Misconceptions About Social Media Managers

Social Media Managers Are Not Magicians ! Can we talk about this?! Social media management is already a full-time, highly skilled job. It involves strategy, analytics, scheduling, audience engagement, and keeping up with constantly changing trends. But somehow, companies expect social media managers to also be: • Professional video editors • Graphic designers skilled in Photoshop • SEO specialists • Content writers who churn out long-form blogs • On-camera presenters and content creators • SEO writers who can masterfully rank your website Let me clarify: these are all completely different professions. Each requires its own expertise, tools, and hours of work. Bundling these into a single role labeled “Social Media Manager” is not only unrealistic—it’s disrespectful to the people working in these fields. Hiring managers, please, let’s get real: ✅ If you need video editing, hire a video editor. ✅ If you want stunning visuals, work with a designer. ✅ If SEO is your goal, bring in an expert for that. ✅ If you need a charismatic presenter, hire a content creator who specializes in that. ✅ And if you want a strong social media presence, hire a social media manager for what they actually do. Let’s stop expecting people to wear every hat in the room. You’ll burn them out, and your brand’s presence will suffer for it. To all my fellow social media pros, video editors, and creatives: I see you, and I get it. Let’s keep pushing for fair recognition of what we do. What’s the wildest job description you’ve seen for a “Social Media Manager”? Let’s share and laugh (or cry) together in the comments.

Social Media Managers, you've heard these before: → "We need more engagement. No budget. No new tools." → "Can you make this go viral?" → "The intern can handle social, right?" → "Why aren’t we growing faster?" → "Just copy what the competitor is doing." → "You can finish this post in 15 minutes, right?" → "We don’t need a strategy - just post whatever’s trending.” → "Social media doesn’t drive sales, so why invest in it?” Who says this? Leadership. They underestimate the strategy, effort, and skills required for successful social media marketing. The result? Social media managers are overwhelmed, understaffed and expected to perform miracles. And when results don’t meet unrealistic expectations? Marketing takes the blame. So, how do we push back? 1. Educate leadership. Explain the true value. 2. Show your work. Show numbers! 3. Demonstrate successful use cases. 4. Continuously bring in new ideas. 5. Leverage the free tools available to you. 6. Try to bring external input. E.g., with a representative from LinkedIn. Yes, it’s extra work. Yes, it’s frustrating. But if leadership doesn’t respect social media, you need to make them see the value. It takes time, but they’ll come around eventually. What’s the most unrealistic request you’ve received as a Social Media Manager? 😄 

Let’s Talk About Social Media Managers — and What They Actually Do. Because somewhere along the way, this role got seriously misunderstood. A Social Media Manager is NOT: • Your web designer • Your graphic designer (though many dabble to survive) • “The person who just posts” • An intern who can “handle it” for cheap • A fix-all for unclear brand strategy • A stand-in for your entire marketing team What they ARE: • A strategist who knows how to grow and engage audiences • A content creator who can write, edit, and plan with purpose • A community builder who manages your brand’s voice and tone in real time • A reputation manager who responds to comments, DMs, reviews, and sometimes crises • An analyst who reads the numbers and adjusts accordingly • A collaborator across sales, product, customer service, and leadership Social media management is not about just being “online.” It’s marketing. It’s storytelling. It’s brand positioning. And it’s happening publicly, in real time, across multiple platforms that change their rules weekly. Still think it’s just memes and hashtags? If you have a great social media manager on your team — support them, listen to them, and pay them accordingly. And if you are a social media manager — your work is vital, and it deserves recognition. Let’s stop treating this role like an afterthought. #SocialMediaManager #DigitalMarketing #ModernMarketing #RespectTheRole #NotAWebDesigner #MarketingTruths #SocialStrategy

The #1 reason I see social media managers fail: They care more about social media than the company and product they work for… and honestly, they care more about social media than actual marketing. Our jobs as social media marketers is to create content that speaks to what makes our brand emotionally compelling to our target audience. That "emotionally compelling" language is important. How does our product improve someone's life? What do they feel when they have our product? Our job is to bring that to life through content. And I genuinely believe every single product is compelling! Yeah, you gotta drink the Kool-Aid to be good at these jobs. But far too often, I see social media managers far more interested in what’s happening on the internet, or what trends are happening, or “how we can tie our brand to culture,” and never actually thinking about how to make content that actually speaks to the brand’s consumer benefits. The brands that over-trend or try too hard to be part of social end up not actually building fans of the product. Sometimes they’ll build social media audiences for their LMAOs, but those audiences aren’t people who purchase the product because the content doesn’t actually have any relation to the product, or the emotional value, or... well... anything to do with the product. Then there’s this line that “brands shouldn’t always be selling” I see in social media managers discourse… literally, yes, we should almost always be selling. But that doesn’t mean discounts and bland sales content! That means dedicating our time to making content that speaks to WHY someone would purchase our product! I promise, it’s truly not that hard to figure out what people like most about your product, then use those insights to generate wonderfully viral social media content. The social media managers who will advance are the ones who truly care about marketing and how their content affects the company’s performance. 

“Wait, you manage socials? But your own feed’s kinda… empty.” Someone said this to me last week. And I haven’t stopped thinking about it. The truth is, most social media managers don’t have the time (or mental space) to make their own pages shine. Because we’re already deep in strategy, captions, content calendars, crisis handling, and campaign execution… for your brand. By the time we get to our own accounts, we’re running on 20% energy on a great day. So yes, my Instagram might be quiet. My LinkedIn might not look ‘optimized.’ But that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to grow. It just means I’m too busy growing someone else. So if you're hiring a social media manager, don’t judge them by their own feeds. Judge them by the brands they’ve built. The reach they’ve driven. The results they’ve delivered. Because trust me, behind every quiet feed is someone who’s been busy making your brand loud.

Graphic Designers Are Not Social Media Managers, and Here’s Why It Matters Let’s address a common misconception: too many people believe graphic designers are also “social media experts in disguise.” But here’s the reality—they’re not. And this confusion is doing more harm than good to your brand strategy. 1️⃣ Graphic Designers excel at creating visually appealing, static content—logos, brochures, posters, and branding materials. Their strength lies in mastering color theory, typography, and visual storytelling to make your brand look stunning. 2️⃣ Social Media Managers, however, are strategists. They focus on creating campaigns, understanding audience behavior, analyzing metrics, writing compelling captions, and scheduling posts at the perfect time. Their expertise goes beyond visuals to drive engagement and conversions. 🤯 The Hard Truth: Hiring a graphic designer to manage your social media is like hiring a baker to run your restaurant—related fields, but vastly different skill sets. Just because someone can create beautiful graphics doesn’t mean they can optimize posts, respond to trends, or interpret analytics. Here’s the takeaway: 👉 Hire graphic designers to create standout visuals. 👉 Hire social media managers to craft and execute effective campaigns. Both roles are essential, but expecting one professional to do both leads to missed opportunities and burned-out creatives. 💬 What do you think—should designers dive into social media management, or should these remain separate roles? Let’s discuss below! #graphicdesigner #socialmediamanager #marketing #creativeindustry #hiringmistakes #designvssocialmedia #controversialopinions0

Founders who've had a bad experience with a social media hire almost always describe the same thing.👇🏻 1. A feed that was active but directionless. 2. Content that looked fine but didn't convert.   3. Someone who needed constant input to produce anything. And the conclusion they draw is that they hired the wrong person. Usually, they hired the right person for the wrong role. A social media manager executes. They need a strategy to work from, a clear brief, and alignment on what the content is supposed to do. When that foundation exists, a great SMM is invaluable. A social media strategist builds the foundation. They look at your business goals, your audience, your positioning, and they design a content approach that connects all of it. The content that comes out of that process has a job to do. Simply Multimedia operates at the strategy level first. We don't just fill a content calendar. We build the architecture that makes the content worth posting. If your social has felt busy without being useful, that's usually the gap. P.S. Which one do you think you actually need right now?

It's almost 2025 and I'm still seeing job listings seeking social media managers who are "chronically online." After nearly 15 years working in the field and hiring for social media teams, I can tell you with 100% confidence: You do NOT need a chronically online person to manage your social presence. You need someone who knows what resonates with your audience and who can judiciously apply trends when, and only when, they're a good fit for your brand. Hiring managers should know that all of us in social media are better at our jobs when we take our vacation time, read books, and generally have interests beyond scrolling TikTok. Expecting your employees to be continually immersed in internet culture is not a recipe for success—it's a fast track to burnout.

One of the biggest mistakes brands make is treating Social Media Managers and Social Media Strategists as the same role. They're not. A Social Media Strategist should be asking: - Who are we trying to reach? - What content pillars support the business goals? - What platforms deserve investment? - How do we position the brand differently than competitors? A Social Media Manager should be asking: - What are we posting today? - How are we engaging the community? - What conversations are happening in the comments and DMs? - How do we execute the strategy effectively? One role builds the roadmap. The other drives the car. Yet somehow our industry keeps trying to turn every social hire into a strategist, content creator, videographer, graphic designer, community manager, analyst, copywriter, trend forecaster, and project manager all at the same time. Then we wonder why people burn out. The reality is that the best social teams I've seen aren't built around people doing everything. They're built around people doing what they're best at. Every effective social team needs strategy. Every effective social team needs execution. And expecting one person to master both at a high level indefinitely is one of the biggest misconceptions in social marketing.

Stop asking social media managers to be "chronically online!" Far too many job descriptions for social media managers ask for someone who is "chronically online" or who "eats, sleeps, and breathes social media." This is a deeply unhealthy thing to ask of another person. No one can, or should be truly "on" 24/7. And honestly? Constant social media consumption is not healthy for anyone, including the people who do this for a living. You are allowed to watch the Super Bowl without thinking about content opportunities. You can enjoy an awards show as a fan. You can take a weekend off without monitoring every trend that breaks. The social media managers who do their best work aren't the ones who never log off. They're the ones who have built enough experience and judgment to recognize a good opportunity when it comes, because they've been doing this long enough that it becomes instinct. Protect your time. Protect your mental health. A burned-out social media manager isn't good at timely content. A healthy, well-rested one is.