The role of Social Media Specialist in the Caribbean is often one of the most misunderstood roles in the Caribbean. As businesses are getting accustomed to new roles in the digital space, they haven’t fully accepted the role of a Social Media Specialist 100% as yet.
Most companies you see believe that because they see their kids or teens using it, you can’t truly be expected to properly compensate someone who has to use these social media platforms on their behalf.
This is why when we see Social Media Specialist roles being advertised, they have usually combined it with a bunch of other duties or specializations in an attempt to get as much out of that person as humanly possible.
I have seen some of these job postings with duties like helping the waiters and waiting tables in restaurants, being able to lift up to 16kg, fixing computers, handling accounting and so many more unrelated tasks or specializations to the role of Social Media Specialist.
So let us take a look at some of the duties, education, and experience that the role should have and ill also throw in the salary ranges for the role.
The Social Media Specialist Job Description
A social media specialist is responsible for planning, implementing, managing, and monitoring the company’s social media strategy in order to increase brand awareness, improve marketing efforts, and increase sales.
This includes creating and publishing content, analyzing and reporting on social media metrics, and engaging with users on social media platforms. The social media specialist should have a strong understanding of the target audience and be able to use that knowledge to effectively create and distribute content.
They should also be able to work collaboratively with other members of the marketing team and be able to adapt to new social media platforms and trends as they emerge.
Other responsibilities may include conducting market research, collaborating with external influencers, and creating and analyzing paid social media campaigns.
Duties of a Social Media Specialist
- Develop and implement the company’s social media strategy
- Create and publish engaging and relevant social media content, including text, images, and video (Canva, Capcut, etc) – NOT Adobe Suite (Premier, After effects, Photoshop, etc)
- Monitor and respond to user comments and messages on social media platforms
- Analyze and report on social media metrics, such as website traffic and engagement
- Collaborate with other members of the marketing team to ensure that social media efforts align with overall marketing goals
- Conduct market research to stay up-to-date on industry trends and developments
- Collaborate with external influencers to expand the reach of the company’s social media presence
- Create and analyze paid social media campaigns to increase brand visibility and drive sales
- Identify and troubleshoot any issues that arise on social media platforms
- Stay up-to-date on new social media platforms and features, and adapt the company’s strategy as needed.
- Moderating all user-generated content in line with the moderation policy for each community.
- Capturing and analyzing the appropriate social data/metrics, insights, and best practices
- Collaborating with other departments (customer relations, sales, etc.) to manage reputation and coordinate actions
- Use data to analyze what’s working, what’s not, and reinforce or refocus key messages accordingly.
- Help convert our brand fans into loyal customers with engaging, responsive, responsible, surprising, and captivating social media interactions.
Soft Skills
- Excellent communication skills: A social media specialist should be able to clearly and effectively communicate with a wide variety of people, both online and in person. This includes the ability to write engaging and compelling social media content as well as the ability to communicate with customers and followers in a friendly and professional manner.
- Creativity: A social media specialist should be able to come up with fresh and original ideas for content and campaigns that will help to engage the target audience and promote the brand.
- Adaptability: The world of social media is constantly evolving, and a social media specialist should be able to adapt to new platforms, features, and trends as they emerge.
- Time management: A social media specialist may be responsible for managing multiple social media accounts and campaigns, and they should be able to effectively prioritize their tasks and manage their time in order to meet deadlines and achieve their goals.
- Interpersonal skills: A social media specialist should be able to work well with others, including members of the marketing team, external influencers, and customers. This includes the ability to collaborate effectively, listen to others’ ideas, and communicate clearly.
- Customer service skills: A social media specialist may be responsible for responding to customer inquiries and complaints on social media, and they should be able to handle these interactions in a professional and helpful manner.
Qualifications of a Social Media Specialist
- Proven portfolio of work in Social Media Marketing or as a Digital Media Specialist
- 2-3 years of experience in social media management, marketing, or a related field
- Strong writing and communication skills
- Proficiency with social media platforms and analytics tools
- Creativity and the ability to come up with engaging content ideas
- Knowledge of graphic design and photo editing software/apps
- Experience with paid social media advertising
- Familiarity with SEO and web analytics
- Strong organizational and project management skills
- The ability to work well under pressure and meet tight deadlines
- A positive attitude and the ability to work well in a team environment.
Salary Ranges For Social Media Specialists
- United States – $49,000 – $62,000usd per year
- United Kingdom – $26,000 – $56,000usd per year
- China – $24,000 – $43,000 USD – per year
- Australia – $51,500 – $72,200usd per year
Industry Certifications
There is a wide assortment of industry certifications that a Social Media Specialist can get to become certified. Here are a few to get you started that you can check out:
- Social Media Marketing Certification – HubSpot Academy
- Fundamentals of Digital Marketing – Google Digital Garage
- Social Media Mastery – Digitalmarketer
- PPC University – Wordstream
- Social Media Marketing Specialisation – Northwestern University
- Online Advertising & Social Media – University of Maryland
- Content Marketing & SEO Fundamentals – SemRush Academy
- Fundamentals of Digital Marketing, Social Media, and E-Commerce – The Wharton School
Top Books To Read For Social Media Specialists
- The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users – Guy Kawasaki
- Content Inc – Joe Pulizzi
- Building a Storybrand – Donald Miller
- Crushing It – Gary Vaynerchuck
- The New Rules of Marketing & PR – David Meerman Scott
- Social Media Marketing For Dummies – Michelle Krasniak
- Influencer: Building Your Brand In The Age of Social Media – Brittany Hennessy
- All Marketers Are Liars – Seth Godin
- Everybody Writes – Ann Handley
Social Media is a powerful tool that can help exponentially scale a business and build a community. Your clients are on any number of social media platforms and your company has unlimited access to a pool of clients.
Your Social Media Specialist can help build awareness for your brand, increase the visibility of its products and services, which can increase the traffic back to your company’s website and improve the company’s sales.
By leveraging the data that can be gathered from the various social media platforms, your specialist can also help improve marketing and business development strategies.
By responding to comments and messages on social media, a social media specialist can help to build relationships with customers and create a sense of community around the brand. This can lead to increased customer loyalty and advocacy.
By developing and managing paid social media campaigns, a social media specialist can help to increase the reach of the company’s content and drive sales.
If you are someone who is looking to become a Social Media Strategist than you can look at some of the courses laid out that will help you become certified internationally within our industry.
I will also stress that to truly get to know a candidate is through their body of work/portfolio. This will ultimately give you the greatest look into their abilities and what you can expect when bringing them into your organization.
Anybody can pass the tests, get the degrees and certifications but with digital marketing, you should be able to look and see the work that they have done online. You can use that to determine if this person is ultimately the right fit.
If you want to learn about the Digital Strategist role and get a breakdown of their duties, salaries and where you can get certifications, check out my Digital Strategist Job Guide.