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Wake up. Read newspaper over breakfast. Commute to work. Work in a cubicle from 9 AM to 5 PM. Cook and eat at dinner while watching the news on TV. Sleep with a book in your hand. REPEAT.
That was the daily life of the average American in the 1970s—only 50 years ago.
Now, look at this iteration.
Wake up. Read phone over breakfast. Phone. Walk to your desk. Phone. On your laptop from whenever to whenever. Phone. Dinner from DoorDash. Phone. Netflix. Phone. Sleep with your phone in your hand. REPEAT.
Notice the difference? Technology has advanced at an unbelievable pace in the 21st century, granting humans instant access to everything through a smart device.
Why are humans always glued to their phones? It's simple—they're constantly connected to the internet.
So why does this matter from a marketing perspective?
Let's be real for a second: legacy media is dead. Traditional marketing methods are fading, with some becoming almost extinct. In today’s world, businesses are turning to digital marketing as the main solution to boost brand awareness, attract new customers, and drive revenue. The online marketing landscape encompasses a wide range of specialized areas; some of which include SEO, email/mobile marketing, online PR, display advertising, and many others.
Unlike other parts of the web, social media has become the primary hub for connecting with others, and it's where people spend most of their time absorbing information, discovering new brands & products, and more.
There are tons of different marketing niches you can explore within social media. But there's one that's really taken off in the past couple of years, and that's what we're talking about in this article—Social Media Management.
With that being said, let's explore.
If you were keeping up with social media in 2017, you probably remember Wendy's trending. The fast-food chain's bold strategy of roasting random Twitter users not only captivated the internet but also redefined the playbook for social media management.
For the first time ever, a bridge was formed that allowed both customers and non-customers to engage with the brand on equal, eye-level footing. These roast-fests allowed for a short yet authentic conversation between the average user and a multi-billion dollar brand, creating an emotional connection that inspired people to purchase their food.
Wendy's took it a step further by roasting their competitors, completely obliterating them on the timeline. The beef (pun intended) between the big fast-food establishments led to their tweets going mega viral, amplifying their brand presence more than ever before.
Adopting the meme culture, real-time responses, and collaborating with social media influencers are also examples of the avenues that Wendy's took to build a stronger community.
This move by Wendy's was a major culture shock, as these companies traditionally maintained a high level of professionalism. This innovative marketing approach pushed the boundaries of traditional strategies, enabling the company to venture into uncharted territories.
As a result, the profits were astronomical. Wendy's reported a 49.7% increase in net income, soaring from $129.6 million in 2016 to $194 million in 2017. During the same period, the company also surpassed the $10 billion mark in global sales for the first time in its history.
Ironically, the company attributed their profit boost to a "decrease in the effective tax rate due to revaluing deferred tax assets and liabilities at the lower U.S. corporate tax rate as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017." In reality, though, a major variable was their ingenious social media strategy that truly drove a surge of customers to their restaurants.
So, what actually is a Social Media Manager?
A social media manager (SMM), also known as an "intern", is a specialist responsible for managing a brand's (or individual's) social media presence.
Often known as an everything role, SMM demands constant, focused attention. An SMM expert is always connected, juggling a diverse set of responsibilities that adapt to the unique needs of the organization or client. Let's go over the different tasks required of an intern.
Note: The title "intern" doesn't actually reflect a traditional internship role. Instead, it's a versatile position where the person is involved in a variety of tasks across the brand, with a primary focus on social media.
As an intern, you're constantly immersed in various forms of content—whether it's trends, memes, or news—and converting it into engaging material tailored PERFECTLY for the brand's audience.
Absorb ➤ Create ➤ Curate ➤ Schedule ➤ Post ➤ Repeat the Cycle
Given the internet-intensive nature of this role, staying up-to-date with the latest developments is crucial. This will enable you to effectively harness these insights to enhance the brand's growth and maximize its potential for virality.
In my article on crypto-native IP, I explained the balance between creating timeless, organic content (Evergreen) and tapping into the excitement of hyped topics (Trends). Like I mentioned earlier, each brand has different needs. An Instagram account posting short-form animation content will tend to focus on evergreen content to induce a trustworthy and relatable response, while an X account posting meme or funny content induces a shocked response to gather more engagement in the short-term.
The most effective way to manage and release new content is by using a content calendar. Keeping all your ideas organized in your head can be overwhelming, so it's best to brainstorm, organize, and schedule posts in advance. Tools like Hootsuite, HubSpot, or Sprout Social can help streamline this process by offering features for planning, organizing, and automating your posts. Additionally, identifying the optimal times to post on various platforms is essential for maximizing the impact of important announcements.
Creating content requires a deep understanding of storytelling. Whether you're deliberately engagement farming or aiming for organic growth, crafting compelling messaging is key to capturing your audience's attention. A well-told story not only engages but also leaves a lasting impression, amplifying more awareness to your brand.
So what types of content can an intern create?
Interactive Content: Capture your audience's attention with eye-catching images, GIFs, and animations. Foster deeper connections with your community by entertaining them through relatable memes. Boost user engagement by creating interactive polls, exciting giveaways, and thought-provoking discussions.
Video Content: Create an emotional response from your audience by creating short or long form videos for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. Connect with your community in real time by live-streaming.
With a sufficient budget, you can take things to the next level by producing a full-scale commercial.
Audio Content: Host engaging podcasts on platforms like YouTube and Spotify to reach a wider audience. Engage with a live audience by hosting and recording Spaces on X, then repurpose the content into a podcast.
Written Content: Publish articles, blog posts, threads, and newsletters to deliver comprehensive and insightful content to your audience.
Educational Content: Share informative infographics, host insightful webinars, or push out comprehensive guides. Give your community exclusive behind-the-scenes content, organize live-streams, or offer step-by-step tutorials.
Event-Based Content: Announce the launch of new products, features, partnerships, and activations.
User-Generated Content: Share or repost content from team members, community members, affiliated partners, or other relevant sources.
There is significant overlap between the roles of a Social Media Manager and a Community Manager. Both are dedicated to building communities and creating content, yet the key difference lies in their focus—while a SMM is primarily centered on social media platforms, a CM takes a broader approach, engaging with audiences across various channels. If you are interested learning more about Community Management, you can view my article below.
The ones posting announcements in discord/telegram servers, the ones hosting Twitter spaces, the ones that hop on 1-on-1 calls with you, the ones frantically running around to ensure that...
Remember when I mentioned Interactive Content?
Ultimately, the best way to build a community is through active engagement on social media, particularly by responding to comments. Publicly, this often takes the form of images and GIFs shared as memes, fostering a more genuine and relatable atmosphere that helps strengthen connections with your audience.
Keeping your inbox open allows your community to reach out with private messages and questions, fostering a more interactive and supportive relationship. It enhances customer service, creating a two-way dialogue that builds trust and loyalty. It also creates opportunities for potential business ventures or collaborations.
As an intern, it's essential to monitor key performance metrics such as engagement, reach, followers, conversion rates, and more. This data is invaluable for refining strategies to better engage the target demographic.
You can either utilize tools like Hootsuite to gather the necessary data or collect it directly from the platform itself. This feature is available for business and brand accounts, which have the setting enabled by default.
Not much else I can shed on this topic, so let's move on.
As technology continues to advance and social media becomes a bigger part of the average person's daily lifestyle, the competition in the attention market is heating up, driving brands to fight for greater mindshare.
As I highlighted earlier in the article, the journey to success can vary based on your brand's unique needs. However, there are essential steps that serve as a solid foundation. Let's dive into those key instructions.
As an intern, communications between you and the executives need to be impeccable. It's crucial for you to align the brand's business objectives with your social media goals to ensure they work in harmony. Misalignment can lead to inefficient resource allocation, inconsistent brand messaging, low engagement, poor ROI, and even potential damage to your brand's reputation.
Few things are as crucial as knowing how to effectively attract and engage the right audience. These users are your most likely customers, especially if they aren’t already on board. To achieve this, you need to clearly define your target niche based on your brand and product(s). Consider factors like age, income, gender, race, and location. Nail down the buyer persona specifics before going on a marketing rampage.
Building a brand requires curation of the platforms where you want to establish your presence.
It's often wise to begin with one platform, focusing on growing your audience there before expanding to others. However, it's crucial to avoid over-reliance on any single platform. Remember, your presence on these platforms is essentially "rented," and your account could be suspended or deleted at any time. Moreover, the platform itself could face shutdowns or restrictions. For instance, many smaller brands and creators are currently anxious as TikTok faces potential shutdowns in the United States.
So, how do you choose which platform to use?
It's simple. Who are you targeting, and what content do you want to push out?
If you're an IP company, it's advised to use video-centric platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. For crypto and AI startups, use X. If your business primarily targets boomers, leveraging Facebook and SEO will give you the best ROI. Many more examples that I could post here, but you catch my drift.
As an intern, it's important to strategize effectively when planning the content you want to produce. A key priority is developing and maintaining a consistent brand voice. As I mentioned prior, open communication with the team is absolutely vital in this process.
Once you have a clear understanding of the brand voice, you can explore different content types to diversify your output, as outlined earlier in this article. From there, you can even use AI tools to streamline and enhance your content creation.
Being a Social Media Manager, this is what you'll basically be analyzing on the daily. What are the short-term trends coming into play, and how can you best use them before they turn into a fad?
Back in the day, hashtags were a powerful tool for tracking the latest trends. Today, their original purpose is out of style, with many being used more for spam than meaningful content, diluting the quality of what you’re searching for.
Algorithms are the most effective way to stay updated, but they often lead to infinite doomscrolling across platforms like Instagram, X, and many others. And this is what truly makes being an SMM unique. The more brainrot you consume, the greater the edge you gain over your competitors.
I'll keep this section short, but I have to say this because I think it's heavily overlooked.
One of the most irritating stigmas of social media management is its relentless focus on numbers. According to some brands, it's all about driving growth growth growth.
But the issue with prioritizing growth is that it often comes at the expense of fostering creativity.
Sure, you can have a million followers. But how many of those followers actually engage with your brand? How many of them actually become active users of your product?
I've come across accounts boasting hundreds of thousands of followers yet struggling to generate meaningful engagement. On the flip side, I've seen new accounts with modest follower counts but thriving, active communities—proof that people are genuinely invested in the vision and the value being created.
As an intern, what kind of legacy do you want to create for your brand as well as yourself?
Will you chase short-term metrics, driving up numbers with hype but leaving no lasting community? Or will you build something meaningful and unforgettable, a brand that resonates with people for a lifetime?
If we're stepping into an era where the gap between brands and their audiences is shrinking, what better way to form a bridge than by giving people a chance to connect with the team behind the brand?
The best part of leading a brand account is having the capabilities to tap into the expertise and insights of team members and advisors. Exclusively posting bullish content from the company account can come across as one-sided. However, when executives cultivate their own audiences alongside the brand they're building, it creates a much more dynamic presence.
I will use X (Twitter) as a case study to illustrate this point.
One of the best features that was added in recent times was the "affiliate badge", a distinctive icon that appears next to a user's name. As a result, it indicates that the user's account is, in someway, connected to the brand account.
For example, take a look at this picture.
Zagabond, the co-founder and CEO of Azuki, sports an affiliate badge that directly links him to his brand. Without this badge, people would be less likely to identify his affiliation with Azuki, as they'd be less inclined to explore his profile.
Clicking the affiliate badge takes you directly to the brand's account, streamlining the process and minimizing clicks. This enhances the user experience, making it easier for users to quickly access and learn about the brand.
At the same time, the brand account has a tab that shows all of the affiliates, making it convenient for users to identify who is on the team.
Now, not everyone may know the individual team members, but strong brand recognition holds much greater significance. By blending both, you can elevate your brand's awareness to new heights.
Unlike other platforms, X thrives on fostering interpersonal connections. While platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are heavily content-driven, X focuses on building personal interactions. This unique approach is precisely why X continues to see growth in its user base and why many startups pivot to this app to cultivate their communities.
To be honest, I think this is just the beginning. Other platforms are bound to follow this same trajectory in the near future.
We're moving back to humanization. Less corporate, more vibes.
The role of a social media manager comes with its fair share of challenges. As I’ve said before, this job is far from easy. To succeed, you must genuinely love what you do and consistently go the extra mile to reap the rewards of your efforts.
So, what difficulties you typically face?
Staying on top of everything can be incredibly exhausting. This isn’t a 9-5 job, it’s a 24/7 commitment.
You’re putting in early mornings and late nights, working weekdays and weekends alike. When a new trend emerges, you need to be ahead of it, finding ways to seamlessly integrate it into your brand if it aligns. Adaptability is key, as each brand requires a unique approach. And let’s not forget—your community constantly needs support and engagement.
Sometimes the handle comes loose from the door—and before you know it, you're facing trouble from your superiors.
Creativity and experimentation are essential to success. Your goal is to stand out, capture more mindshare, and stay authentic to your audience—all while avoiding anything that feels stale or uninspired. It’s about discovering your brand’s unique voice while staying closely aligned with your boss’s vision and goals.
As a result, being a social media manager means stepping outside your comfort zone and pushing boundaries. You have to take charge and make decisions even if that risks you getting in trouble. Because at the end of the day, you’re the driving force propelling the brand to break through its glass ceiling.
Even the homie AlexOnchain talks about this in his post, in which I quote:
Why does legal want to review your content? Well, actually they don't.
They want to focus on their actual work instead of babysitting your stupid ass.
They're scared, unsure and unfamiliar with what you're doing. They don't know why a meme is important and they don't want to get sued because of it.
Alex emphasizes that as an intern, it's essential to engage with and actively listen to your higher-ups, fully grasp the brand's messaging, and establish trust by diligently documenting everything.
Once you gain more autonomy on the socials, this challenge will become less significant, giving you greater autonomy to discover and innovate. Situational, of course.
Welcome to the internet, where anonymous accounts love to troll and grown adults act like children.
Like a Community Manager, a Social Media Manager needs to have thick skin. Your job is to defuse the situation as best as possible. You are the customer service. If you see someone acting up, place restrictions on them. If someone is upset with an issue, give them a reason not to be by finding a resolution to the problem.
In short, grow some balls and deal with it.
It's very difficult to manage your time across your entire life when you're constantly required to stay online, ensuring everything moves smoothly and while staying ahead of the curve.
I'm going to be real, this takes away so much of your outside life. Your friends will ask where you're at. Your family will ask you why you're on your desktop. You always need to have your phone by your side and be extremely flexible for any sudden changes.
This job is for the elite—it's a lifestyle that only a select few can truly handle.
I have less experience compared to some of these industry leaders who have been in this role for 5-10 years, whether they've joined established companies or built their own from the ground up.
I have the utmost respect for these interns. They have gone above and beyond with one vision in mind: to build a social media empire.
Explore their stories by clicking on each arrow.
I grew up using computers often —- I was the 8 year old kid that could fix our family computer. This led me to explore, and eventually find social media early, with MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, etc. I began posting my basketball ideas on Twitter, and it has turned into over 800,000 followers on Twitter… and over 300,000 followers on Instagram. People follow me for NBA news, opinions, and more. Over time, I expanded to Instagram and TikTok, and as I gained experience, I found myself being hired by a myriad of companies, managing their socials, and educating their teams on what works best for their social media pages. I now own a social media consulting company, along with the pages I own, and employ a team of nearly eight creators and designers. The best way to differentiate from the millions of other social media accounts? Being yourself. In an ever changing environment, I just listen, and stick to what I believe is best.
I got my start in social unexpectedly. Although I wasn’t hired as a social media manager, I took over Phantom’s accounts when we let go of our previous SMM. But it’s been fun… and hectic.
I’d say the biggest challenges I’ve faced have been the 24/7 nature of the work and the balance between maximizing engagement and mitigating risk. You need to always be plugged in and take advantage of opportunities to promote your brand, product, and initiatives without causing harm to them.
As for advice I’d give to people interested in pursuing this role, I’d say you have to enjoy it. If you’re not having fun posting and engaging with the community, you’ll probably get burnt out. Also, just like great products focus on the user, great brands focus on the community. If you put them first, and serve them, you’ll build up a loyal, fanatic following that will promote and defend your brand.
Doing social media as a career is tough. Not only is it difficult to do successfully, but for some reason everyone around you thinks it's easy. I stumbled into doing content creation as a job, but in hindsight it was obvious. I've been doing it my whole life, starting with YouTube when I was barely a teenager. Since going full time I've checked a lot of the boxes - grew accounts from 0 to 1, established profiles as industry leaders, hired and grew an amazing team, shitposted from CEO accounts, and so on.
7 years in and I still love it. I'd highly recommend it to anyone that has the drive. Social media management is high-leverage - if you play it well you get exposure to parts of the business few others do. Again, it's not easy, but if you're good at it, there's nothing better.
Running social medias is having the ability to wear many hats.
It demands creativity, strategy, and resilience, but every skill you build is a brick for something bigger. My advice? Use it as a launchpad. Start by freelancing on the side, leverage the network you build, and think beyond posting—focus on storytelling, strategy, and systems.
These skills are transferable, and if you can grow someone else’s brand, you can grow your own. So wear all the hats, learn all the skills, and then bet on yourself to build your own company.
Being an intern, you don't understand how much of an influence you have on the entire ecosystem. In today's era, you could even potentially be the difference between life and death of a brand.
Therefore, if you want to be a social media manager, YOU HAVE TO TAKE CHARGE.
You can't afford to be weak-willed. You can't afford to play follow the leader. You can't afford to be bad at communication with your team and community.
Pivot to creativity. Build content worth reposting. Create something worth leaving a legacy.
This role can change your life if you give it your all.
That's all I got. Until the next one, peace.
nice