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So by now, if you’ve heard of virtual assistant work or read about how to find virtual assistant work, you’re probably wondering what other types of virtual assistant work there is besides becoming a ghost writer! Truth be told, there are hundreds of different types of virtual assistant work you can try out, but becoming a social media manager can be one of the most rewarding and engaging!
In this post, we’ll talk about what a social media manager is, some best practices, and how to find social media work. This will help you decide if you may want to become a social media manager.
What is a social media manager?
A social media manager is someone who manages social media platforms (ie. Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+) for another person’s blog or business. Often times, this can become a full time job for a blogger or business owner, so they hire someone else to do it so they have the time to focus on the more important things.
Both blogs and businesses need to be promoted on social media daily to keep traffic coming to the websites and sales coming to businesses. Ideally, a social media manager is a person who is great with organization, timely, and can follow the ever changing trends of social media.
How do I become a social media manager?
There’s a few things you’ll need to do before you become a social media manager and we’ll talk about them in just a second, but first, it’s important to understand that social media management isn’t for everyone. If you aren’t tech-savvy and don’t like social media, this probably isn’t for you.
If you DO enjoy social media and find that you’re tech-savvy, this is a great way to earn an extra income for you. Not every social media manager has gone to college and majored in social media strategies, so if you have a passion for social media and a willingness to learn, you can absolutely turn this into a full time job.
1. Do your research
This is so important as a social media manager! Social media trends are constantly changing and you’ll want to keep up with the latest trends. It’s also a good idea to know when things like Facebook and/or Pinterest algorithms are changing.
An algorithm is the way things are presented in social media to users. For instance, on Facebook, you don’t see things exactly as they are posted, you see things based on what people are engaging with, sharing, and liking. You’re more likely, based on the algorithm, to see things that are getting lots of likes and shares, versus things that aren’t.
This means it’s really important to share things on your Facebook pages that will earn high levels of engagement. Keep in mind that the algorithms are constantly changing so what works one month might not work the next. Follow other popular pages and see what’s working and what isn’t!
2. Find clients
Most commonly, you can find social media clients on Facebook in groups where people are looking to hire VA’s (virtual assistants), but you can also find people who need social media managers in places like LinkedIn and Thumbtack.
3. Offer unique services and try to stand out.
Often times, virtual assistants will be very competitive in what they charge and what they offer. Offering something to help you stand out is a great way to secure clients. In addition to the main social media channels and managing those, you could also offer a service like chore threads or submitting to what bloggers call linky parties! Chore threads are easily found in many blogger groups on Facebook and they typically have a thread for each social media avenue.
For example: “Pinterest Tuesday Thread” – in this situation, many bloggers (and sometimes business owners) submit a link for a pin they want to be re-pinned for extra traffic and everybody re-pins all the links in the thread. This helps with traffic and exposure for everyone involved in the thread.
Link parties are something that bloggers usually post once a week and allow you to submit a link to a blog post you want to get extra traffic and shares on. Once you submit a link, they typically ask you to visit a couple of the other links in the party and engage with them in the form of shares or a comment.
Then, you have the opportunity to be featured in the next week! If you build up a list of popular linky parties, you can submit bloggers’ links for them each week and charge a fee to do so. This is a great add-on service for any social media manager!
If you decide to become a social media manager, there are lots of great resources for social media managers to network and share tips and information out there. Here are some of my favorite groups on Facebook for learning:
Instagram Marketing Mastermind – for SMM (social media managers) who work on Instagram
Social Media Managers – for anyone looking to learn and network with other SMM
Virtual Assistant Tips & Tricks – for all types of virtual assistants to share information and tips!
Have you ever thought about trying to become a social media manager? What is your favorite social media platform?