14 traits every successful social media manager should have

14 traits every successful social media manager should have

April 25, 2015


The days of getting by with simple knowledge of how to schedule tweets in advance or research hash tags are long over. Competent social media managers not only need to be on top of current events and trends, they need to understand what works and what doesn't, have an in-depth understanding of multiple channels, and have a vast toolkit for analyzing data.
To find out which skills matter most, I asked 14 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) which must-have traits will make every social media manager successful this year. Their answers are below.

1. In-person and online social grace

John RamptonI feel that social media managers should be experts in what they are talking about, and have other people coming to them as experts as well. They should be actively blogging and interacting with other experts online in many networks. A social media manager should start to get their own voice known, speaking at events and truly becoming a voice in the industry. This will help them be much more influential in whatever social media situation they are involved in.
Blogging, speaking, networking and interacting with other experts will help them stand out in their industry. They will have to develop their voice a lot more to expand their personal network.
John Rampton, JohnRampton.com

2. Editorial/journalism skills


Brian Honigman
I'm not going to sugarcoat it. This is not a "should," it's a "must." Content marketing is not just a fad. It's upending the entire ad business. For most of advertising history, ads have supported outside media by paying for the privilege to interrupt it. In the past five years, brands have realized that they can circumvent this whole system by simply creating their own media and benefiting from association. This ability to create content is going to make or break brand's entire advertising departments, but social media will be ground zero. Social media is the distribution platform that makes content marketing a viable strategy. And the social media manager acts as a gatekeeper and guide for content efforts. You must understand the editorial process to do this role well. There's no getting around it.
Brian Honigman, BrianHonigman.com

3. Understanding of channel diversity


Doreen BlochA successful social media manager will understand the company's audience across various social media platforms, recognizing that content must be varied based on the channel. It's important when hiring to look for this skill set of knowing diverse channels and being flexible and fluid among those social channels. Content that performs exceptionally on Instagram may be weak on Twitter, for example. A social media manager must know what each channel can offer to the target audience, and how to translate that back into business results.
Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

4. General pop culture awareness


Alex Frias
Every social media manager should know what's happening in the "real world" and how that potentially affects the social content that they are programming. In a world of scheduled-tweets-meets-real-time-marketing, we as digital marketers must be sensitive to what's happening outside of social and adjust our content accordingly.
Alex Frias, talent social
 

5. Humor


Elliot Bohm
If it's the right fit for your brand, humor can increase the virality of your campaigns. Also, there is nothing like a humorous response to a customer to really make them into a loyal evangelist.
Elliot Bohm, Cardcash.com

 

 

6. Empathy


Brewster StanislawThe fundamental role of a social media manager is to understand a brand's audience as deeply as possible with a special focus on how they communicate. Being exceptional at this requires a very high degree of empathy and the ability to understand the audience — including their tastes and habits — even if these are fundamentally different than their own. In order to be a part of the conversation and ultimately affect its direction, you have to be able to think, feel and act like a member of the organic audience. We find that the best social media manager's are those who talk to the team to feel out their audience and community, and use those learnings to drive results.
Brewster Stanislaw, Inside Social

7. Authenticity


Megan SmithStop using slang; it doesn’t make your brand cool. In fact, it does the opposite because you don’t sound authentic. Instead, you sound like the Gen X mom who just found out what "YOLO" means. If you’re young, funky and trendy, be that. But if you’re not, be OK with it. You have an audience. Learn their voice, figure out how they want their information and align your brand’s voice in a way that makes sense. Another thing that successful social media managers have mastered — and all managers should know — is how to speak with people, not at them, on social. Sharing deals and discount promos is fine; but remember that your products or services are probably not unique. Options are endless. Customers like brands that they feel "like" them.
Megan Smith, Brownstone PR

8. Storytelling ability


Joel Apfelbaum
A skill that every social media manager should improve in 2015 is storytelling. As humans we love to hear stories and not everyone practices that skill enough. When we tell stories we connect with people and that drives engagement.
Joe Apfelbaum, Ajax Union

 

9. An eye for fresh and relevant material


Erik SeveringhausWith increased access to information and curated content comes a consumer's increased likelihood to ignore or unfollow content that doesn't relate to them. A social media manager must be able to reach followers with content they seek and expect from the initial contact, or you'll fall into the "unfollow" category. In the age of instantaneous information, your social sites must provide fresh and relevant material or you'll fall to the wayside.
Erik Severinghaus, Simple Relevance

10. Statistical prowess


Avery FisherSuccess in social media is all about the numbers. How effective are your posts? How sticky? How viral? Great social media managers need to go beyond the line charts to really understand what the data is telling them. Statistical modeling offers a number of methods to learn more and respond faster.
Avery Fisher, Remedify

 

11. Multitasking ability


Nacho Gonzalez
A social media manager needs to be a real multitasker: a digital marketer, a qualitative and quantitative analyst, a public relations pro, a writer — and not only because they'll dedicate these skills to Twitter and Facebook, but because they need to be able to go beyond social media when necessary. And it's often necessary.
Nacho Gonzalez, Mailtrack.io - The double-check for Gmail

12. A customer-centric focus


Jason KulpaMarketers need to focus on customer-centric strategies because consumers are becoming more selective in what they consume, and numb to ads. It is vital to know how to reach your ideal costumers in 2015.
Jason Kulpa, Underground Elephant

 

 

13. Data analysis and trend monitoring skills


Lauren PerkinsToo many social media managers are not using the data and analytics available to them on their own social performance, let alone using news or trend monitoring tools that can inform content creation and audience engagement. Both can and should be used to determine content development and tactics to further invest in. The latter allows for the use of "news hijacking," originally popularized by publicists, that allowed them to repurpose or piggyback on trending news topics to gain exposure.
Lauren Perkins, Perks Consulting

14. A sense of when to automate


Eric SchaumburgSocial media managers should automate the sharing of content in appropriate ways to make time to focus on engagement. For instance, you should automate the sharing of blog content to sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn in the right format for each site. This frees up time to listen and interact with customers. This is an art, not a science!
Eric Schaumburg, eventr.io
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