Become a Social Media Manager: Build the Skills, Strategies and Mindset for Success

By Serena Haywood

Anyone wishing to be a social media manager should read this book and follow its straightforward and candid approach to the industry. Serena's concise guidance is structured and informative, allowing readers to grasp the topics at hand, in depth, and without difficulty. The social and digital landscape can change dramatically year after year, so

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascendent Publishing
• Release date: Feb 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9781738536009

Serena Haywood

Serena Haywood (Sweena) is a graphic novel, fantasy and sci-fi writer originally from London. She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Royal Holloway, University of London and an Acting for Screen diploma from New York Film Academy. After starting in online community management, she embarked upon a career in social media, always writing blogs, articles, short stories or creating video or image content in some form or fashion. She has worked with scores of well-known brands, agencies and government organisations, and after over 22 years in the industry, she is now focusing on her writing - fiction and non-fiction. She currently still resides in London, where she and her husband spend their time with their two beautiful children.

Book preview

Become a Social Media Manager

Become a Social Media Manager

Build the Skills, Strategies and Mindset for Success

Serena Haywood

Ascendent Publishing

Become a Social Media Manager

Copyright © 2024 Serena Haywood

eISBN: 978-1-7385360-0-9

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.K. copyright law. For permission requests, contact: [e-mail].

Ascendent Publishing, 1640 Worcester Avenue, D613, Framingham, Massachusetts, 01702, USA

www.ascendentpublishing.com

www.socialsage.co.uk

Cover illustration by Lyndon White.

Cover designed by Graham Harradine.

Edited by Aliya Zaidi.

Contents

chapter

1 What kind of person will excel at being a social media manager?

2 My experience

3 Introduction to social media

4 Learn where social media is in the digital marketing web

5 Your Journey

6 Claim your social media usernames

7 Learn how to write copy to become a copywriter

8 Grow a thick skin

9 Learn how to create visual content: images

10 Learn how to make visual content: video

11 Learn the basics of SEO

12 Have a sense of humour

13 Make a website with a blog

14 The different types of social media content

15 Social media strategy

16 Don’t get distracted!

17 Learn what the data means

18 Scheduling content

19 Community management

20 Organic social media vs paid social media advertising

21 A week in the life of a social media manager

22 Handling a social media crisis

23 Interviewing and changing job roles

24 Social media glossary

Author Biography

1

What kind of person will excel at being a social media manager?

Most places will tell you to get a degree in social media or some sort of qualification, but if this isn’t for you and you’re willing to put the time in to learn (and it shows), I believe you will be given opportunities with charities, smaller brands and start-ups if you create great content and get enough people to engage with it.

Soft skills:

Quick thinkers and learners.

Those who have no problem making changes at a moment’s notice.

Those who are organised.

Those who like to be social.

Those with an eye for visual design (and the ones that excel have a great understanding of graphic design).

Hard skills:

Fantastic copywriters who are adaptable.

Great graphic designers (although, this is required less and less these days)

This is it. It sounds like a lot, but these traits complement each other so if you can do one, you can likely some of the others also.

In this book, I’ve listed the hard skills you will need to learn, without fail. Peppered through to break it up, there are softer skills mentioned, like growing a thick skin. They all go hand-in-hand to helping you become better at this job and excel in this industry.

The information in this book is presented to you with an assumption that you will do a little bit every working weekday to skill yourself up and teach yourself how to create content. It is also presented succinctly without any extra padding or guff. I am telling you only what you need to know.

Stay strong, start small, grow and, most of all, believe in yourself.

2

My experience

After spending 22 years in the online communities’ and social media industry by 2024, I’ve had a hand in creating over 32,000 pieces of content - if we assume each brand or organisation I’ve worked for has posted once a day on the top four: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Given they tend to post several times a day, especially on platforms like Twitter, it’s definitely more than that.

That 32,000 doesn’t include my own personal content. There were years of honing and curating my own social media feeds; writing posts, blogs, stories and articles over the span of my career to assist me in getting to that next stage of my career. I’ve been lucky enough to work for large brands like Pottermore, Mondeléz International, Heathrow, Royal Mail, Tesco, and Philips, to name but a few, and many government organisations.

In the end, the results have been worth it. The freedom to work whenever and wherever I want is priceless, especially as a parent - and since I’ve been in the industry so long, I can command a high salary.

None of this was