The Roles and Responsibilities of a Social Media Executive.


Imogen Connett, Social Media Coordinator at Bongo’s Bingo, has experience running social media accounts for multiple brands across a variety of platforms. She talks to us to explain the role of a successful Social Media Executive and what qualities they can bring to a business.

Social Media Executives - What do they really do?

The roles and responsibilities of a Social Media Executive may differ depending on the size of the business. However, it is clear that social media is here to stay and if used correctly it is a vital part of any marketing team in helping the business grow and develop.

When people ask what Social Media Executives actually do in their jobs, the response is usually ‘I post on Facebook’ then their response is usually confused and a little impressed. In their heads, they’re probably thinking about how ‘easy’ the job is and that anyone could do it. But in fact, social media marketing is an art. You have to fully understand the businesses audience; you have to know what times/ dates are good to post and even whether or not to use emoji’s or attach a video to help get a better response or engagement. You also have to be in the know about everything that's trending or any current news stories which could have an effect on your post/brand.

Here is a breakdown of the different responsibilities which may fall under the remit of a Social Media Executive;

Posting & Scheduling

Clearly, the most important responsibility of a Social Media Executive is to post on all social media platforms - scheduling will be a godsend for many reasons! A Social Media Executive may only work 9 to 5, Monday to Friday but obviously social media never stops. Scheduling means you can be seen as being online when your fans are. If you are posting at peak times, when your customers are online, they are more likely to see your posts and become a customer to that product or service.

E.g. If students are your target audience you wouldn’t post at 7 am because chances are, they won’t be awake.

If you fully understand the customer, you’ll get the maximum engagement possible and will be successful in the job.

Scheduling posts also helps with the workload and means you know you have peace of mind that regular content is going out all the time - making sure those fans are kept engaged and don’t become disengaged fans. You have to be reactive to other things going on in the world so by having content scheduled it means you can focus on other aspects of the job.

Analytics

The size of the business or marketing team will determine whether or not you do your own analytics, but make sure you don’t overlook them and understand what all the data means - as they are vital to being successful.

You’ll need to understand Google Analytics and be open to how the data can change what you post. An experienced Social Media Executive will be proficient with Google Analytics, and over time in the role, they will understand what is the norm for your company in order to help grow your channels and business. Make sure to use the analytics within the social platforms too, it isn’t always about traffic to the website - reporting on growth in followers, reach, interactions etc is equally as important.

Sum up

So, if you want to recruit a top quality Social Media Executive into your business, ensure that your candidate is in-the-know with the fundamentals of the role such as developing engaging content, posting and scheduling, target audiences and analytics to ensure that your business is getting the maximum potential out of your social media platforms.

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