How to Become an SMM Specialist

SMM-specialist – a fashionable profession?

The 21st century is the era of computer technologies… It must be admitted that the Internet has completely swallowed up the life of a modern person. I caught the time when, in order to get into the World Wide Web, it was necessary to connect the modem to the telephone cable, then listen to the hiss for a long time, and then the coveted signal appeared! Then just reading the news on the Internet was for happiness!

Now it is difficult to imagine life without the Internet. Therefore, it is not surprising that the 21st century is also the era of Internet professions. You can list them endlessly, but, as you guessed from the title of the article, we will talk about SMM. And no, I’m not going to list the books you need to read or tell you where to go to study. Let’s talk about the most important: motivation, principles, trends.

How can you characterize an SMM specialist?

First of all, it is creativity, love for writing, the ability to analyze and think strategically, a developed sense of aesthetics and a thirst for knowledge.

About motivation

In general, I think the golden rule for any profession is to LOVE what you do. It is a disastrous thing to put at the forefront as a motivation – profit or career growth, the desire to prove to someone your importance or get a fashionable profession.

If you are unable to have a passionate love affair with your job, quit it!? Mountains of books, years of studying at steep courses will not help if you work from 9 to 18, counting every minute. You have probably noticed how time flies when you are doing what you love and vice versa – how long does it last when the activity is not fun? You need to put your soul into SMM. Therefore, without love for this business in any way!

Please do not go to SMM specialists if: “My husband advised”, “Friends told me how much they pay there” or “You heard somewhere that it is fashionable.” Make your choice consciously!

Do you want to be a cool SMM?

Get ready to improve yourself! And no, you don’t have to pay big money for prestigious courses in your city or buy a new book every week. But to be aware of new trends is the sacred duty of the sms manager. Therefore, thematic blogs, news sites, professional groups in social networks – this is what you should read with pleasure and in any free minute.

Do you ride in transport, sticking into the phone? Get out of Instagram, and better read Rumyantsev’s group “Internet Marketing from A to Z”. Do you watch TV shows tonight? Pause, read the news on Likeney! Just one week without Digital news is enough to get lost in the world of SMM.

On trends and innovation

If you are by no means an innovator and not at all a fan of experiments, it is better not to meddle in SMM. Social networks are a unique platform where you can constantly experiment with content and strategy, introduce cool features, and test new services.

The competition in the Internet market is colossal, so it is increasingly difficult to stay one step ahead. In 2016, copy-paste and google images are no longer enough to make a cool post. Only unique and engaging text, only high-quality images. And even better – cool videos!

Be a little psychologist

Social networks are social for that, so that people interact in them. One of the main qualities of an SMM specialist is an understanding of human psychology. If you do not intuitively understand how a person makes a choice of a particular product or cannot evaluate his social profile, do not rush to go to SMM.

You will also have to be a strategist and analyst. And a little designer! A kind of man-orchestra. Although in fact, it’s unrealistically cool – to try yourself in different guises, to lead the project completely “from and to”, and then proudly watch its success!

And once again about love

Only already not to work, but to projects. Each person is unique, and each customer is special, as is his project. No one says that all topics should be liked, and all clients must be made friends. But turning away from the project without good reason is stupid. What to do in this case? Abstract! Or find for yourself undeniable advantages in working with a specific project. Remember – any experience is equally unique and useful, whether it is positive or negative.

Do not be afraid to defend your position, if there are sober arguments. The man who I consider my first marketing mentor taught me the most important thing – to express my opinion in work matters. But only if you have something to support your point of view in facts and figures.

Respect yourself and value your time is another important postulate that applies to any profession. I have met people more than once who sacrifice their time and health for the sake of their superiors, for the sake of an additional bonus, or for even more banal reasons. Work overtime solely for your own pleasure. And success will come to you as a result.

As Evgeny Leonov said: “Happiness is when you want to go to work in the morning and go home in the evening!”. And if in the evening, over a cup of tea, you complain to your relatives: “How did this job get you?” Think about it, isn’t it time to change something in your life?

Well, now let’s talk about specific facts, without which it is impossible in SMM!

As they say, it hurts. I conducted interviews and listened with a smile as one of the candidates said: “I have a friend leading a group, but what can I do. Now I work in a factory. I have nothing against factory workers, but the lack of a burning interest in social networks and development in general, the desire for easy money and just sitting on Vkontakte and posting cats – kills me.

If you are seriously thinking about becoming an SMM specialist and are wondering where to start, what you need, what to read and where to learn, this article is for you.

First of all, I want to dedicate you to the duties of an SMM manager and the skills that will be useful to you.

Tasks of an SMM specialist:

• Analysis of SMM activities of competitors.
• Development and implementation of SMM strategy.
• Community management.
• Writing an smm editorial plan for the month ahead.
• Scheduling publications (via auto-posting services).
• Content branding (make a picture for a contest/promotion, develop templates for headings, or at least stick a logo on a picture).
• Setting up targeted advertising.
• Search communities for advertising.
• Holding contests and promotions: mechanics, picture + text, attracting people, summing up.
• Search for opinion leaders.
• Analysis of the effectiveness of SMM events and development of recommendations for improvement.

Skills to help you:

• Literacy. Agree, it’s disgusting to read the posts of a cool brand with errors? Trust goes to zero.
• Marketing knowledge. Yes, this is the case when economic education will help you, or rather the thinking that you learned at the institute.
• Copywriting. There are certain formulas and nuances of writing texts and you need to know them. This skill is necessary for writing posts and advertising texts.
• Analytic skills. Calculation of the cost and effectiveness of campaigns, analysis of results.
• Logics. It will help to put forward hypotheses on the target audience and divide it into segments.
• Creativity – come up with activities, catchy chips and interesting ideas to promote the client’s business.
• Knowledge of graphic editors. Corel Draw, Photoshop, Illustrator, online editors for creating pictures for posts, advertisements, promotions, contests.
• Sales – communication with the client, create spectacular presentations, be able to convince.
• Knowledge of trends and technologies – keep track of the latest tools, updates, solutions, follow trends.

Needless to say, an SMM must love social networks and actively use them? 🙂

Books for SMM-specialists

There are a lot of books on the Internet, the SMM sphere is rapidly developing, so books quickly become outdated. Here I am attaching a list of books for reading for a minimum base that I have read myself.

Important: despite the fact that you plan to work in SMM, you need to understand the basics of Internet marketing as well. all channels – SEO, web analytics, copywriting, email – are closely interconnected.

• “100+ Practical Hacks for Internet Marketers”, Evgenia Kryukova
• “Marketing in social networks”, Damir Khalilov
• Guerrilla marketing in social networks, Sergey Shcherbakov
• “Facebook – an effect for business and self-PR”, Filina Olga
• “Content, marketing and rock and roll”, Denis Kaplunov
• “Copywriting of mass destruction”, Denis Kaplunov
• “Ogilvy on Advertising” by David Ogilvy
• “Copywriting. How not to eat a dog. We create texts that sell”, Dmitry Kot

Blogs for SMM-specialists

Like books, blogs are dedicated not only to SMM, but to various areas of Internet marketing. Subscribe to newsletters!

English sources:

• https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com
• https://www.socialmediatoday.com
• https://www.quicksprout.com/blog/
• https://www.seroundtable.com

Courses for SMM-specialist

This is a great way to structure your knowledge, quickly dive into a topic, and get you started.

• Internet Marketing Academy Web promo expert – https://webpromoexperts.com.ua
• The first one-day internet marketing school “I-marketing” – https://i-marketing.ua
• GeniusMarketing (facebook, email, business development) – https://geniusmarketing.me/trainings/

Almost everywhere there are free webinars, stay tuned or subscribe to mailing lists)

Who is an SMM specialist from a business point of view?

The advantages of working in social networks for businessmen are a very wide coverage, “word of mouth”; precise audience targeting, tk. on social networks, people share very detailed information about themselves; interactive interaction and prompt response to the negative.

What do customers want from SMM specialists?

1. Sales, more sales)))

LinkedIn works great in b2b, especially in the Western segment. Companies even have special managers who work exclusively with this professional social network and bring leads or potential Clients with transfer to the sales department.

Facebook works great in b2c (for some topics even better than Google AdWords contextual advertising, as stated in Perry Marshall’s book “Contextual advertising that works”) and VKontakte.

2. Branding

3. Traffic (especially relevant for news resources)

Common and distinctive features of SMM and SEO

Who is an SMM specialist?

Over time, this specialty turns from unknown to very popular and in demand. It is intended for those who are not afraid to experiment, look for new approaches to solving problems and always be open to communication.

An SMM specialist manages the presence and promotion of the brand in social networks or the “promotion” of the site in social channels. It solves a number of tasks related to attracting buyers from social networks, increasing the company’s image, as well as the recognition and popularity of a product or service. Not directly, but still, an SMM specialist has an impact on increasing sales.

Prospects and wages. Due to the high demand for these specialists in the market and relatively low competition, the salary of a representative of this profession is about $300 per month.

As for the prospects, according to most experts, this area will develop rapidly, and with its help more and more opportunities will open up.

Comment from Olga Larina, PR consultant, SMM expert

An SMM specialist is a great choice for those who love and know how to communicate. And it all starts with psychology, then comes marketing, and only then directly social networks. I recommend learning from practitioners, choosing courses, carefully studying the dossiers and cases of teachers. The ideal option is to ask an expert for help – this way you will receive valuable first-hand knowledge + the opportunity to practice and see many processes from the other side.

FAQ

How to become an SMM specialist?

To become an SMM specialist from the ground up, you need to learn social media platforms, take educational courses, gain hands-on experience, and keep up to date with the latest trends in the field.

What is needed for the SMM to work?

To work in the field of SMM, you need to have knowledge of social networks, an understanding of the algorithms and functions of each of them, as well as skills in creating and managing content. It is also important to be able to analyze data, understand the target audience and use analytics tools to evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns. Communication skills, creativity and the ability to follow trends are also important for successful work in the field of social media.

What is an SMM Specialist?

A social media specialist is a professional who specializes in social media marketing. He focuses on the development and implementation of social media marketing strategies, content management, audience engagement, data analysis, and social media campaign performance evaluation. A social media specialist must have knowledge of social platforms, social media trends and have skills in communication, creativity and analytics to achieve the company’s marketing goals.