How to Become a Social Media Analyst

The onset of the digital era has created opportunities for companies to grab the attention of a massive audience on social media. These opportunities have also led to the creation of new jobs for people who have the skills to manage a company’s social presence. These professionals are known as social media analysts.

Social media analysts are responsible for managing their company’s social networking pages such as Facebook and Instagram, and for working on the business’s official website and mobile apps. They create campaigns that promote their clients’ brand and products through social media posts.

What Is Social Media Marketing?

In simple words, social media marketing is the process of managing a company’s online presence and marketing strategy on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. 

Social media marketing is not only about posting updates on a company’s social media pages. After you become a digital marketing manager, you must engage the audience and look for ways to increase a brand’s reach and visibility.

A good social media campaign will help a company get closer to its marketing goals. Social media executives must make a content calendar showing the posts they have planned throughout a particular campaign. 

Social Media Analyst Skills

Like any other data analyst professional, a social media analyst should have experience in statistics in addition to creative writing and marketing. Some other important skills are listed below.

Tech Savvy 

Every now and then, new features are introduced on social media platforms. To keep up with these changes, social media analysts must be tech-savvy, learning all the latest best practices and techniques. 

Designing Graphics And Videos

According to research by Hubspot, social media posts with images and videos get 41 percent more engagement than those without. About 43 percent of customers have said they want to see more video-based content. Due to this, designing graphics and creating videos have become essential skills for social media managers.

Using infographics and videos on social media can help make your ideas easy for the viewer to understand. It is more efficient and more effective than writing a lengthy blog post.

Creative Writing

Creative writing is an important skill for all areas of content-based marketing and is essential to the daily tasks of a social media manager. It is necessary to write creatively while crafting tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts, and captions.

Strong writing will engage customers and increase their interest in a company’s products or services. Creative writing comes in very handy for writing blog posts, product descriptions, advertising material, and social media posts.

Social Media Analyst Job Description

A social media analyst promotes a company’s online presence via social media. They also analyze user engagement, monitor their social media initiatives, and implement successful marketing practices with the help of tools like Canva, Google Trends, and Native Analytics.

Measuring the performance of the social channels they manage and keeping track of the performance of competing brands are the main responsibilities of a social media analyst. You should be very familiar with a variety of social networking platforms and copywriting for the web. Social media analysts are responsible for planning, implementing, and monitoring a company’s social media strategy to increase sales and improve marketing.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Social Media Analyst

A social media marketer is responsible for growing a brand’s social presence. Some of the primary responsibilities are listed below.

• Management. A social media analyst’s main responsibility is to manage and regularly create new content for use on social media. They must keep track of social media marketing trends and developments.
  
  

• Research. Social media analysts must research new trends and implement them on behalf of their client. Staying up-to-date will help increase customer engagement. 
  
  

• Communication. Social media analysts must communicate with team members to ensure productivity, eliminate problems, and improve performance. Effective communication is integral to a company’s success. 
  
  

• Keeping records. Social media analysts must take note of posts that performed poorly and those that are performing well. Then they will look for the reasons behind each outcome.
  
  

• Making posts and content. Regularly posting about a company and all of its new products or services is key to being a social media analyst. The audience must be kept informed of the company’s activities.
  
  

Learning Social Media Marketing

These days, social media is an essential marketing platform. Even small businesses reap the rewards of using social media to connect with customers. One can learn social media marketing skills through blogs, e-books, videos, podcasts, slideshows, and books. There are also many social media marketing courses available online that are great for beginners.

How Long Does It Take to Learn Social Media Marketing?

When it comes to social media or digital marketing, many people want to see quick results. But social media marketing takes time and effort to learn. How long it takes to learn social media marketing truly depends on the type of business you are working for, and how much time you are willing to put into improving its social presence.

It can sometimes take months to begin seeing the results of your marketing efforts. It is important to stick with a digital marketing strategy for about six to 12 months to see if you achieve your desired results.

The length of time it will take to see results depends on factors such as your budget, competitors, and the type of business. A very common business will have many competitors, which means the business’s growth is likely to be slower.

How to Become A Social Media Analyst: Step-by-Step

Studying the right skills and getting familiar with social media platforms and practices will give you the background you need to land a job as a social media analyst. But first, you should make a plan and execute it. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you get started.

1. Introduce yourself to social media marketing. Getting used to social media and the obstacles and challenges you may face in managing pages and profiles is the first step. 
   
   
2. Explore the courses. Research programs and courses that fit with your goals. The right course can fill you in on everything you need to know about social media marketing, and can also improve your management skills.
   
   
3. Enroll. Pick a course that matches your interests and enroll before the seats fill up.
   
   
4. Learn and practice. Practicing and reviewing what you have learned just as important as initially gaining knowledge. Practicing will get you to the top.
   
   
5. Get certified. This is one of the most important steps. There are many certifications available online that will help you to stand out from the crowd as a skilled social media analyst.
   
   

Online Social Media Analyst Resources

If you are already working for a business, you can use these tools and resources to help your team members improve their online promotions and create new content for the brand. Some of the best online resources are listed below.

• Infogram. This website allows you to create charts and infographics. The software helps visualize data.
  
  
• Unsplash. This tool offers many high-quality, open-source images that have no copyright and can be used in creating graphics and posts.
  
  
• Death to Stock. Death to Stock is an artist co-op that provides new and authentic stock photos and videos. It offers unlimited downloads, and new options are added every month.
  
  
• Gary Vaynerchuk. The entrepreneur/author has a YouTube channel full of insight and tips on social media marketing.
  
  
• Buzz sumo. Strong content is a fundamental part of successful Web-based media promotion. It can be difficult to create good content, but this resource helps users find out what topics are popular.
  
  

Social Media Analyst Job Opportunities

There are many big companies that will pay high salaries to professionals with a degree in digital marketing who can increase online engagement.

Some types of social media analyst jobs available in the US are listed below.

• eCommerce. eCommerce and social media are interconnected. Social media users are always on the lookout for new products. eCommerce companies will hire social media marketers to capture the attention of these potential buyers to boost sales.
  
  
• Personal blogs. Celebrities and social media influencers with thousands of followers need people to manage and promote their profiles. They hire social media marketers on either a freelance or full-time basis. 
  
  
• Advertising. Advertisement agencies are always looking for experienced media analysts. These agencies promote their clients’ products and brands on social media platforms. 
  
  

Social Media Analyst Salary

According to PayScale.com, the annual salary of a social media manager varies from $28,000 to $94,000 per year. The average income of a social media analyst is estimated at around $50,500. 

An experienced social media manager will earn an average salary of $63,200 per year. Your salary is likely to increase steadily as you gain more experience over the years.

Sometimes, social media analysts also receive bonuses based on their performance and the financial performance of the company. To start your career as a social media analyst, you might want to work for a small business and gain experience before moving on to a bigger organization. 

Should You Learn Social Media Analysis?

Social media is a constantly developing field. Nowadays, with smartphone and digital platform usage rising, the need for social media marketing has also increased. 

The rapid increase in social media sites and users has led to more small and large businesses promoting their products online, so social media analysts are in high demand. Knowing how to communicate with an audience online is an important marketing skill that is best handled by dedicated professionals.

So, yes you should learn social media analyst skills as new platforms and technology promise to expand the influence of social media. It is an extremely effective way of increasing your business’s reach.