As more and more companies entrust us with their content marketing and social media efforts, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the types of people a leading marketing agencyis going to need to hire in the near and long-term future. While certain positions are up for debate, there is no escaping the fact that we're going to need more folks who can manage the social media aspects of a content marketing engagement. (If you’re wondering why I include social media as a piece of content marketing, read this before continuing.)
I’ve seen enough well-managed and poorly-managed social media efforts (and blog posts about them) to be able to narrow this down into the must-haves, nice-to-haves, and bonus points that I find particularly valuable.
* You are a marketer first, social media marketer second.
Social media marketing is just another marketing tactic in a pool of lots of marketing tactics. If you don’t understand how social media works with content marketing, SEO or email marketing, you’re simply not as qualified as the next candidate who does.
Some argue that writing has become less important in a world of scanners, skimmers and tweeters. On the contrary, writing is more important than ever.
* You understand that content drives social media marketing.
Social media conversations can be very fruitful, but conversations plus engaging content is the formula that takes your social media efforts to the next level.
* You embrace the “social” aspect of social media marketing.
You have to like reaching out to people and engaging in conversations, albeit conversations that are a bit different than the ones you might have in your living room. I don’t care if you know how to use every Twitter application in the universe; if you don’t start with a passion for learning about people, you’ll eventually grow tired of this position.
* You know or want to learn the ins and outs of social media properties.