Even though social media marketing has been around for ages now, there are still some companies that treat it like a fad. I can confirm that social media is really still an exciting space to be in, but very few people are willing to invest the energy and time to take their social media campaign to the next level and ensure that they are getting a positive ROI from this medium.
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All the social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are great. Really they are, but if you don’t have someone or a team that can manage your campaign so that it provides value to your business, there is really no point in wasting your efforts on these mediums.
If, on the other hand, you see all the potential in these channels and you don’t have a team in place to run your social media campaign, why don’t you take the lead in your company and see it through? This is what is really missing with most social media campaigns — someone who wants to take the effort and time to make sure the campaign will work.
Social media skill set
I have been active in the social media space for a couple of years and here’s a list of skills I believe any “Head of social media” or “Social media strategist” should possess in order to get the most out of their campaign.
- Experience in blogging and publishing new blog posts on a regular basis;
- Knowledge of WordPress (Best saying: find a way to do it with WordPress);
- Knowledge of company’s services and products*;
- Knowledge of company’s target market and their needs*;
- Understanding of how to integrate social media with other marketing initiatives like email campaigns, direct mail, trade shows, etc;
- Understanding the power of acquiring brand ambassadors online;
- Knowledge of social media ROI;
- Knowledge of social media measurement and Google Analytics;
- Knowledge of SEO; and
- HTML.
Finding someone with this exact skill set might be challenging, but if you are interested in running your social media campaign, maybe it’s time you become familiar with these areas to take charge.
I know it doesn’t work like this in the real world, but sometimes you can get the best out of your social media campaign by making someone within your company (or yourself) the “go to person” when it comes to your social media presence.
* Not all of the skills are required because some of them should be learned, such as a deep understanding of the company’s services, products, and target market.
