The Role of the Social Media Marketing Manager

A social media marketing manager must wear many hats. She is a self-appointed opinion leader, a witty conversationalist, a reputation manager, and a habitual researcher, but must be ready to switch at the speed of a click.

Along with keeping up-to-date on the latest trends in social media, a social media marketing manager must also follow his industry’s beat. That is, news from company competitors, the launch of new industry-related products, and what consumers are saying about them. He must begin and engage in discussion topics with other industry professionals, and more so with consumers, speaking from the brand’s point of view.

More than just the cyber voice of a brand, she also manages a brand’s virtual personality. This requires much care and attention to detail, showing that she is distinctly speaking from the heart of the brand’s character, not just using her own voice. She will respond using the appropriate tone, and specific terms that are known to be associated with the brand.

With a vast amount of information being sent out and responded to every single day, there is a lot to manage. Every status, every tweet, and every public thought displayed on the web holds opportunities and risks alike with the way people will perceive the brand as a result. Releasing regular content and engaging in conversations leads to having a strong presence online.

In the case of a negative comment, the social media marketing manager must be ready to defend his brand with respect, professionalism, and charm. It is important to respond to these comments quickly before others join in, adding to and amplifying the negative comment. Showing followers that he is not afraid to answer to adversary will display strength in the brand he manages.

In fact, a good social media marketing manager knows how to turn a negative situation into an even more positive one. For example, let’s say a customer has a negative experience at a restaurant then, later, tweets about it, tagging the restaurant so that every one of its followers sees it. That restaurant’s social media marketing manager should first hide the tweet, then obtain contact information to send a private message to the person addressing the issue. She should apologize for the negative experience and offer something to compensate for it. Traditionally, restaurants will choose to mail an unhappy customer a voucher for a free meal. If the marketing manager uses the appropriate public relations tactics to regain the customer’s loyalty, then the customer may be inspired to tweet about how dedicated the brand is to making things right.

Sometimes, followers can place information that is irrelevant or inaccurate in a post about a brand. Depending on what kind of information it is, the manager can either hide the post, or respond back in a clever way that does not condemn the poster, but brings humor into the situation. Responses can even include popular culture references relative to the post’s information to show that the brand can engage in conversations about things that are other than itself. This makes the brand more relatable and interesting for a broader range of people to communicate with.

A trend-savvy communicator, more than anything, the social media marketing manager manages the cyber reputation of a personified brand.