How to evolve from just being a "Social Media Manager"

stockMany have written of the death of the “Social Media Manager”, a position that has seen its growth stunted over the course of the last year or so. It has in fact, sent a panic wave sweeping through the social media world, leaving several specialists questioning the relevancy of the position they occupy. Being one of the thousand people out there in the world who chose to follow Social Media as a career, I was worried about what the future held for me. It then hit me. In order to stay relevant, I had to evolve from being just another run of the mill Social Media Specialist to a Digital Marketing Leader . . So if you work in social media and want to climb up the proverbial marketing ladder, here are some tips for you to follow:

  1. Jack of all Trades.

Over the last few years, Content Marketing has been booming. Production of engaging content is a great way of increasing brand awareness and converting prospects into leads. Influencer Marketing is on the horizon, but that’s a story for another day. The fact of the matter is, marketing is perpetually evolving and there will always be new avenues that will magically appear, waiting to be explored. But that doesn’t mean you completely ditch the methods of old. In fact, you carry through what you’ve picked, applying them to your new roles. You build yourself up as machine that’s capable of taking down a Marketing Kaiju of enormous proportions, but also is able to deliver an effective smackdown to ones that have caused you problems in the past as well.   The idea is to keep learning. Apps, networks, anything that catches your fancy. Embrace your inner geek.   By diversifying your skills and acquiring new ones, you ensure that your marketing skills are up-to-date and relevant

  1.  Become customer-centric.

So how does this relate to you? Social media managers know the importance of listening to and engaging customers. Very soon, managers develop a knack of gauging a customer’s needs. Being more customer focused, we realize the true ROI of social media—we’re also positioning ourselves as experts in  that particular field, which is another skill set that you can add into your sleeve.
3. Write like a man/woman possessed.
If you’re marketing in the 21st century, you need the gift of the gab.. If you’re looking for a prolonged stay in the marketing field, It is essential that you organize your thoughts and write well. From your day-to-day mails, blog posts, landing pages, Facebook/Twitter daily content, writing is the one of the key factors you need to possess to survive in the marketing world.   If you’re a blogger, growth is essential. So don’t be afraid to explore new avenues.
4. Don’t just be a surface level Sales Shark. Go deeper.
Understand the entire sales process. Make yourself indispensable by driving potential clients from awareness to information and evaluation.
5. Build connections online. Let your reputation precede you.
Network. Network.  Network. In order to sustain in this industry, one must make several strong connections and relationships on the way to the top. Employ the skill sets that you use so effectively to market your brands to funnily enough, market yourself. This is the part where LinkedIn becomes your new best friend.. Build your Twitter following. Blog extensively, put your opinions out there for the world to see.
Follow these 5 tips assiduously and you should be fine. For more on Marketing and Analytics, keep it locked to Simplify360.