What kind of profession is an SMM manager and why is it needed? Who is an SMM Specialist Customer Service Mindset.

Today there are few people (among those who are friends with the Internet) who have not heard of such a specialist as an SMM manager. However, only a few will be able to answer the question “who is he and what does he do?” And even among employers posting vacancies looking for this “fashionable” professional, there is no clearly defined understanding of the tasks and responsibilities of an SMM specialist. However, this does not prevent them from conducting interviews and hiring people responsible for promotion on social networks, and applicants from calling themselves experts in this field and putting forward requests that sometimes shock even generous “salary providers.” So who is he, this unpredictable and so necessary SMM manager in our time?

SMM and SMO - what is the difference?

Before we talk about the profession itself and its representatives, let’s first understand this: what is SMM? How is it different from SMO? what role do these components play in promoting a website/product/company on the Internet?

If we compare it with SEO, then SMO is work directly “on” and “with” the site (internal optimization), and SMM is activity outside of it (external optimization) or marketing in social networks.

The essence of SMM activities

Aimed at promoting goods and services posted on the website, in social networks, on forums and blogs in order to make them recognizable and thereby attract target visitors - consumers, clients, etc.

SMM activities are often confused with SMO. However, these are two completely different areas of work, designed to achieve one goal - brand promotion. Unlike SMO, marketing in social networks does not involve any work directly with the company’s website, its content, transformation and optimization. All work is carried out on an external platform and consists of communicating with a potential audience, attracting new subscribers and future clients to the site, as well as smoothing out conflicts that arise around the company/brand/product through competent responses to negative reviews/comments.

Thus, we can say that SMM is an effective tool for creating a positive image of a company or product, allowing you to convey information about it in the shortest possible time through active work on social networks.

SMM specialist and the limits of his responsibility

Now, having some understanding of the essence of SMM activities, we can move on to discussing the specialists who carry them out. What should an ideal candidate for this position be like, what knowledge and skills should he possess, and, finally, what are the main ones in the company?

Let's start with the fact that the profession is relatively new and is not yet fully understood by both employers and job seekers in this field. That is why today there are a huge number of such different and often contradictory opinions and ideas regarding the boundaries of responsibility of an SMM manager. So, for example, he should not be involved in one-time advertising and PR campaigns (this is the responsibility of PR and online advertising specialists) or drawing up proposals or managing clients (this is the direct task of the account manager).

An SMM manager is a specialist who is responsible for managing social networks. His responsibility is to achieve specific tasks set for the commercial platform (groups, pages, blogs) by communicating with the target audience in the virtual space. In this case, the tasks can be different: sales, increasing brand awareness and product memory, improving the company’s image, etc.

Thus, we can distinguish two main areas of work for a social media manager:

attracting and increasing the audience (subscribers);
working with an engaged audience (communication, answering questions/comments/dealing with negative reviews).

What does an SMM manager do during the day?

Considering the above, it is interesting to know how the working day of an SMM specialist goes? In order for its work to be effective, it is important to organize it correctly. So, throughout the day, an SMM manager needs:

What kind of SMM specialist is he? Qualities required by a professional

Agree, the above tasks cannot be called easy and, naturally, not everyone who calls themselves an “SMM manager” will be able to do them. What professional and personal qualities should a candidate for this “proud title” have?

In addition, a good specialist must be technically savvy and proficient in social media tools. So, it would not be superfluous to understand analytics and SEO, programming, understand (at least basic level) Social Media API.

Why should you “want” to become a professional in the field of SMM?

Today it is not so often to come across such a comprehensively developed SMM manager in his field. Meanwhile, vacancies are appearing more and more often on popular job search sites. If you are someone who dreams of a career in the field of social Internet marketing, then re-read the article again and evaluate the quality of your knowledge, skills and abilities. Weaknesses can always be developed, pumped up and built up, the main thing is to have the desire and not be lazy. However, the salary of an SMM manager is one of the incentives to become a real pro and get into good company as this specialist. In some areas, wages for SMM specialists reach the level of 100 thousand rubles or more. Therefore, if you feel strong, go for it!

IN job responsibilities SMM manager includes:

Development of a strategy for the company’s presence on social networks;
- creation, maintenance and development of communities and groups on social networks;
- drawing up media plans;
- conducting advertising campaigns, preparing and posting advertising materials on social networks;
- search, creation and posting of content (texts, photos, videos, audio) in groups and communities;
- organizing and conducting competitions, surveys, promotions in groups and communities;
- attraction target audience, increasing the number of visitors, subscribers, group members;
- monitoring reviews about the company, answering questions;
- analysis of the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, SMM promotion;
- analysis of SMM activity of competitors;
- preparation of analytical reports.

Salaries and employer requirements

The salary of an SMM manager depends not only on the region, but also on the specifics of the company: in agencies it is slightly higher than in companies. In Moscow, the average salary of an SMM manager is 55,000 rubles. in agencies and 50,000 rubles. in companies, in St. Petersburg - 45,000 and 40,000 rubles. respectively.

The initial requirements for applicants for the position of SMM manager are relatively small: you need to know the basic concepts of online advertising and be familiar with the principles of promotion on social networks. It is advisable to have at least an incomplete higher education. In any case, you will need experience in running blogs, communities or groups on social networks, at least your own. Salary offers for full-time work in Moscow start from 30,000 rubles, in St. Petersburg - from 25,000 rubles.

Candidates with copywriting skills, experience in running advertising campaigns on social networks and working in the field of marketing, advertising or online promotion for at least a year have access to the following salary range. In Moscow it is 35,000-40,000 rubles, in St. Petersburg – 30,000-33,000 rubles.

The third salary range involves more serious requirements for candidates: completed higher education (preferably in the field of journalism, marketing, PR, advertising), knowledge of the basics of SEO optimization, proficiency in web analytics tools, media planning skills, as well as experience in running SMM projects. less than 2 years.

In the third range, the difference between salary offers in companies and agencies begins to appear. In the second case, you can already earn a little more due to the number of projects that the SMM manager does at the same time. In Moscow, agency offers in this salary range reach 60,000 rubles, in St. Petersburg – 50,000 rubles.

The maximum salary offers are received by candidates who have experience in using various SMM tools and at least 3 years of experience in managing SMM projects. Knowledge of English at a conversational or fluent level and experience in commercializing projects on social networks may be an advantage. The maximum offers in Moscow reach 90,000 rubles, in St. Petersburg – 70,000 rubles. The specified ceiling is conditional: in special cases, the actual salary may be higher on both the agent and client sides.

Region	Segment	Band I	Range II	Range III	Range IV	Median
Region	Segment	(Without experience as an SMM manager)	(With work experience of 1 year or more)	(With work experience of 2 years or more)	(With work experience of 3 years or more)	(Average salary)
Moscow	Agencies	30 000 – 35 000	35 000 – 40 000	40 000 – 60 000	60 000 – 90 000	55 000
Moscow	Companies	30 000 – 35 000	35 000 – 40 000	40 000 – 55 000	55 000 – 90 000	50 000
Saint Petersburg	Agencies	25 000 – 30 000	30 000 – 33 000	33 000 – 50 000	50 000 – 70 000	45 000
Saint Petersburg	Companies	25 000 – 30 000	30 000 – 33 000	33 000 – 45 000	45 000 – 70 000	40 000
Volgograd	Agencies	16 000 – 19 000	19 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 32 000	32 000 – 45 000	30 000
Volgograd	Companies	16 000 – 18 000	18 000 – 20 000	20 000 – 30 000	30 000 – 45 000	27 000
Ekaterinburg	Agencies	20 000 – 24 000	24 000 – 27 000	27 000 – 42 000	42 000 – 55 000	37 000
Ekaterinburg	Companies	20 000 – 23 000	23 000 – 27 000	27 000 – 37 000	37 000 – 55 000	34 000
Kazan	Agencies	17 000 – 19 000	19 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 33 000	33 000 – 45 000	30 000
Kazan	Companies	17 000 – 19 000	19 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 30 000	30 000 – 45 000	28 000
Nizhny Novgorod	Agencies	18 000 – 21 000	21 000 – 24 000	24 000 – 35 000	35 000 – 45 000	32 000
Nizhny Novgorod	Companies	18 000 – 20 000	20 000 – 24 000	24 000 – 32 000	32 000 – 45 000	30 000
Novosibirsk	Agencies	20 000 – 23 000	23 000 – 26 000	26 000 – 40 000	40 000 – 50 000	36 000
Novosibirsk	Companies	20 000 – 23 000	23 000 – 26 000	26 000 – 36 000	36 000 – 50 000	33 000
Omsk	Agencies	16 000 – 18 000	18 000 – 20 000	20 000 – 32 000	32 000 – 40 000	30 000
Omsk	Companies	16 000 – 17 000	17 000 – 20 000	20 000 – 30 000	30 000 – 40 000	27 000
Rostov-on-Don	Agencies	19 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 25 000	25 000 – 37 000	37 000 – 50 000	34 000
Rostov-on-Don	Companies	19 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 25 000	25 000 – 34 000	34 000 – 50 000	30 000
Samara	Agencies	18 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 24 000	24 000 – 36 000	36 000 – 50 000	33 000
Samara	Companies	18 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 24 000	24 000 – 33 000	33 000 – 50 000	30 000
Ufa	Agencies	17 000 – 20 000	20 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 33 000	33 000 – 45 000	30 000
Ufa	Companies	17 000 – 20 000	20 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 30 000	30 000 – 45 000	28 000
Chelyabinsk	Agencies	18 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 24 000	24 000 – 35 000	35 000 – 45 000	32 000
Chelyabinsk	Companies	18 000 – 22 000	22 000 – 24 000	24 000 – 32 000	32 000 – 45 000	30 000

Portrait of the applicant
53% of candidates for the position of social media manager are women. 75% of applicants are young professionals under the age of 30. 31% of SMM managers own English at a free or conversational level.

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SMM manager

In March 2015, the research center of the Superjob portal studied the offers of employers and the expectations of applicants for the position of “SMM manager” in 12 cities of Russia.

SMM specialist or SMM manager is a person who develops and promotes an account on social networks, attracts and engages subscribers, and also creates a positive image of the company on the Internet.

In essence, an SMM manager is a link in the chain: business – social network – client – sales.

Thus, the profession of “SMM specialist” involves comprehensive work on the promotion strategy and positioning of the company on social networks, such as VKontakte, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Odnoklassniki and others.

Responsibilities of an SMM specialist

Despite the popularity of this profession, employers, and even the specialists themselves, cannot clearly define the scope of what an SMM manager should do. Let's look into this issue.

An SMM specialist, according to the employer, is a man-orchestra who must set up advertising, write posts, hold competitions, take beautiful photographs, look for new clients, increase sales, and much more interesting things. Here is a typical vacancy for the position of “SMM manager”:

Creating and posting quality content
Development of an online advertising company (target)
Competitive market analysis
Maintaining pages on all platforms
SRM work
Setting up targeted and contextual advertising.
Conducting advertising campaigns on different platforms
Work on Google AdWords, Yandex.Direct. Social networks
Drawing up a content plan (Instagram)

But should an SMM specialist really have such skills? In fact, yes and no at the same time.

So, in order not to fall into the trap called “what should I do,” I want to tell you what an SMM specialist should really do. For convenience, I divided the entire range of his responsibilities into several blocks:

Block one: planning

Planning is the first thing an SMM specialist begins his work with. This block is responsible for the path of business development in social networks. Conventionally, we have point A - this is where we are now and point B - this is where we want to go, and planning is the path between these two points.

Let's now look at what exactly is included in this block:

Collection of information

This is the first thing an SMM specialist starts with. In order to plan steps to promote a business, a social media manager must understand what the company does, what its target audience is, what the price range of the products is, how the business is developing on the Internet, whether there are large and well-known competitors, etc.

In general, in this block of SMM, a specialist must clearly understand what kind of market it is, who the potential clients are and what place a particular company occupies in the niche.

Drawing up a portrait of the target audience

From collecting information we smoothly move on to detailed elaboration, and the first is the target audience. The SMM specialist carefully develops a “client portrait”, which includes a list of the client’s problems, desires, pains, dreams and a description of how a specific product can solve or fulfill them.

This stage is very important, since the success of future business promotion will depend on it, because the SMM manager will already clearly understand to whom and what he is offering.

The SMM specialist also develops a strategy for business development in social networks: what result should it achieve, in what time frame, what tasks should we complete, what methods and techniques will we use, what resources will be used, what is the budget, etc.

In general, a development strategy in SMM is a general plan for promoting a business over a long period of time, identifying specific tasks.

Drawing up a content plan

The last task in the planning block is, which includes a list of specific topics for publications for a certain period, for example, a week, a month, a quarter, six months or a year.

Essentially, this is what the SMM specialist will broadcast on social networks.

example of a finished content plan

Block two: working with content

After the strategy has been developed, deadlines and tasks have been determined, the SMM specialist proceeds to the next part - this is working with content for social networks. This block includes both textual and visual information.

Working with text content

An SMM specialist must have the skill of writing selling, engaging, informational, educational and other types of texts for various social platforms. After all, do not forget that the main channel for communication with the audience is text. But this does not mean that you cannot find a professional copywriter for your team;)

Working with visual content

In addition to text, an SMM manager must have a good understanding of visual design for text content, that is, find interesting pictures, catchy videos or photos. Of course, an SMM specialist does not have to be a designer, but skills in graphic programs will be a definite advantage.

Block three: working with the audience

Planning and content are just the preparatory part; the main work lies in working with the audience. All interaction with potential clients can be divided into two directions: attraction and involvement.

Attracting an Audience

The main task of this direction is to gather a new target audience using various communication channels:

advertising: The social media manager must be able to find opinion leaders or bloggers who have a target audience;

mutual PR: this channel involves an agreement with a blogger, businessman, opinion leader or other participant in the social space for two-way advertising on a free basis, that is, you will talk about him in your community, and he will talk about you in his;
viral content: creating content in a group that quickly spreads among a wide audience or touches on a trending event in the world.

Audience Engagement

The main task of this block is to work with the existing audience, maintaining activity and interest using the following tools:

communication: creating surveys in a group, answering customer questions, voting, feedback, collecting reviews, opinions, etc.;
cleaning from bots, swearing and unnecessary comments: You will agree that it is more pleasant to read a feed where all the answers are “to the point” and from real people, and not constant spam or bickering “like in the 90s.” Plus, if you have order in your comments or discussions, this will create a positive image about your brand;

processing objections: This is a very important block for working with engagement. After all, our clients are not always happy with everything: some are not satisfied with the price, others with the terms of delivery or payment, and the SMM specialist must competently handle these objections so that the person has a positive impression of the company, that is, basic sales skills will be completely not superfluous;
creation of active events: holding competitions, marathons, sweepstakes, flash mobs, promotions, etc.

Block four: analytics

Now we have come to the final block - statistics. An SMM specialist must be able to analyze the results of his activities and make the necessary adjustments, for example, to the content plan, advertising campaigns or work with objections to achieve greater efficiency.

These are the duties that an SMM specialist should perform. Please pay attention to the fact that there are tasks that are performed at the beginning of the work, there are those that are performed at the end, but most of the responsibilities are the constant work of the SMM specialist. Now let's look at how much an SMM manager can earn.

How much does an SMM specialist earn?

Work for hire

As for the regions, the salary of an SMM specialist varies from 20,000 to 60,000 rubles.

Example of a vacancy for an SMM specialist in the city of Lipetsk

As for Moscow and the Moscow region, wages there start from 50,000 to 100,000 rubles.

Example of a vacancy for an SMM specialist in Moscow

Freelance work

If you want to work “for yourself”, that is, to independently look for clients for SMM promotion, then the price for such services starts from 5,000 rubles per client to infinity, since everything will directly depend on your skills and portfolio.

An example of a price list for one of the SMM specialists on the freelance exchange

How to become an SMM specialist from scratch and for free

If you decide to master this profession, then you can do this in six ways: specialized courses, books on SMM, free projects, internships in marketing agencies, maintaining your account and freelance exchange. Let's look at each of them in detail.

Specialized courses

I won’t go into too much detail on this point. All you need to do is search for “SMM courses” or find marketers who specialize in this area and choose the course that suits you. In addition, there are now a lot of free courses, marathons or webinars, so you can find training for every taste and color.

Books on SMM

If you don’t yet have the time or funds to purchase courses, then books can be excellent guides to the world of SMM.

Here is a selection of books that will help you get a high-quality theoretical basis in this area:

Instagram administrator. Earning Guide
Hard SMM. Making the most of social media
Targeted advertising. Right on the bull's eye
SMM FROM ZERO. Secrets of promotion on social networks
Social Media Marketing
SMM for beginners
SMM Training. Principles of making money on Instagram
Guerrilla marketing on social networks. SMM manager operating instructions

Free projects

If you have already received the theoretical part or want to see all the intricacies of SMM in practice, then free projects will be an excellent start for you, where you can gain experience and get material for your portfolio.

For example, you can find such projects in groups on VKontakte by searching “looking for an admin”, “group administrator”.

An example of a recruitment announcement for a group development project on VKontakte

Internship in marketing agencies

Many agencies or companies want to independently develop their own SMM specialist. And this is a great chance for beginners to get their first experience, but, however, for minimal pay in this area.

In order to find such employers, go to any website where vacancies are posted, enter “SMM specialist” in the search and set the “no experience” filter.

Example of vacancies in SMM for beginners

Maintaining your account

Yes, don’t be surprised by this point, because your social media account is an excellent platform for gaining experience in writing content, placing ads or working with an audience.

The main thing is to choose your niche, draw up a portrait of your target audience and post content regularly.

Personally, when I was studying the field of SMM, I started with this method - I kept my Instagram account as a blog about making money remotely on the Internet. And I received offers to manage other accounts.

An example of one of the proposals for maintaining an account on Instagram

Freelance exchanges

Freelance exchanges are a field where you can find your first customers. But you shouldn’t count on huge amounts of money right away; remember, first you need to gain experience and build a portfolio.

Select an exchange, register on it and take on any orders for SMM or maintaining accounts on social networks.

Let's sum it up

After reading this article, I think that the question “Who is an SMM specialist” no longer arises in your mind. Now you know what kind of profession this is, what skills you need to have, how much he earns and how you can master this field of activity for free.

Yes, indeed, now a social media specialist is a very popular profession, but there are still few good specialists in it.

And if you decide to plunge into the world of SMM, then my advice is to start with courses or books, and then gradually move on to practice, for example, find a project or manage your account. At first it will bring minimal income, but as your competencies grow, you can earn from 50,000 rubles per month.

Today, Instagram is breaking all records for popularity among all social networks. More than 90 million active users from various walks of life create all the prerequisites for successful business. But in order to make money on Insta, you need to competently present and convey information about your product, product, service or brand to a potential client. From this publication you will learn what SMM promotion on Instagram is, get acquainted with its main stages, and learn about methods for paid and free promotion of your profile in this social program.

Defining the concepts

First, let’s figure out what SMM promotion is. SMM is an abbreviation for Social Media Marketing. Translated into more understandable language, SMM means social media marketing. The main (and only) task of this mechanism is to attract the interest of social program participants to an account, resource, product or service.

The stages of SMM promotion on Instagram are as follows:

Determining the target audience (TA), studying its interests, exposure to marketing influence.
Creation of interesting, useful and viral content, as well as a schedule for its publication.
Carrying out a set of measures to increase the size and involvement of the audience.
Creating a positive image of a seller, supplier of goods or services, brand, etc.
Analysis of promotion results based on statistical data.

It should be understood that only the main stages of promotion on Insta are described. The list of events may vary depending on the company’s objectives and its interests on the social platform.

Why is it so important to identify your target audience?

Determining the target audience is the most important preparatory stage before starting to promote a company on Insta, as well as any other social network. Why is this necessary? Everything is simple here: any business is focused on a specific group of people (TA), whose representatives are potential consumers of the product or service. The success of business development depends on their interest in your offer.

The more you know about your target audience, the better you can tailor your offer to their interests, requirements and needs, which will ultimately give you a significant advantage over your competitors, namely:

the ability to personalize an offer based on gender, age, and interests of the target audience;
increasing consumer loyalty;
creating a positive image and improving reputation;
significant budget savings on creating advertising campaigns.

In other words: understanding the characteristics of your target audience will allow you to plan your work to promote your company (account) in such a way as to use only the most effective SMM promotion methods.

Competently designing your profile before starting promotion

SMM promotion on Instagram begins with the correct profile design (see article “ “). Your profile is the first thing that greets a person who visits your Insta page. After reading the information specified in your profile, the user can become your follower or leave your account forever without even reading the content.

In addition, the information in your profile helps people find you in searches, and therefore (purely theoretically) affects the attraction of subscribers. Also, the profile provides the only place where you can insert an active link to a third-party resource, be it your company’s website, a product catalog, an account in another social program, or a sales (landing) page on the Internet.

When creating a profile, follow a few simple rules:

Come up with a nickname. It should reflect the essence of your activity, but at the same time be simple and memorable.
Fill in the “Profile Name” field. Please note that this information is indexed by Insta search. To make it easier for a potential client (customer, subscriber) to find you, create a profile name in the form of a high-frequency query. For example: “Sale of wedding bouquets in ....”; “Nail extensions in...” etc.
In 150 characters, try to include the main type of activity, information about what a person can get by subscribing to your page, free (alternative) methods of communication, for example, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Skype, insert a link to a third-party resource if you have one Yes (if not, then do it).

To attract attention to your profile, use unusual fonts, centered text alignment and other tricks of experienced SMM specialists.

Content comes first

Whatever you say in your profile description, “the content will speak for you.” If the photos are unique, interesting and high-quality, and the description under them is carefully crafted, then the subscriber will “follow” your page. A mandatory element of SMM promotion on Instagram is a competent description of each post using hashtags.

Ideally, a combination of 5% high-frequency, 40% mid-frequency, 35% low-frequency and 20% highly specialized hashtags will be used under each post. Please note that the description should not consist of tags alone. Convey in a nutshell what you wanted to say with this photo and be sure to add a call to action.

Ways to promote for free on Instagram

The next stage of Instagram SMM promotion after you start publishing content is attracting followers to your account.

To attract new subscribers, use the following tips:

Come up with and use several highly specialized (unique) hashtags that reflect the essence of your activity. Use them in post descriptions. This way you can attract your target audience and new followers.
Comment on the content of other users, preferably from the list of successful accounts of your competitors. If you comment, they will comment on you, this is an axiom.
Use the mass following method. Typically, about 30% of the people you follow will follow you back (see “ “).
Please "like" it. People whose content is liked often reciprocate, which increases activity on your page, and hence your ranking in the Instagram popularity rankings.
Place geolocation tags on published photos. This will help attract your “countrymen” to the page, which is very good for business, especially if it is tied to a specific area.

Another effective way of SMM promotion on Instagram is mutual PR or the exchange of advertising posts with account owners on related topics.

Ordering advertising as one of the ways to promote

Not free, but a very effective way to promote a business on Instagram is to create an advertising campaign.

Targeted. This option is available to all business account owners, so if you have not yet switched to a business profile, then go and promote your products or services through official advertising in the application or through the Facebook advertising account.
Advertising in well-promoted public pages. This type of advertising campaign creation is the most budget-friendly.
PR in the accounts of TOP bloggers. The cost depends on the popularity of the “star” and her “appetites”.

Paid services for account promotion

All of the above activities to promote your Instagram account can be carried out independently, but this requires a lot of time. If there is none, you can entrust the promotion of the SMM page to a specialist, or automate promotion methods by using paid functionality. Next, we will briefly consider several of the most popular resources that have received the maximum number of positive reviews from domestic Instagram users.

Tooligram

Zengram

– a convenient online resource that allows you to automate the main methods of SMM: mass liking, mass following, auto-commenting, etc. There is a free test period.

Conclusion

In this publication, we tried to explain in as much detail as possible what SMM promotion of Instagram is and highlight the main stages of promoting an Instagram account. As you can see, you can independently promote your business on this social platform, and all the tools for this are implemented. Let’s just recall the main points: identify your target audience, pay attention to filling out your profile correctly, prepare and start publishing quality content. To attract attention to the page: order advertising and use the capabilities of integrated promotion services on Instagram. Difficult, but interesting!

Welcome to the InetSovety.ru blog. From this article you will learn who an SMM manager is, what he does and how to master this Internet profession. We all use the Internet for our own purposes, but we cannot influence the system in any way. One of the most popular places where all virtual reality participants gather is social networks. Ordinary users use all their capabilities, including purchasing all kinds of goods.

However, no one thinks about where these opportunities come from, that is, who gives them. And an SMM specialist does this. Who is he, what does he do, what is he needed for? Let's look at these questions one by one.

The concept of an SMM specialist and the tasks he solves

Who is an SMM manager and what does he do? First, let's understand the very concept of SMM.

The decoding of SMM sounds like Social Media Marketing, or social media marketing. This is an integral part of promoting the interests of companies via the Internet, or more precisely through social networks (personal pages, groups). All these activities are carried out by the SMM specialist.

It is worth noting right away that the services of such a specialist are by no means cheap, so if you are just starting to run your own business, you will need to prepare for the upcoming financial expenses. However, believe that thanks to the services of such an employee, you will be able to get much more than you spend at the beginning.

So, who is this SMM specialist? Let's figure it out.

Features of the profession

An SMM manager is a person who promotes a business. However, this is very painstaking work, so if at first glance it seems to you that working on social networks or blogs is easy, then it is not. In fact, an SMM specialist must also solve many other tasks, namely:

study the needs, interests, tastes of the audience, on the basis of which a strategy for further development of the project is built;
respond to user requests, study comments, and then respond to them;
conduct various events to attract new customers - competitions, quizzes;
develop interesting Internet applications for social networks;
create channels on various video hosting sites;
SMM manager is responsible for advertising campaigns aimed at promoting business on the Internet;
maintain all accounts or communities associated with the company, as well as moderate them;
work with freelancers;
optimize content for the needs of a blog or community on a social network.

But that’s not all that an SMM manager does. Moreover, these points are not his responsibilities. These are only the tasks that such a specialist faces. In addition to them, he is engaged in:

community management;
working with interfaces of websites, groups on social networks, etc.;
creating a start page and additional tabs on the pages of the project he is leading;
monitoring and analyzing the functioning of all implemented systems;
identifying leaders among the target audience and ensuring close interaction with them;
creating and maintaining corporate accounts on social networks or blogs;
carrying out advertising and marketing moves, but in a veiled form.

That is, if we look at the question of who an SMM manager is from a different angle, then we can absolutely say that he is a universal specialist who combines the following skills:

marketer;
advertiser;
moderator;
administrator;
official representative of the company.

Now you know who an SMM specialist is and what problems he solves. However, this is not all, since, in addition to solving these problems, such an employee also has a number of responsibilities. Let's look at them.

Professional responsibilities of an SMM specialist

The responsibilities of an SMM manager are quite extensive, so he must be a responsible, self-confident person who can make the right decisions and recognize beneficial partners in people.

forms and promotes SMM products;
deals with pricing;
conducts advertising campaigns on social networks;
finds new clients while continuing to maintain partnerships with current ones;
analyzes the activities of competing companies;
studies new trends in a particular area of business and implements them into his project;
creates comments with which you can maintain a good image of the company;
manages various projects.

That's all the responsibilities of an SMM manager. At first glance, it may seem that this is all very difficult, and indeed: if you decide to connect your life with promotion on social networks, then be prepared for the fact that at first you will have to overcome some difficulties. However, you will soon get used to it, and it will be much easier and more interesting for you to perform the functions of an SMM specialist.

Advantages and disadvantages of the CMM profession

SMM manager is a very difficult profession, which, in addition to a lot of advantages, also has its negative sides. But first, let's look at the main advantages of this position.

There is great demand for SMM services due to the rapid development of marketing in social networks.
More trusting and respectful attitude of the user. Unlike an advertising worker, to whom people quite often express outright antipathy, this employee is shown much more trust. The SMM manager of social networks has nothing to do with direct advertising, but does all this hidden, carefully and competently, and most importantly, unobtrusively.
Wide range of users to create a target audience.
The cost of advertising is relatively low.
Opportunity to look for new clients.

There is only one downside to this profession, but it adds a significant fly in the ointment. Due to the fact that an SMM specialist is, roughly speaking, a free person (that is, he is often a freelancer), potential employers, unfortunately, cannot always imagine the scope of work he performs. Accordingly, they may underestimate its importance in the world of business on social networks, which will negatively affect the salary of such an employee. Otherwise, this profession is one big plus.

Requirements for an SMM manager

Understanding and knowing who an SMM specialist is and what he does is not enough to decide whether you are ready for all the difficulties associated with this profession. In addition, you should be aware of what knowledge and skills such employee has. Without this, you will not be able to work in this position.

As for personal qualities, a social media manager must have:

communication skills, that is, to be sociable and have a large vocabulary;
creativity, that is, to have great creative potential;
desire to reach new heights;
thirst for self-improvement;
the ability to conduct a thorough analysis of the information received;
the ability to think systematically, logically and consistently;
such a character trait as self-organization;
the ability to navigate yourself and guide others to achieve positive results from joint activities;
independence;
the ability to quickly and efficiently solve assigned problems;
the ability to express your thoughts creatively and clearly, and at the same time convey them to other users;
a good sense of humor (this quality will definitely come in handy when creating an advertising campaign).

In principle, these are all the requirements for such an employee as a social media manager. If you are confident that you can cope with all the tasks assigned, and you have all the above qualities and skills, then the path up the career ladder will not be difficult for you to overcome.

How and where can you learn a profession?

How to become an SMM specialist? First of all, you must master:

the basics of creating and promoting contextual advertising Google Adwords and Yandex Direct;
the essence of working with Internet statistics and web analytics;
Internet communications skills;
basic rules for working on social networks;
CEO rules;
basics and ;
web technologies.

Training to become an SMM manager can be completed at many universities and institutes in Russia. Of course, most of them are located in Moscow, and the most popular educational institutions are:

National Research University Higher School of Economics.
Russian State University of Oil and Gas named after Gubkin.
MGUMO MFA of Russia.
MSTU named after Bauman (the so-called “Baumanka”), etc.

It’s worth noting right away that these educational institutions do not teach how to become an SMM specialist. However, they will be able to give you all the necessary knowledge in the field of marketing and the exact sciences, which you will then be able to successfully use in order to start working in social networks as a social media manager.

You can get the necessary skills to promote your business on social networks by signing up for online training at the University of Internet Professions Netology .

Career advancement

You must remember that at first, SMM for beginners can sometimes be very difficult. You will have to go through many steps that will gradually lead you up the career ladder to the coveted position. But first you'll have to do some work:

moderator in a group on social networks;
running your own blog on the Internet;
SEO optimizer;
freelancer, copywriter, web designer;
advertiser or PR person.

Of course, to become a social media manager, it is not at all necessary to apply for each position (or study at the institute) separately. Nothing prevents you from working in one of these areas while simultaneously studying another. Thus, you will save time and money, because you will know exactly what qualities and skills a specialist such as an SMM manager combines.