8 points you need to consider before training to be a social media manager
Should I train to be a social media manager?
The short answer is if you want to be a social media manager then yes I would look at social media management training, but do lots of research first. Take the time to understand what being a social media manager is, as it’s not for everyone.
I trained to be a social media manager back in 2015, I really loved the course and I learnt loads. However, I wish I’d asked myself these questions before I embarked on a career in social media management.
For me, the biggest decision was based around options, I didn’t think I had many in 2015, and I made a big career decision without really exploring what I wanted to do. I was desperate to find something that I could do between school runs.
Here are 8 things you should research before you train to be a social media manager:
- Ask other social media managers. Take the time to understand what being a social media manager involves, it’s not for everyone. Talk to a variety of people who are social media managers and find out how they have found it. It can be very time consuming and you will spend a lot of time looking at your phone! So although it’s flexible and remote you need to consider if it would really fit in with your lifestyle. This is also why it’s essential to price correctly for this service and managing client expectations.
- Get your prices right. Make sure you charge a decent rate for what you do, a price that makes you happy and a salary that reflects what skills are involved with being a social media manager.
- Understand all the skills involved. Frame and sell your skill set correctly because you use a lot of different skills when you’re a social media manager such as:
- Copywriting
- Content creation and curation
- Online networking
- Understanding the tech
- Being organised
- Selling on behalf of a business
- General marketing
- Client management
- Customer service
- Administration
- Crisis management
- And so many more!
Just to add, I’m not saying that you have to have all these skills! Often this where the role can be so varied that you need to manage a client’s expectations or charge more for specific services within the role. It’s still a newish job so many businesses need help and educating, into what it really involves to understand it’s real value to their business.
- Know your value. Social media is essential for businesses, so please don’t do it for £15/hour. Let’s get clients valuing your skills and charge a rate reflective of that. I have a whole blog post on rates and charging your worth with plenty of advice on this subject.
- Get a coach or a mentor (like I did) to help you work through any limiting beliefs you have around money, or a very cheap option would be to read both of Denise Duffield’s books around money mindset.
- Look at what skills you currently have (my advice before you do any course) and work out what you are passionate about doing. You’re more likely to make a success of something that you are excited about doing.
- Consider specialising. If you do decide to embark on a career as a social media manager, remember it is a huge role that can involve a lot. Trying to keep up to date on every single part of it is a job in itself, so consider specialising and focusing in on a particular area. Suggestions could be:
- By platform, i.e. specialise in Instagram or Linkedin
- By content – offering content creation, though content creation in itself is a vast area as well, so you could break it down further.
- Specialise in a sector, again drawing on previous skills and interests.
- Consider how you will use the skills in the future. You can make a decent living from being a social media manager. However, many of the women I know who’ve trained to be a social media manager made similar connections that I did – that to make a decent living from this we needed to charge more or innovate what we learnt into something new.
Here are some suggestions on how you can apply your social media manager skills
- Run workshops
- Set up an agency
- Offer wider marketing
- Create courses
- Create memberships
- Become social media strategists
- Use your skills for your own business
- Create your own VA business
- And so many more!
I’m no longer doing social media management for other businesses but still to this day apply what I’ve learnt to my business’s social media channels, and I use a lot of what I’ve learnt to advise and train others. It’s a fantastic skill to have.
Stepping back from social media management and asking some fundamental questions made me realise I was immersed in delivering and keeping up to date, rather than reflecting on what I already knew.
I realised I’d been overdelivering and not marketing my skills correctly. At one point, I was scheduling and managing 15 social media channels (including my own), my hours were maxed out, and I wasn’t sure how to scale my business. Taking some time out, getting advice and coaching helped me gain clarity on what to do next. I now want to help other women get the same clarity I did!
If you’re feeling stuck, why not book a free call to find out more about my The Online Business Blueprint Programme and 1-2-1 coaching packages.