Those who are highly proficient in social media do not only have the necessary hard skills to perform tasks related to social media marketing, but also possess vital attributes and personality traits that allow them to do so effectively.
To begin with, they have the curiosity to stay up to speed with the latest trends and development in social media and test out new social media marketing strategies.
With curiosity comes adaptability and agility. In this case, social media professionals are able to keep pace with the rapidly changing social media landscape and learn the necessary skills along the way, as well as carrying out various tasks at once as efficiently as possible without sacrificing long term goals.
They are also strategic, because as marketers they understand what, how and why their efforts are important in a business’s marketing objectives, be they creating awareness, enhancing engagement, converting leads or maximizing reach.
This is part and parcel of being business-savvy, in which they are highly aware of the role of social media in an organisation’s overall business strategy. They are able to pinpoint metrics that are relevant and critical to the organisation, as well as the means to boost its performance via social media.
At the same time, social media professionals have the creativity to develop content for the purpose of marketing on social media channels and in order to stand out from the competition, whether through writing, designing, photography and/or video.
Perhaps most importantly is possessing the communication skills to deliver the intended message through creative content on social media, which is beyond being familiar with the aspects of writing and designing or even using emojis effectively.
Basically, communication for social media professionals are divided into two. Online, they know how to portray a business online through detailed brand guidelines, and ensure that the social media marketing strategy is being imparted across the organisation to lower the risk of negative social media engagement.
The other form of communication is internal communication, whereby social media professionals establish strong relationships with colleagues from other departments to be able to disseminate information on any relevant social media trends and development that they are constantly monitoring.
