsocial.com
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