Social media consultants help organizations optimize their social media presence. These strategic consultants help clients and companies identify opportunities for improvement and redirect them to success in marketing. Learn what it takes to become a social media consultant and you’ll be able to decide if this is a job for you. This article describes we explore the role of social media consultants, discusses their job duties, and gives steps to follow to become one.
What is a social media consultant?
A social media consultant is an expert in planning and strategy for social media. Clients and companies often hire them to help improve and develop their company’s social media presence using strategic marketing techniques and other practices. They help companies identify areas of growth and set goals for their social media campaigns.
What does a social media consultant do?
Social media consultants help companies improve their brand management, customer engagement, and organizational communications. They are content connectors, navigators, trendsetters, and analysts and possess the skills to perform each of these tasks.
The job description of a social media consultant can include:
- Mapping out a social media strategy
- Develop and post content such as graphics, videos, and articles on social media channels and websites
- Supervise social media communities, answering customer questions and communicating with them
- Collaboration with marketing and sales staff to maintain a consistent brand message across all platforms
- Staying informed about the strategies and activities of your competitors
- Recommendations for improvements and new ideas to the organization’s management
Also read: Top 20 Social Media Business Ideas
How to become a social media consultant
These are the steps you need to take to become a social-media consultant.
1. Learn more
Earning your bachelor’s degree as a communications professional, public relations, and marketing can give you the foundational knowledge that you need to become a successful social media consultant. If you are interested in starting your own social media management business or becoming an independent consultant, you may consider a business degree.
2. Pick a niche
Social media is a complex field. Therefore, social media consultants choose a niche to provide their clients with specialized knowledge and services.
There are many areas you can specialize in:
- Social media consulting
- Marketing and content strategy
- Social media copywriting
- Content creation
- Digital marketing
- Graphic design for social media
3. Gain entry-level experience
While some jobs as social media consultants are available at entry-level, other employers might prefer that you have experience in your field before you apply for a consultant-based position. If you are looking to become a social media consultant who is proficient in copywriting, you can start by working as a copywriter. This will help you build valuable knowledge that you can use as you move up into a consulting role.
Also read: What is A Business Portfolio: A Easy Guide?
4. Network
When starting as a social media consultant, focus on the network with other people both online and in person. You can build relationships with other people to help you gain a client base, share your expertise, learn from them, and possibly find job opportunities.
5. Make an engaging social media account
To demonstrate your expertise in social media it is a good idea to set up your own social media accounts to showcase your creativity and skills,
Promote any event you are involved in, and any other content that is relevant to your career.
6. Create a portfolio
You can start taking on clients as you learn in your field and compile your projects online. This will allow you to showcase your expertise and personal brand to future employers.
7. Starting a social media management company
After you have gained more experience with marketing agencies, you might consider starting your own company or becoming an independent consultant. To help you raise awareness and build a client base, you can draw on the experience of past clients.
Social media consultant skills
Here are some skills you can use to become a social media consultant.
- Creativity: Social media consultants are able to generate new ideas and approaches to help companies achieve their goals.
- Data analysis: Social media consultants analyze data such as user engagement to determine the effectiveness of a social media campaign. They then convert it into actionable information.
- Communication: Social media consultants use excellent copywriting to grab and keep a reader’s interest online.
- Project management: Social media consultants manage multiple projects simultaneously. They use organizational and management skills to efficiently complete their work.
- Search engine optimization: Social media consultants use search engine optimization (SEO) to drive traffic to their client pages.
- Conversion rate optimization: Social media consultants use conversion rate optimization to increase the number of people who take specific actions for their company.
Social media consultant vs. social media manager
When it comes to social media management, companies can choose between a social-media consultant or a manager. Although both social media managers and social media consultants are experts in their respective fields, there are some key differences.
- They work for the companies they serve: Social media managers and consultants can be helpful for established businesses, while social media managers can help companies that are just starting out.
- They are more familiar with the company: Because social media managers work long-term with a company, they are often more knowledgeable about the company’s operations than social media consultants, who may be working with multiple companies simultaneously.
- Their primary employer: Social media consultants work for companies such as consulting agencies. However, social media managers work in-house for one company.
