Did you know that about 77% of small businesses use social media to market their products or services? And, yet many of these businesses don’t have an effective social media marketing strategy. What if you could help them grow by analyzing their current strategy and coming up with a better one? If you’re considering becoming a social media analyst or hiring one for your own business, this guide is for you. We’ll talk about the role of a social media analyst in a marketing team and how they can help a business grow. Let’s dive in.
What Does a Social Media Analyst Do?
The exact responsibilities depend on the marketing strategy, goals, and preferences of a business. The main job is to study the current strategies of a business, identify potential improvements, and create a report. Here are the most common responsibilities you can expect to handle as an analyst.
Growth Analysis
A social media analyst studies a company’s existing growth trajectory, identifies loopholes & opportunities, and reports them to the relevant team members.
Strategy Creation
As a social media analyst, you may be responsible for using the data you collect to create marketing strategies for other team members to implement.
User Engagement Analysis
Another job is to analyze and understand the way the audience of a brand interacts and engages with the company’s different social media profiles. This includes the views, comments, shares, and the click-through rates.
Research Platforms
Social media analysts can also research current and emerging social media platforms and identify the right options for a brand depending on its goals.
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Improve Advertising Campaigns
Advertising is another element of social media marketing where an analyst can help the relevant team identify the best way forward for their ad campaigns.
Competitor Analysis
Businesses also want to know what their competitors are doing and identify what’s working for them and what isn’t. A social media analyst can help these businesses pinpoint gaps and growth opportunities with competitor research.
Trend Monitoring
Social media platforms are always evolving and making updates to meet users’ expectations. A social media analyst watches the trends and algorithm updates to make sure you’re moving in the right direction.
How to Become a Social Media Analyst?
Nearly 40% of small businesses lack a social media marketing strategy, which means you can offer them your services and get paid handsomely. Here’s how to become a social media analyst.
Gain Relevant Education
Start by getting relevant education, such as a bachelor’s in communications, marketing, and data analytics. This will give you the fundamental knowledge to move forward with confidence. You can also get professional certifications from reputable platforms like HubSpot, Hootsuite, and Google.
Develop Key Skills
The next step should be to develop the skills required to be a good social media professional. These include analytical skills, communication skills, content strategy development, and technical skills (Including an understanding of different analytics tools like Google Analytics).
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Get Hands-On Experience
Once you have the basic knowledge of how to collect data and use it to deduce conclusions, it’s time to get some hands-on experience. Working on personal projects is probably the easiest way to get some hands-on experience. You can also work on a project-basis as a freelancer or offer your services as an intern to a company to get things going for yourself.
Build a Portfolio
Your portfolio includes reports, results, and case studies. It’s essentially the things that can back up your skills and experience. Simply share the results you’ve successfully generated with a social media marketing campaign.
Apply for Jobs or Network
Go for entry-level roles in the beginning, such as a marketing assistant, to gain exposure before advancing to a more advanced analytics position. Be sure to have a short resume that highlights your experience, skills, and portfolio.
What Skills Does a Social Media Analyst Need?
Let’s briefly discuss the main skills you need to be an effective social media analyst.
Analytical Skills
These include the ability to track and interpret social media analytics such as impressions, clicks, conversion rates, and click-through rates). You’ll need to identify patterns and trends with this data and devise strategies accordingly.
Technical Skills
Understanding the social media platforms and data analysis tools is an important part of the role. You’ll need a good grip on tools like Hootsuite, Google Analytics, and more (Depending on what tool your company uses for data analysis).
Communication Skills
In addition to being good at understanding and interpreting data, you also need to establish an effective communication channel with the marketing team.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Let’s address some frequently asked questions about the role of a social media analyst.
What is the Role of a Social Media Analyst?
A social media analyst tracks performance metrics, analyzes audience behavior, creates reports, and creates marketing strategies for brands.
What Do You Need to Become a Social Media Analyst?
To become a social media analyst, you need analytical skills, proficiency in analytical tools, an understanding of social media platforms, and marketing expertise.
What is the Salary of a Social Media Analyst?
An average social media analyst earns anywhere around $32/hour, making it an attractive role from a salary perspective.
Conclusion
A social media analyst plays a crucial role in helping brands stay on the right track by tracking, analyzing, and interpreting key marketing metrics. The role involves growth analysis, user engagement analysis, competitor research, communication with the marketing team, and more. To become a social media analyst, you need to be good at analyzing data and deducing meaningful insights to help the brand make informed marketing decisions.
Sources:
- https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/what-does-social-media-analyst-do
- https://www.wgu.edu/career-guide/business/media-analyst-career.html
- https://resources.workable.com/social-media-analyst-job-description
- https://www.score.org/resource/infographic/infographic-how-your-small-business-can-succeed-social-media?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Social-Media-Data-Analyst-Salary
- https://www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/nearly-40-of-small-businesses-have-no-social-media-marketing-strategy/?utm_source=chatgpt.com