A Day in the life – Social Media Marketer

I decided to chronicle a typical day doing social media marketing. “A Day in the life”. A day for me as the Director of social media at Signify (formally Philips Lighting). People often are mystified as to what my team and I do all day.

Let me first start by looking at why roles like mine are important. Experts are needed that know how to find customer insights and improve results against demanding marketing and business goals. I always start by looking at what the business goal is for each project. Therefore social media should aim to get measurable results that contribute towards those goals.

Campaign Tactics

Creating social media tactics is one of my most enjoyable tasks. I love coming up with concepts and seeing them tested as the campaign unfolds. I love thinking outside the box.

Social listening is by far my favorite social media activity. Indeed, I see it as an unique skill. Creating insights that paint pictures of possible solutions or conclusions to difficult questions, much like a painter creates artwork. I have used many tools so I know it is possible to do social listening even on a low budget.

Competitor and industry analysis

A great amount of intelligence can be gained about competitors and new industry trends via social media data mining. I love creating “share of voice” dashboards that update in real time on mobile devices. These can be used by key stakeholders and also visible on large social media command center screens.

User generated content

User generated content (UGC) is one of the most predicted uses of social media marketing for many brands. I love it. According to Nielsen (Global Consumer Trust Index, 2014, Forbes: Are Brands Wielding More Influence In Social Media Than We Thought?, 2012):

92% of consumers trust earned media more than owned media
81% of purchase decisions are peer influenced
Customers are 6x more likely to purchase a product if the page includes pictures fro social media. A great example of social proof.

"It is those moments when the social media marketing that I do has a big impact on the business that makes it all worthwhile"
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These are just three of the reasons why I love working with UGC. I look forward to implementing them in email, web and of course social media. However, social media marketers must be tough on curation, ensuring brand and privacy guidelines are enforced.

Audience Analysis

I am often asked to provide suggestions about influencers on a certain topic. A typical task for “A Day in the life” for me. This is one of the most difficult things to do and time consuming. This is such a deep topic. Just because a person with 300,000 followers mentions your product does not make them a “sure fire” influencer for your brand. There is so much more to this topic.

Interacting with Followers

I really appreciate when I get an opportunity to go back to basics. Interacting with followers, potential customers, and communities in general. Social media is all about people, and I have always liked the interaction with real people.

Gone are the days of entrusting your social media approach to interns. Social media marketers must understand the key role that community management plays in creating an authentic brand presence. A presence reflecting the tone, personality, and the brand promise. I played the role of a community manager 10 years ago when our company accounts were in their infancy. I learned many valuable lessons that I still use today.

Doing Presentations

Last but not least is presenting. I love presenting. Whether that be presenting campaign results 1-1 or traveling overseas to be a keynote at an event with 500+ delegates; it really does not matter. There is a degree of admin to what I do every day, and that I am resigned to. Managing seats, connecting ad accounts, etc. It all seems worthwhile when I can express social media marketing insights that are a game changer to the audience. To see that look from the audience. The look that says “this information is crucial to me, now I know what social media marketing can do”. That means a lot to me.