Bridget Willard | SaaS Marketing Agency

Tag: social media manager

  • What a Social Media Manager Can’t (or shouldn’t) Do for You

    Updated 3/26/25

    Social Media Managers are awesome. They’re so awesome, in fact, that they get mind-blowing (read: unreasonable) requests.

    My friend Carol Stephen wrote a post called “What Can a Social Media Manager Do For You?” In that post, she includes items such as research, deciding when to post, and choosing hashtags.

    I thought it would be fun to do the opposite.

    10 Things Outside of the Scope of Social Media Management

    A social media manager should not:

    1. Care about your business more than you do.
    2. Be a videographer.
    3. Be a video editor.
    4. Be a professional photographer or editor.
    5. Be an expert in InDesign, Photoshop, et al.
    6. Design logos or creative.
    7. Build your website.
    8. Be a technical SEO expert.
    9. Be an expert in paid advertising.
    10. Be a professional copywriter.

    Even though many social media managers have specialized training in marketing, these requests are way out of the scope of social media management. Especially if you’re underpaying them or (god forbid) are using a VA.

    How Much Should I Pay a Social Media Manager?

    Paying a social media manager what they’re worth is directly correlated with the quality of the postings. I strongly recommend against hiring someone on an hourly basis since social media management isn’t a 9-5 job.

    With that said, ZipRecruiter shows that the average salary of an in-house social media manager is $62,638 (2025) in Corpus Christi, TX. The low is $23,666 a year and the highest is $105,773. What surprises me is that nationally, ZipRecruiter shows that the average is just above Corpus Christi’s, which isn’t an affluent area.

    In contrast, I have flat rates based on the platform and scope. If you want the pro level of Twitter/X, for example, that’s going to cost you $1200/mo. But if you want the low end, it’s just under $400.

    image
    Screenshot from ZipRecruiter

    Who Typically Hires a Social Media Manager in a Large Corporation?

    A Marketing Manager ($85k+/year) will most likely be responsible for the entire list but outsource quite a few marketing tasks to vendors.

    A social media manager who bills for the work, not the time, is easy to get a hold of and has a good account of their own. A Marketing Manager will likely hire a social media manager to work under them.

    Social Media Managers Free Up Your Time

    Have you thought about outsourcing social media? It’s a great way to grow your business and free some of your own time. Having realistic expectations helps you value what a social media manager actually does.

    A good social media manager will represent your brand online and off. They will post content created by your editorial staff (content creation is another job). They will post photos taken by your team (or professionals you hire) and write captions and add hashtags. Your social media manager will interact with your audience (known as engagement) with your best interest in mind.

    Do You Need a Social Media Manager for Your Business?

    What kinds of questions can I help you answer or problems I can solve. Let’s roll up our sleeves and do the work.

  • What Should You Expect From a Social Media Manager?

    Updated 2/21/22

    It drives me nutty when people expect a social media manager to also be an expert in SEO, have a communications or journalism degree, be the PR person, create infographics, and design and update the website.

    Small businesses often want a one-size-fits-all solution. I would, too. However, the technical depth required for design and SEO may not even exist in the same human being. Many of us social media managers have varying degrees of expertise in these fields, but should they be required? I say no.

    The person at the wheel of social media shouldn’t be in charge of the entire marketing car.

    A racecar driver isn’t in charge of the funding or building of his car. He isn’t even in charge of the maintenance nor is he responsible for pit stop tire changes. Certainly, he doesn’t have to book the race. He has a team for that. He has to arrive, make appearances, connect with the crowd, make fans, drive the car, and win.

    Social media management is just part of that winning team.

    It’s always nice if a manager understands the parallel fields because they work better together. Having a conceptual understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) allows a writer to include key phrases in the blog posts. Understanding YouTube captioning and how it helps you rank higher in search motivates us to use it more frequently. Understanding the importance of visual elements relating to our social posts to reinforce the overall message matters.

    So, if we now agree on what shouldn’t be required for a Social Media Manager, then what skills are important?

    Seven Things A Social Media Manager Should Be:

    1. Organized

    An organized person is usually routine-oriented as well. Checking up on comments and following up on tweets should be part of a daily routine. The closer to real-time a brand responds, the better it reflects on the brand.

    2. Responsive

    Being ignored is one of the most offensive things to fans. I’ve had tweets that were not responded to for a year. A year. I mean, if you’re not going to respond then why are you on social media?

    3. Polite

    “Please” and “thank you” never go out of style and this goes hand-in-hand with being responsive. It’s just polite to respond in a timely manner. And having good manners is even more important when the comment is a complaint.

    4. Engaging

    Asking questions, responding to comments on blogs, tweets, or other social media posts in a creative way furthers the conversations that you’re facilitating on social platforms. Do more than just say, “Thank you.” Are you wondering what social media engagement looks like? This blog post may help.

    5. Creative

    Being able to draw is not the prerequisite to creativity. Trying new ideas and thinking differently is creative. A social media manager should be able to craft posts natively on each platform in a way that speaks to each platform’s culture.

    6. Collaborative

    If you’re not doing all of the “digital marketing” then you’re collaborating. Maybe you have to get ideas approved or gain approval for blog post drafts. Being flexible with your creative, engaging, polite ideas is part of that collaboration.

    7. Discrete

    So many people these days lack the moral compass to know what is offensive. Being wise enough to think out how people will respond to your post, no matter how great the pop culture reference is, will separate you from the Social Media Winners and Losers.

    See: Social Media: New Ways to Fail by Carol Stephen and Social Media Managers: Top Ten Questions to Ask When You’re Looking for One