Difference between Social Media Manager and Social Media Specialist

The massive growth of social media has expanded job opportunities, especially for those who are social media savvy. Social media manager and social media specialist are jobs that are in high demand today. 

Before diving into social media, you need to have an in-depth knowledge of social media, content marketing, and the role of each position in the social media department.  

Social Media Manager 

The Social Media Manager (SMM) is responsible for managing the social media strategy. This includes creating, planning, and executing the strategy, as well as monitoring the performance of both the strategy and the social media staff. 

A SMM must ensure that all content posted is high quality (accurate and engaging), consistent with brand identity, and aligned with business objectives. 

Here is an example job description for a social media manager:   

- Build solid brand awareness and create a great brand image through social media.    

- Lead and manage the social media department in strategy development. 

- Work closely with the marketing and PR team to develop social media marketing campaigns.

- Oversee the look and feel of all social media accounts.   

- Analyze the brand's social media weaknesses and create improvements. 

- Maintain good relationships with customers and other stakeholders through social media. 

- Set key performance indicators (KPIs) for each social media campaign, such as: number of views, shares, etc. 

- Measure the performance of the campaign against the KPIs.  

Social Media Specialist  

The Social Media Specialist (SMS) is responsible for optimizing and analyzing social media activities. This includes managing social media campaigns and promotions, analyzing social media performance, seeking and identifying opportunities to increase brand visibility. 

In order to identify opportunities, a Social Media Specialist must keep up with the latest social media trends and developments. This allows the social media team to create and execute a relevant and up-to-date strategy. 

Here is a sample Social Media Specialist job description:   

- Develop and implement effective social media strategies. 

- Conduct competitive research to build a solid strategy. 

- Identify the audience.   

- Increase brand social media engagement. 

- Identify opportunities to influence public perception of the brand through compelling content. 

- Work closely with the creative team (editors, designers, copywriters, etc.) to create engaging and compelling content. 

- Create editorial calendars. 

- Analyze social media metrics to determine best practices. 

- Collaborate with sales and customer service to coordinate efforts and manage reputation.  

- Collaborate with influencers and key opinion leaders to influence public opinion. 

Social Media Manager vs Social Media Specialist  

The goals of the social media department are usually to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to websites, create a good brand image, etc.     

Therefore, the SMM and SMS need to work together to create and implement a solid and effective social media strategy. 

Although they have the same goals, the SMM and SMS have some differences that can be found through the job description above. 

The SMM has much broader responsibilities than the SMS. This position has to ensure the effectiveness of each social media strategy and campaign, lead the department and manage the budgets. On the other hand, the SMS is responsible for executing and implementing social media strategies. 

The SMS needs some technical skills such as: copywriting, deep understanding of social media algorithms and data analysis. On the other hand, the SMM needs to be skilled in social media, marketing and leadership. In this way, the SMM can lead the social media department to develop effective and efficient strategies.  

The SMS must report to the SMM. As a manager, the SMM must report directly to higher-level executives, such as the digital marketing manager or the CEO.    

There are some differences between a social media manager and a social media specialist. In short, the manager has much broader responsibilities than the specialist. That's why the manager needs to have many useful skills other than social media technical skills.