What Does a Social Media Marketer Do? A Deep Dive

Table of Contents
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Social media marketing is one of the most misunderstood roles in business today. To the untrained eye, it might look like a job centered on liking photos and chasing TikTok trends. But the truth? It’s a demanding, strategic role that blends creativity, data analysis, and business acumen. 

And yet, the misconception lingers: “Anyone with a smartphone can do it.”

Let’s set the record straight on what does a social media marketer do. We’ll explore the strategic planning, creative execution, and data-driven decision-making that go into building campaigns, nurturing online communities, and delivering real business results. 

Social media marketers tell a brand's story

A social media marketer's job is about storytelling—crafting a cohesive brand narrative that resonates across major social media platforms. It's focused on weaving a story that reflects your brand’s identity, values, and goals, all while adapting to each platform’s unique style and audience.

For example, LinkedIn calls for a polished, professional tone that positions your brand as a thought leader, while TikTok thrives on creativity and relatability. Successful social media marketers get this—they know how to flex the brand’s voice to match the platform without losing authenticity.

Another key piece of their role is trend responsiveness. 

Social media is fast-moving, and being part of timely conversations is essential. Whether it’s hopping on a viral hashtag or engaging with a cultural moment, these people know how to jump in thoughtfully and keep the brand narrative intact. Also, by actively engaging—replying to comments, chatting with followers, and joining community discussions—they build trust and authenticity for your brand.

How to implement

For Leaders: Have your social media marketer work closely with your brand strategy team to align social media efforts with the bigger picture. This matches your social media voice to the tone of your website, ad campaigns, even offline initiatives.

Regular brainstorming sessions are a must as well. Share insights about upcoming campaigns, audience behavior, and emerging social media trends. You must also equip your social media team with the right resources—think: clear tone guidelines, messaging frameworks, and brand visuals—to help them stay consistent.

For Social Media Marketers: You need a platform-specific marketing strategy for best results. Create voice and style guides for social media networks. While the overarching brand story should stay consistent, how you tell that story will vary. For instance, TikTok’s audience craves relatability and humor, while LinkedIn’s audience expects professionalism and expertise.

Next, dig into your audience data. Learn who they are and how they engage on each platform. Then, tailor your content: snappy, engaging videos for Instagram Reels; insightful infographics for LinkedIn; and trend-driven challenges for TikTok.

Social media changes constantly, so you need to be ready to adjust based on social media analytics and audience feedback. 

Social media marketers manage campaigns from start to finish

From ideation to execution, social media marketers manage every aspect of each campaign so it aligns with your business goals and delivers measurable results. 

This process begins with planning. Marketers create social media marketing campaigns that support key objectives like driving sales or increasing brand awareness. Then outline timelines, pinpoint target audiences, and determine the platforms and formats that will best achieve the campaign's goals.

Once the plan is in place, they move into execution. Here, social media marketers coordinate content creation, schedule posts, and manage live events or promotions. This stage involves balancing creative assets, adhering to each platform’s unique requirements, and maintaining a consistent brand voice across all channels.

Optimization is the final—and ongoing—phase here. The marketers analyze performance KPIs—not just vanity metrics—then use the data to identify what’s working and what’s not—and how future campaigns can be refined for better results.

How to implement

For Leaders: To get the most out of your social media campaigns, bring your social media marketer into the fold early. Include them in ideation meetings with teams from digital marketing, sales, and product development. Their expertise in social-first strategies can spark innovative ideas like interactive challenges, influencer marketing, or tailored platform-specific ads.

Also, set clear business objectives and key performance indicators for each campaign. This helps your social media marketer design initiatives that hit measurable targets. Hold regular check-ins and post-campaign reviews to assess successes and pinpoint areas for improvement.

For Social Media Marketers: A well-structured approach is super important for managing campaigns effectively. Create a checklist that covers each phase of the process:

  • Planning: Define the campaign objective, target audience, platform strategy, and content requirements. Set milestones for content creation, approvals, and the launch date.
  • Execution: Oversee the creation of high-quality content, ensure posts go live as planned, and actively engage with the audience. Monitoring comments, messages, and user interactions in real-time is another key task to maintain momentum.
  • Optimization: Track performance metrics on a daily or weekly basis. Use analytics tools to assess engagement, reach, and conversions. Document insights and tweak ongoing campaigns where necessary, such as adjusting ad spend or changing creative elements.

Social media marketers build community and foster engagement

Social media marketers connect your brand to its audience by creating real, meaningful interactions that go beyond likes and shares. Think of them as the glue holding your online community together.

Sure, they respond to comments, answer DMs, and participate in conversations, but the real magic happens when they take the lead. An effective social media marketer starts conversations, asks engaging questions, shares relatable content, and encourages user-generated content (UGC) and earned media

Why is UGC such a big deal? It’s simple: when customers share reviews or photos of your product, they’re helping you build trust and credibility. And nothing says “community” like other people rallying around your brand.

This consistent engagement fosters a sense of belonging. Followers feel heard and valued, which leads to loyalty and turns your audience into your biggest advocates, organically and authentically.

How to implement

For Leaders: Provide your marketer with the right social media tools to handle engagement, and include clear engagement goals in your overall social strategy. For instance, determine acceptable response times for audience interactions and emphasize the importance of maintaining your brand’s tone of voice.

You should encourage collaboration between your social media marketer and teams like customer service or sales as well. This ensures customer questions or complaints are addressed quickly and with the right expertise.

For Social Media Marketers: Set specific times to check comments, DMs, and mentions. Respond promptly, use names whenever possible, acknowledge feedback, and escalate issues when needed. Authenticity is key here, so you don’t want to sound robotic.

Proactively creating engagement opportunities is also crucial here. Post interactive content like polls, quizzes, or challenges. Ask open-ended questions to spark discussions. For UGC, you can make it fun for your audience to participate by creating branded hashtags or running contests.

Social media marketers use social media data to drive results

A social media marketer should excel at transforming numbers into meaningful actions. They analyze metrics like engagement rates, click-through rates, follower growth, and conversions to gauge campaign success, plus make decisions to improve overall social media performance.

Digging into analytics helps these marketers uncover patterns in audience behavior, content effectiveness, and platform trends. These insights then guide decisions, from adjusting posting schedules and experimenting with formats to reallocating budgets for better results. 

How to implement

For Leaders: Make sure your social media marketer has access to robust analytics tools like Meta Ads Manager, Google Analytics, or Sprout Social. These tools provide critical insights into audience demographics, content performance, and ROI, empowering data-driven decisions.

Set clear, measurable KPIs aligned with your business goals. For example:

  • Want more website traffic? Focus on CTR and referral metrics.
  • Building brand awareness? Prioritize reach and impressions.

Naturally, you need to review performance reports regularly and adjust your strategy as needed.

For Social Media Marketers: Make it a habit to track and analyze metrics consistently. Build dashboards that showcase essential KPIs for each platform and campaign. For example:

  • Monitor engagement rate and follower growth for organic content.
  • Track cost-per-click (CPC) and conversion rates for paid campaigns.

Look for trends in the data, then use the insights to improve strategies. Think:

  • Do certain post types always get better engagement?
  • Does posting at a specific time boost performance?

After each campaign, create a detailed performance report highlighting wins, challenges, and actionable recommendations. Share it with your social media team to keep everyone aligned for future campaigns.

Lastly, stay proactive. Experiment with new tools, test different content formats and keep an eye on emerging trends in the social media space. A commitment to continuous improvement will ensure your social media performance stays optimized and impactful.

💡Consider working with a social media strategist to create and implement comprehensive and effective social media strategies.

Social media marketers spot trends and innovate

Whether it’s the rise of short-form video content like Instagram Reels, the popularity of live streams for real-time engagement, or the increasing use of interactive polls and Q&A sessions, staying ahead of trends is a core responsibility of social media managers.

These marketers test how emerging formats and features resonate with their audience, adapting their strategy to stay relevant and engaging. This forward-thinking approach ensures your brand doesn’t get lost in the noise of outdated tactics but instead remains fresh and appealing to its target demographic.

How to implement

For Leaders: Give your social media marketer the freedom and resources to explore new trends and features. Set aside resources and time in their weekly schedule specifically for research and experimentation. Whether it’s trying out a new platform like Threads or adopting a fresh feature on TikTok, encourage them to take calculated risks.

Additionally, create a culture that values experimentation—even if some ideas flop. The lessons learned from those attempts are just as valuable as the wins. Encourage them to leverage social listening platforms or analytics software to track what’s trending and measure the impact of their efforts.

For Social Media Marketers: Dedicate a slice of your weekly schedule to trying something new. Maybe you’ll test Instagram’s Collab feature or host a live-streamed Q&A session. Keep track of what works—did it increase engagement, views, or shares? Then use those insights to sharpen your strategy.

But don’t lose sight of the big picture—experimentation should enhance your brand’s voice, not stray from it. Avoid jumping on every passing fad and focus on trends that align with your goals and have the potential to make a lasting impact.

Social media marketers maintain consistency across channels

Social media marketers also act as brand stewards of your brand’s social media presence. They make sure every post, campaign, and interaction reflects your company’s values, tone, and look—and this consistency matters. 

Whether it’s a professional LinkedIn post or a playful Instagram Story, the tone and message should feel like they come from the same brand. The formats may differ, but the essence should stay the same, from color schemes to the way you interact with your audience. It's the social media marketer's responsibility to create a unified, recognizable presence. 

How to implement

For Leaders: Partner with your social media manager to align the brand’s overall strategy with its social media presence. Provide detailed and practical brand guidelines covering tone, messaging, logo usage, colors, and content preferences. These should serve as a clear roadmap for maintaining consistency across platforms.

Another good tip is to have regular check-ins with your social media marketer to review alignment and discuss any shifts in brand positioning. Provide them with a robust library of branded assets—templates, approved copy, and high-quality images—to maintain a polished, professional presence.

For Social Media Marketers: Quarterly audits of your social media profiles keep everything on-brand. Check bios, profile pictures, pinned posts, and overall content formats to verify they align with the company’s identity. 

Develop a platform-specific checklist to guide your social media content creation. Include essentials like tone, visuals, and key messaging for each channel. Before publishing, cross-check your content against this list to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Also, pay attention to interactions. Make sure every reply reflects your company’s voice and values.

Why MarketerHire is the best place to find on-demand social media marketers

When hiring a social media manager or marketer, you need someone with the right advertising skills and managerial skills. Someone who’s strategic, creative, and data-savvy—all at once. And while this is no easy task, MarketerHire makes the whole process simple, fast, and effective.

Here’s how it works: You tell MarketerHire what you need, and they match you with an experienced social media marketer tailored to your goals. The best part? This happens quickly—usually within 48 hours. And these aren’t just any marketers—these are professionals with proven experience at top companies and agencies who will help you build a social media strategy from scratch or optimize what you’ve already got. Whether you need someone part-time, full-time, or for a specific project, MarketerHire has got your back.
Let MarketerHire match you with the perfect social media marketer and get your business moving forward today. Get started today.

Rana BanoRana Bano
Rana is part B2B content writer, part Ryan Reynolds, and Oprah Winfrey (aspiring for the last two). She uses these parts to help SaaS brands like Shopify, HubSpot, Semrush, and Forbes tell their story, aiming to encourage user engagement and drive organic traffic.
Hire Marketers

Table of Contents

Social media marketing is one of the most misunderstood roles in business today. To the untrained eye, it might look like a job centered on liking photos and chasing TikTok trends. But the truth? It’s a demanding, strategic role that blends creativity, data analysis, and business acumen. 

And yet, the misconception lingers: “Anyone with a smartphone can do it.”

Let’s set the record straight on what does a social media marketer do. We’ll explore the strategic planning, creative execution, and data-driven decision-making that go into building campaigns, nurturing online communities, and delivering real business results. 

Social media marketers tell a brand's story

A social media marketer's job is about storytelling—crafting a cohesive brand narrative that resonates across major social media platforms. It's focused on weaving a story that reflects your brand’s identity, values, and goals, all while adapting to each platform’s unique style and audience.

For example, LinkedIn calls for a polished, professional tone that positions your brand as a thought leader, while TikTok thrives on creativity and relatability. Successful social media marketers get this—they know how to flex the brand’s voice to match the platform without losing authenticity.

Another key piece of their role is trend responsiveness. 

Social media is fast-moving, and being part of timely conversations is essential. Whether it’s hopping on a viral hashtag or engaging with a cultural moment, these people know how to jump in thoughtfully and keep the brand narrative intact. Also, by actively engaging—replying to comments, chatting with followers, and joining community discussions—they build trust and authenticity for your brand.

How to implement

For Leaders: Have your social media marketer work closely with your brand strategy team to align social media efforts with the bigger picture. This matches your social media voice to the tone of your website, ad campaigns, even offline initiatives.

Regular brainstorming sessions are a must as well. Share insights about upcoming campaigns, audience behavior, and emerging social media trends. You must also equip your social media team with the right resources—think: clear tone guidelines, messaging frameworks, and brand visuals—to help them stay consistent.

For Social Media Marketers: You need a platform-specific marketing strategy for best results. Create voice and style guides for social media networks. While the overarching brand story should stay consistent, how you tell that story will vary. For instance, TikTok’s audience craves relatability and humor, while LinkedIn’s audience expects professionalism and expertise.

Next, dig into your audience data. Learn who they are and how they engage on each platform. Then, tailor your content: snappy, engaging videos for Instagram Reels; insightful infographics for LinkedIn; and trend-driven challenges for TikTok.

Social media changes constantly, so you need to be ready to adjust based on social media analytics and audience feedback. 

Social media marketers manage campaigns from start to finish

From ideation to execution, social media marketers manage every aspect of each campaign so it aligns with your business goals and delivers measurable results. 

This process begins with planning. Marketers create social media marketing campaigns that support key objectives like driving sales or increasing brand awareness. Then outline timelines, pinpoint target audiences, and determine the platforms and formats that will best achieve the campaign's goals.

Once the plan is in place, they move into execution. Here, social media marketers coordinate content creation, schedule posts, and manage live events or promotions. This stage involves balancing creative assets, adhering to each platform’s unique requirements, and maintaining a consistent brand voice across all channels.

Optimization is the final—and ongoing—phase here. The marketers analyze performance KPIs—not just vanity metrics—then use the data to identify what’s working and what’s not—and how future campaigns can be refined for better results.

How to implement

For Leaders: To get the most out of your social media campaigns, bring your social media marketer into the fold early. Include them in ideation meetings with teams from digital marketing, sales, and product development. Their expertise in social-first strategies can spark innovative ideas like interactive challenges, influencer marketing, or tailored platform-specific ads.

Also, set clear business objectives and key performance indicators for each campaign. This helps your social media marketer design initiatives that hit measurable targets. Hold regular check-ins and post-campaign reviews to assess successes and pinpoint areas for improvement.

For Social Media Marketers: A well-structured approach is super important for managing campaigns effectively. Create a checklist that covers each phase of the process:

  • Planning: Define the campaign objective, target audience, platform strategy, and content requirements. Set milestones for content creation, approvals, and the launch date.
  • Execution: Oversee the creation of high-quality content, ensure posts go live as planned, and actively engage with the audience. Monitoring comments, messages, and user interactions in real-time is another key task to maintain momentum.
  • Optimization: Track performance metrics on a daily or weekly basis. Use analytics tools to assess engagement, reach, and conversions. Document insights and tweak ongoing campaigns where necessary, such as adjusting ad spend or changing creative elements.

Social media marketers build community and foster engagement

Social media marketers connect your brand to its audience by creating real, meaningful interactions that go beyond likes and shares. Think of them as the glue holding your online community together.

Sure, they respond to comments, answer DMs, and participate in conversations, but the real magic happens when they take the lead. An effective social media marketer starts conversations, asks engaging questions, shares relatable content, and encourages user-generated content (UGC) and earned media

Why is UGC such a big deal? It’s simple: when customers share reviews or photos of your product, they’re helping you build trust and credibility. And nothing says “community” like other people rallying around your brand.

This consistent engagement fosters a sense of belonging. Followers feel heard and valued, which leads to loyalty and turns your audience into your biggest advocates, organically and authentically.

How to implement

For Leaders: Provide your marketer with the right social media tools to handle engagement, and include clear engagement goals in your overall social strategy. For instance, determine acceptable response times for audience interactions and emphasize the importance of maintaining your brand’s tone of voice.

You should encourage collaboration between your social media marketer and teams like customer service or sales as well. This ensures customer questions or complaints are addressed quickly and with the right expertise.

For Social Media Marketers: Set specific times to check comments, DMs, and mentions. Respond promptly, use names whenever possible, acknowledge feedback, and escalate issues when needed. Authenticity is key here, so you don’t want to sound robotic.

Proactively creating engagement opportunities is also crucial here. Post interactive content like polls, quizzes, or challenges. Ask open-ended questions to spark discussions. For UGC, you can make it fun for your audience to participate by creating branded hashtags or running contests.

Social media marketers use social media data to drive results

A social media marketer should excel at transforming numbers into meaningful actions. They analyze metrics like engagement rates, click-through rates, follower growth, and conversions to gauge campaign success, plus make decisions to improve overall social media performance.

Digging into analytics helps these marketers uncover patterns in audience behavior, content effectiveness, and platform trends. These insights then guide decisions, from adjusting posting schedules and experimenting with formats to reallocating budgets for better results. 

How to implement

For Leaders: Make sure your social media marketer has access to robust analytics tools like Meta Ads Manager, Google Analytics, or Sprout Social. These tools provide critical insights into audience demographics, content performance, and ROI, empowering data-driven decisions.

Set clear, measurable KPIs aligned with your business goals. For example:

  • Want more website traffic? Focus on CTR and referral metrics.
  • Building brand awareness? Prioritize reach and impressions.

Naturally, you need to review performance reports regularly and adjust your strategy as needed.

For Social Media Marketers: Make it a habit to track and analyze metrics consistently. Build dashboards that showcase essential KPIs for each platform and campaign. For example:

  • Monitor engagement rate and follower growth for organic content.
  • Track cost-per-click (CPC) and conversion rates for paid campaigns.

Look for trends in the data, then use the insights to improve strategies. Think:

  • Do certain post types always get better engagement?
  • Does posting at a specific time boost performance?

After each campaign, create a detailed performance report highlighting wins, challenges, and actionable recommendations. Share it with your social media team to keep everyone aligned for future campaigns.

Lastly, stay proactive. Experiment with new tools, test different content formats and keep an eye on emerging trends in the social media space. A commitment to continuous improvement will ensure your social media performance stays optimized and impactful.

💡Consider working with a social media strategist to create and implement comprehensive and effective social media strategies.

Social media marketers spot trends and innovate

Whether it’s the rise of short-form video content like Instagram Reels, the popularity of live streams for real-time engagement, or the increasing use of interactive polls and Q&A sessions, staying ahead of trends is a core responsibility of social media managers.

These marketers test how emerging formats and features resonate with their audience, adapting their strategy to stay relevant and engaging. This forward-thinking approach ensures your brand doesn’t get lost in the noise of outdated tactics but instead remains fresh and appealing to its target demographic.

How to implement

For Leaders: Give your social media marketer the freedom and resources to explore new trends and features. Set aside resources and time in their weekly schedule specifically for research and experimentation. Whether it’s trying out a new platform like Threads or adopting a fresh feature on TikTok, encourage them to take calculated risks.

Additionally, create a culture that values experimentation—even if some ideas flop. The lessons learned from those attempts are just as valuable as the wins. Encourage them to leverage social listening platforms or analytics software to track what’s trending and measure the impact of their efforts.

For Social Media Marketers: Dedicate a slice of your weekly schedule to trying something new. Maybe you’ll test Instagram’s Collab feature or host a live-streamed Q&A session. Keep track of what works—did it increase engagement, views, or shares? Then use those insights to sharpen your strategy.

But don’t lose sight of the big picture—experimentation should enhance your brand’s voice, not stray from it. Avoid jumping on every passing fad and focus on trends that align with your goals and have the potential to make a lasting impact.

Social media marketers maintain consistency across channels

Social media marketers also act as brand stewards of your brand’s social media presence. They make sure every post, campaign, and interaction reflects your company’s values, tone, and look—and this consistency matters. 

Whether it’s a professional LinkedIn post or a playful Instagram Story, the tone and message should feel like they come from the same brand. The formats may differ, but the essence should stay the same, from color schemes to the way you interact with your audience. It's the social media marketer's responsibility to create a unified, recognizable presence. 

How to implement

For Leaders: Partner with your social media manager to align the brand’s overall strategy with its social media presence. Provide detailed and practical brand guidelines covering tone, messaging, logo usage, colors, and content preferences. These should serve as a clear roadmap for maintaining consistency across platforms.

Another good tip is to have regular check-ins with your social media marketer to review alignment and discuss any shifts in brand positioning. Provide them with a robust library of branded assets—templates, approved copy, and high-quality images—to maintain a polished, professional presence.

For Social Media Marketers: Quarterly audits of your social media profiles keep everything on-brand. Check bios, profile pictures, pinned posts, and overall content formats to verify they align with the company’s identity. 

Develop a platform-specific checklist to guide your social media content creation. Include essentials like tone, visuals, and key messaging for each channel. Before publishing, cross-check your content against this list to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Also, pay attention to interactions. Make sure every reply reflects your company’s voice and values.

Why MarketerHire is the best place to find on-demand social media marketers

When hiring a social media manager or marketer, you need someone with the right advertising skills and managerial skills. Someone who’s strategic, creative, and data-savvy—all at once. And while this is no easy task, MarketerHire makes the whole process simple, fast, and effective.

Here’s how it works: You tell MarketerHire what you need, and they match you with an experienced social media marketer tailored to your goals. The best part? This happens quickly—usually within 48 hours. And these aren’t just any marketers—these are professionals with proven experience at top companies and agencies who will help you build a social media strategy from scratch or optimize what you’ve already got. Whether you need someone part-time, full-time, or for a specific project, MarketerHire has got your back.
Let MarketerHire match you with the perfect social media marketer and get your business moving forward today. Get started today.

Rana Bano
about the author

Rana is part B2B content writer, part Ryan Reynolds, and Oprah Winfrey (aspiring for the last two). She uses these parts to help SaaS brands like Shopify, HubSpot, Semrush, and Forbes tell their story, aiming to encourage user engagement and drive organic traffic.

Hire a Marketer