What an SMM specialist should know. Marketing and promotion in social networks (SMM). What kind of SMM specialist is he? Qualities required by a professional

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SMM is a very attractive area for sharks of the pen and those who like to hang out on social networks. Here they pay well, and you can work for most companies remotely (a well-known specialist in social networks, SMM manager Aviasales, lives in Thailand, for example). But it’s not enough to want, you also need to clearly understand that the goal of the entire SMM strategy is to increase sales, and therefore SMM management is a full-time job, not without routine and boring approvals, but quite creative.

In this article you will find a summary of SMM courses and learn what promotion on social networks is. You can’t become a great SMM manager based on one article, but understanding what it is and whether you like this profession in order to choose the SMM training courses that suit you is no problem.

SMM terms

Target, targeted advertising, targeting– this is setting up advertising on social networks according to certain parameters: country, city, education, career, interests, audience of specific groups, visits to certain places. Coverage is adjusted using these parameters.

Retargeting– also setting up an audience, but for the audience that has already visited your website or visited your establishment. Tracked by a special code placed on the site (pixel) or geolocation.

Coverage– the number of people who will see your publication.

Engagement level() – the ratio of user reactions to a publication to its coverage. Reactions are likes, comments and reposts.

Conversion– ratio of target action to coverage. Targeted action may be a click on a link, registration or purchase.

Ranging– the algorithm by which posts appear in the feed. Depends on the engagement of the audience in the first hours after publication, the presence of a video in the post, and the interests of the audience. If there is a video or high engagement, and if the post matches the interests of the audience, the post will be shown higher in the feed.

Algorithmic tape– posts are shown according to an algorithm that determines what is worth showing (ranking), instead of being shown in chronological order.

Target audience (TA)– the audience that is most likely to be interested in your product or service. Each social network has its own audience, and it needs to. It will be different everywhere, this must be taken into account when creating posts.

What does an SMM manager do?

1. Creates a content plan for publications, adapts them for each social network, configures them or posts them manually.
2. Sets up targeted advertising on social networks
3. Negotiates mutual PR with related groups and profiles
4. Looking for bloggers and groups to advertise in their feed (seeding)
5. Analyzes statistics of publications, engagement, ROI (return on investment, that is, the return on advertising - whether it pays off or not), draws conclusions, adjusts the strategy

Sometimes an SMM manager outsources the writing of posts to a copywriter, sometimes he also writes on the blog himself. In startups, there are often not enough hands (and budgets), and one person can handle both social networks and marketing in general.

How to become an SMM manager

Get training, apply for an internship at an agency, or offer your services to friends; You can also start actively promoting your own account or a startup account for free. You will be able to practice and at the same time receive a case in your portfolio.

On topic: how to change your field of activity

Start with the basics, watch the free webinar How to become a professional SMM manager, and then go to courses. They teach well in Netology, you can also watch free official videos from

SMM manager- is a specialist in SMM (Social Media Marketing), a set of measures to promote websites, goods or services using social media tools, which include: blogs; social media; thematic Internet resources of the Web 2.0 class The profession is suitable for those who are interested in Russian language and literature and social studies (see choosing a profession based on interest in school subjects).

Short description

The profession of an SMM manager is at the intersection of marketing and IT, so a specialist is required to have high computer literacy in the field of creating and filling websites, knowledge of marketing communications strategy, basic knowledge of programming languages ​​and graphic editors, online applications and tools.

Why do you need SMM?

SMM promotion is an extremely dynamic process, during which you must constantly monitor changes in the interests of the audience and the emergence of new trends.

Features of the profession

What does an SMM manager do:

• strategy development - identifying the target audience and studying its interests, behavior, searching for sites with a high concentration of the target audience, developing a customer loyalty system, integrating SMM activity into the company’s overall marketing strategy;
• advertising management - holding competitions, flash mobs, developing applications for social networks, creating channels on video hosting sites;
• reputation management - collecting feedback from the target audience and reacting to comments, influencing the public through PR materials on social networks;
• community management - directing discussions in the right direction, increasing user activity in communities, neutralizing negative users, organizing support services through social networks;
• maintaining accounts and moderating them on all social networks;
• working with contractors (freelancers);
• content management - adapting branded content to a blog or video hosting format, writing texts for a social network format, sending out releases, creating scripts for videos;
• working with interfaces - integrating a website with social networks and social networks with an electronic store, creating incentives for joining, creating start pages and tabs;
• working with opinion leaders and using “agents of influence” in social networks - identifying opinion leaders for the target audience and organizing events for them;
• monitoring and analysis;
• creation, support and promotion of corporate accounts in blogging services
• hidden marketing and advertising on blogs.

The functional responsibilities of an SMM manager include:

Pros and cons of the profession SMM manager

Pros:

• A job in demand, as demand in the market for social media marketing services is constantly growing;
• loyal attitude of users compared to a negative attitude towards direct advertising of goods and services;
• large-scale ability to accurately select the target audience;
• low cost of promotions;
• the rapid effect of word of mouth.

Minuses:

Training to become an SMM manager

The principles of offline marketing also apply online. Along with this, serious knowledge in the field of Internet marketing is welcome, which can be obtained at the relevant courses: Yandex seminars on Internet advertising, the Internet and Business conference, etc.

Practical intensive course "SMM manager" SMM Digital Agency with 17 years of experience. All the most important things, without water. Only the necessary materials, practice, and detailed analysis of cases. Upon completion of the course you will receive a certificate. Individual checking of homework by the teacher. You can study in a convenient place, from your mobile phone, tablet or laptop. During the course, you receive theory plus homework: practicing new skills in practice, as well as a handout with a list of useful books, podcasts, YouTuBe and Telegram channels. The course is taught by practicing specialists with more than 5 years of experience in Internet marketing.

Universities

Due to the novelty of this profession, this particular specialty is not taught in any university. But university graduates with majors in journalism, mathematics, physics or cybernetics, and especially marketing, work successfully in this field.

You can become a marketing specialist and gain real marketing thinking by enrolling in leading universities in the capital:

State University of Management (SUM)

Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI),

Russian Economic Academy named after. G.V. Plekhanov (REA named after G.V. PLEKHANOV)

Russian State Humanitarian University (RGGU)

Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN).

The specialty “Marketing” is also available in many non-state universities: the Moscow International Higher School of Business “MIRBIS”, the International Academy of Marketing and Management (“MAMARMEN”), the Moscow Financial and Industrial Academy (IFPA), the International Academy of Business and Management (MABiU) and etc.

Place of work

Online trading projects operating using the E-Commerce Marketplace system (mediation between stores and customers); companies using the Internet to conduct important marketing campaigns to promote their products.

SMM manager salary

Salary as of 07/03/2019

Russia 20000—60000 ₽

Moscow 35000—70000 ₽

The salary level depends on the specialist’s qualification level, the scale of the project and the breadth of functional responsibilities, and also has regional dependence.

Career steps and prospects

In the future, a good specialist can head the Internet projects department in a large business, take a leadership position in a specialized company, or open his own Internet agency.

Portrait and types of SMM managers:

There are several types of specialists in this field:

1. Moderators of the VKontakte group,Fineknowledgeable features of their group and the format of communication in it, but may be unfamiliar with other platforms. As a rule, they are young and work for the future. They are not able to create an active group on the desired topic from scratch and develop a digital strategy.

2. LJ-ists,have been blogging for many years. They have experience in promoting blogs in LiveJournal to the level of “thousands” using a variety of methods, work in communities, offer blog posts and hold competitions. As a rule, they do not know how to work on Facebook, VKontakte, Twitter. They do not have the skills to write advertising commercial proposals for agencies or clients.

3. Former or current SEO optimizers, smo specialists,which actively use automated methods, know how to “drive traffic”, optimize blogs, and own a database of virtuals on all platforms. The issue of SMM management is approached with SEO thinking in the form of spam, mailings, etc.

4. Humble but capable performers,able accurately carry out the assigned task. They usually work as freelancers for a small fee. They competently carry out monitoring, search for the necessary information, communicate skillfully on forums, but are not strong in matters of self-promotion.

5. Project managers in agencieswith experience inPR-companies that are well versed in social networks.

6. Stars with marketing thinking, extensive experience in the market, able to sell, lead projects, develop strategy, manage a team of employees, run blogs and conferences. They have their own projects with high results.

7. Digital creator- a super professional at the level of the owner of his own agency or the head of the coolest company

Hello, dear readers!

The life of a modern person is extremely closely connected with the Internet.

The advent of the World Wide Web has revolutionized communications.

Thanks to the Internet we can:

• talk to your friends and family at any time,
• to meet new people,
• buy any goods we need without leaving home.

All kinds of communities are especially popular: social networks, forums, blogs. The high level of user activity has led to the emergence of new professions designed to ensure the development and promotion of web resources.

Today, one of the most popular professions on the Internet is an SMM specialist. Who is this, what does he do? Why is this profession popular and how to become a professional? Let's talk about all this today.

SMM promotion

Social Media Marketing (SMM) involves using the capabilities of social networks to attract users to certain Internet resources.

The main tasks of SMM specialists are:

• Neutralization of “black PR” (actions aimed at deteriorating the image);
• Dealing with negative reviews;
• Increasing the number of potential clients;
• Strengthening the client's image;
• Popularization of the website, brand on social networks.

To responsibilities NOT include direct sales.

the main task– ensure growth of the client’s profits.

The client independently chooses the social network in which he wants to promote his product: Odnoklassniki, Facebook, Vkontakte and others. Or it may leave the right of choice to a professional who is obliged to know in which social network. network promotion of the project will be the most effective.

Do you want to become an SMM specialist?

So, how to become an SMM specialist? Four important components will help you achieve this goal:

1. studying thematic web resources,
2. blog tracking,
3. reading specialized literature,
4. practice.

You must have the following skills:

1. Respond quickly to the slightest change in user mood;
2. It is interesting and competent to present the material;
3. Know all the features of social media. channels;
4. Collect and structure various information;
5. Availability of communication skills.

The following can play a big role in your professional development:

1. having connections with owners of large communities,
2. experience in creating a group on social networks,
3. appropriate education.

What do we have to do?

To start providing services for promoting websites and brands on social networks, you should first learn the basics of social psychology. You must learn how to create and lead groups to understand the specifics of attracting an audience. You also need to be well aware of the features of creating viral content and be very active.

Knowledge of the basic principles of behavioral psychology is key to success in this profession. Another important element is the basics of marketing. Having these two components of success, you can safely begin experimenting on social networks.

As with anything else, you should learn the theory first. It is worth reading materials that reveal the essence of SMM. From books on promotion in social networks, I advise you to read Damir Khalilov’s book “ Social Media Marketing».

1. « VKontakte group administrator»
2. « Facebook Administrator».

In addition to theory and practice, pay attention to all kinds of training. Take part in them and you can learn a lot of useful things that even books won’t tell you about.

Sincerely! Abdullin Ruslan

- who he is, salary, etc. And today I would like to delve deeper into this topic and talk about how to become an SMM specialist.

Imagine that you are faced with the task of promoting a small group of 100 people to 20,000 subscribers.

There are two ways to implement a project: fast and slow. To understand the difference, let's compare them based on key indicators.

Fast	Slow
Use of “black” SMM tools (spam, fictitious competitions)	Development and implementation of thoughtful marketing strategies
Price
It is cheap	Market price, which depends on the features of the project
Subscribers
Astrakhan stores, Nina Clothes, Vasya Obuv and other users that are useless to your customer	Every user is a potential client
Result
20,000 subscribers	20,000 subscribers
Long term effect
Declining interest in the community	Sales growth

Portrait of the audience formed by “black” SMM specialists.

Remember: no one is interested in cheap SMM promotion. Therefore, further in the article we will consider only those recommendations with the help of which you can receive well-paid orders. This means a lot of studying, thinking and practice.

When you start from scratch, you first begin to evaluate the profession in terms of monthly income, prestige and career growth. It is not right. To get the listed attributes, you need to love your job.

Perhaps now this may seem like a banal introduction, but when you start, you will be forced to work around the clock with social networks, study and simultaneously solve the problems of your customers.

It's tiring and exhausting. Therefore, if you are not ready for difficulties, look for another activity. If everything is in order, let's talk about how to get started without experience. The development plan consists of only five stages.

1. Learn the skills required by an SMM specialist.
2. Choose a learning method.
3. Apply for a job.
4. Do anything and earn money.
5. Become a department head or create your own company.

Now let's talk about the details.

Key skills of an SMM specialist

Additional skills of an SMM specialist

This set of skills depends on the project conditions, the individual wishes of the customer and the chosen promotion strategy. Let's look at a few examples.

If you don’t have time to acquire the necessary skills, then learn how to find performers.
Let's move on to studying learning methods.

Option No. 1. Searching for clients for SMM agencies

Let's figure out where to start and how this scheme works.

1. Find several SMM agencies from which you would like to receive training.
2. Find a client who wants to develop their project using SMM technologies.
3. Contact the selected SMM agencies with a business proposal: you give them clients and your free time - they give you skills and a small percentage of the order.
4. Start cooperating with an agency that will offer the best conditions.
5. After training, make a plan for the future: continue working in an SMM agency, become a freelancer, or open your own studio.

This method has a simplified version. You are making a proposal for cooperation not to an SMM agency, but to a freelancer. If a specialist is in demand, he will be happy to ship you a carload of small tasks for a nominal fee.

Below you can see the main stages of launching a VK company. Each user can implement most steps without preparation. If you have any questions, consult your mentor. Work on other projects is happening in a similar way.

P.S. Click on the image for easy viewing

Option number 2. Training courses

Paid courses will help you quickly master your specialty and move on to earning money on your own. Please take a look at the programs presented below.

Online training at the Internet marketing agency "Envelope Monster"

Program "". This is a practical training course for specialists in promotion on social networks with training on your project.

After completing the course you will receive:

• access to the agency’s vacancy database, which will allow you to start earning money immediately after training;
• useful knowledge that is not shared on the Internet and public universities;
• a sought-after Internet profession with a flexible schedule and remote work;
• a well-developed portfolio confirming your qualifications;
• certificate of SMM manager and letter of recommendation from the director of the Envelope Monster agency.

If it is more convenient for you to study on an individual schedule, you can purchase a video recording of the course “ Social media promotion specialist, SMM manager" This is the same theoretical material that comes without feedback and checking homework.

Studying at the online university Netology

Program " SMM manager: business promotion on social networks" At the end of the course, each student will receive a diploma, which will be an excellent addition to their resume for employment. All profiles are visible to large companies that invite the best students to work.

Training courses
Advantages	Flaws
Skill acquisition takes place under the guidance of experienced mentors	You have to pay for quality training
Already during training you can put your knowledge into practice and earn money	Work and study take up a lot of time
You will learn the main programs for SMM specialists
In addition to technical skills, you will learn how to find clients and negotiate cooperation
You will develop a portfolio and be able to confirm your qualifications with completed projects

Option number 3. Self-education

If you decide to train as an SMM specialist on your own, start with small orders. Let's say you've studied the theory of launching a marketing strategy.

Now you need to consolidate the skill. Visit freelance exchanges and find clients in need of a similar service. Implement the project, receive payment and move on to mastering a new SMM tool.

Dear readers. Now you have a general idea of ​​how to become a successful and in-demand SMM specialist. All you have to do is choose the path of development and immediately move on to its implementation. Subscribe to my blog updates and share this article with your friends. Good luck!

P.S. In that application We have compiled a list of useful books, programs and public pages that will help you delve deeper into professions and find your first job.

We've released a new book, Social Media Content Marketing: How to Get Inside Your Followers' Heads and Make Them Fall in Love with Your Brand.

An SMM marketer is a specialist who attracts traffic from social networks for companies.

Such an employee can be compared to a magician. One who skillfully juggles several objects in the air at once. All the attention of the public at this moment is concentrated on the circus performer. The same is true in social media marketing. A true professional in this field is a one-man orchestra. He uses a large number of tools to gather his target audience around the brand, expand its reach, and increase profits. There is only one difference - people look at the brand, and not at the SMMer himself.

Ideal SMM marketer for the project

It's not easy to be such a specialist. To give you an idea of ​​the scale, a few years ago an article was published about one hundred skills that he should master. We will talk about key skills. In general, such an employee is responsible for all work with content, communications and traffic.

What are the responsibilities of an SMM marketer?

• Analysis of competitors' activities.
• Research of preferences and reactions of potential buyers.
• Drawing up a content plan for the month.
• Preparation of a brand or product promotion strategy.
• Creation, content and maintenance of a group, public, account.
• Communication with users, etc.
• Attracting people to the community.
• Studying new trends and implementing them when necessary.
• Conducting competitions and quizzes.
• Setting up targeted and contextual advertising, searching for a platform for its placement.
• Tracking indicators using special services (number of subscribers, growth in coverage, number of transitions to the site, company recognition, involvement, user activity, return on money invested in promotion).

Qualities and skills of a good SMM manager

Do you like to use social networks? Do you know how to communicate with different people? Do you have analytical thinking? If you answered “yes” to all these questions, you have a good chance of becoming a... Of course, you will need a lot more skills to grow into a professional.

• Literacy. Communities run by a specialist are the face of the brand. Mistakes are unacceptable, as they can cause negative reactions from subscribers.
• Introduction to graphic editors. Most of the content you will have to deal with is visual. Resizing an image, adding a logo to it, enhancing a photo - all this should not be a problem for you.
• Knowledge. It is very important to learn at least the basics, because this position involves working with the company’s reputation, attracting clients, managing advertising and its budget.
• Ability to write texts. You need to know the nuances and formulas of writing informational and regular posts. You also need to have an instinct and understand what your target audience will like.
• Understanding psychology. The specialist’s responsibilities include communicating with subscribers, increasing visitor activity, and responding to negative reviews and messages.
• Creative thinking. You will need it in order to easily generate new promotion ideas, create competitions, promotions, and features to increase audience involvement.
• Knowledge of web analytics tools and services that help evaluate work results.

How to become an SMM specialist

There are no educational institutions where you can obtain the necessary skills, but there are numerous courses. A higher education as a marketer will be a good help. But the only guarantee of success for an SMM manager is constant self-education.

• Read books on PR, SEO, copywriting, advertising. All this will be useful in your activities.
• Watch video tutorials. There is plenty of free material on YouTube and other sites.
• Take online and regular master classes. Don't miss the chance to chat live with an expert. This way you will receive valuable advice and be inspired by his example.
• Public pages, groups, blogs, Instagrams on relevant topics. There are a lot of them: Cossa, SMMPlanner, Popartmarketing, Instashkola, vk.com/bizness_online, vk.com/cerebro_vk and more.

There are a lot of sources; you need to be able to structure the information received and immediately apply it in practice. Remember that theoretical training is important, but it will not make you a professional. How to gain invaluable experience?

To get started, create personal accounts on those sites where you want to work first. You can immediately apply all the knowledge gained on your account. In addition, it will be strange if an SMM marketer does not have his own page. This way you will kill two birds with one stone: you will begin to create a personal brand and develop skills.

There are several more ways to learn how to promote on social networks from scratch:

• Come up with a company and promote it.
• Create communities for the businesses of your acquaintances.
• Find companies that clearly need help and offer your services.
• Get a job as an intern at an agency or with a well-known specialist.

How to learn to write

You need practice. The more you write, the better you get at it. Read books about sales and informational texts, think about what interests your audience (real or fictional) and get started. You can create your own tasks or register on a content exchange. The second option is less suitable, since an interesting task is not always found. But for completing it you will receive payment (albeit small), overcome the fear of a blank sheet and get an idea of ​​​​what commercial articles are.

An SMM specialist is a complex and in-demand profession. If you decide to become an SMM specialist, get ready for constant self-education, experiments and irregular days. Very often, such specialists are in touch most of the day, since you also need to be a community manager, which means answering subscribers’ questions in a timely manner. This can be called the main disadvantage of working on social networks. Otherwise, this is an exciting activity, during which you will gain a lot of knowledge and skills in related fields and become a sought-after employee.