Social Media Management

Social media managers offer a wide range of digital marketing services, including social media content creation; hashtag strategy; LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram strategies; SEO; and influencer marketing strategy. Social media strategy is a highly complex field, and these specialists have a deep understanding of various social media platforms and how to best increase engagement metrics on each.

Social media marketing pricing can vary heavily depending on the type of service. For example, all-in social media management includes social listening for brand awareness, an in-depth content calendar, paid LinkedIn and Facebook ads, and lead generation. All those services can be expensive. However, most small-business owners find that social media management is very cost-effective, given the high ROI for these social media management services. What’s more, hiring a freelancer or an agency can often be less expensive than hiring in-house social media management professionals.*

*Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this section. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.

A social media manager is in charge of monitoring all aspects of a business’s social media presence. This includes writing social media posts for all social media accounts, researching and engaging with the target audience, and increasing the business’s online presence overall. Social media managers generally schedule content far in advance using social media management tools such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social, and part of their role is monitoring the automation to ensure all posts go out as planned.*

*Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this section. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.

Social media managers have an in-depth understanding of content marketing, search engine optimization, various social media channels, and social media marketing strategy. Many social media managers take courses online through Google or Hootsuite to hone their skills and learn more about effective social media marketing. It’s possible to gain licenses or badges by taking online courses, which can then be displayed on LinkedIn or Upwork.*

*Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this section. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.

A social media manager needs a robust understanding of the algorithms of various social networks, strong instincts for engaging images and copy, great time management and organizational skills, and a familiarity with popular social media management tools.