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Being a successful social media marketer requires careful planning and execution. This comprehensive checklist will provide you with all the necessary steps to excel in your role, from scheduling posts to engaging with your audience. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, this guide will help you navigate the world of social media management and achieve your goals.

Why become a Social Media Marketer?

“Cuz it’s Cool?”😎 Let’s face it: working from home seems like “the dream”. You don’t have to waste time commuting to an office, get scolded by a difficult boss or face unpleasant co-workers. 

What do you need to become a new Social Media Marketer: 

• A laptop
• Editing software (eg: Canva — don’t worry about design skills, there are plenty of templates you can modify)
• A mobile phone for taking photos and videos

That’s all.

Okay, so now that you have these items, you may want to know what it takes to become a successful social media manager. Well, it depends on your skills and how motivated you are… Being a social media manager is like any other job, some people will instantly start getting clients and projects while others will feel the burden of constantly searching for clients, and keeping up to date with the latest trends and topics.

I have been working in marketing since 2019 and still love it! 🥰 So much so, I have created a checklist to help you understand everything you need to be a social media marketer:

The 7-Step Checklist for New Social Media Managers

Let’s go through each of the steps in more detail.

1. Define your Business Goals

The most important task for a new social media manager is to figure out where they want to be in 6 months. I would suggest you use the SMART goals-setting framework when writing a business plan. This will help you think of and set proper objectives that are actionable and achievable within a set time frame. 

For example, let’s look at this SMART goal for social media marketers:

GOAL: “I want to boost the number of social media followers across Instagram and Facebook by 2000 in the next 6 months.”

This goal is :

S — Specific (it has specific targets)

M — Measurable (“2000 followers” is something you can measure)

A — Achievable (Yes, 2000 followers over 6 months is realistic and achievable)* Tip: do some research or look at competitors before you assign a target number

R — Relevant to business (Yes, growing social media followers has an impact on your business)

T — Time-bound (Yes, 6 months is a deadline)

2. Write your Strategic Positioning Statement 

Next, you want to write a strategic positioning statement. This is very important because it will serve as your pitch to new clients.

You can write your positioning statement by answering these 3 questions:

1. Who are you? — name and occupation
2. What do you do? — list the services you offer
3. Why should the client choose you instead of your competitors? — What’s your unique selling point?

Example of a strategic positioning statement:

“Hey, I’m Alle Ceambur and I’m a content marketer. I write SEO-friendly content for SaaS and Technology websites. My work is featured in Top 100 Marketing blogs, including Social Media Today, Jeff Bullas, Neal Schaffer, Pallyy.com, and more.“

PS: I like to use this statement on my website, email list signature, and in social media bios as an introduction to new followers and potential clients who don’t know me. 

3. Do an Audit of your Social Channels

Before you start posting anything new, take a step back and look at your old content. This is important because you want to know where you currently stand and then you can identify areas for improvement that will help you reach your new objectives. 

The good news is that you can do a social media audit pretty quickly, all you need is a simple checklist. I have a video tutorial to teach you how to audit your Instagram in just 30 min!

You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/A6VpjtX68kM

Additionally, here is my favorite tool for scheduling and analyzing social media content:

SIGN UP FREE: 📈Pallyy

4. Research your Competitors 

For social media marketers, knowing your competitors is key! Not only do we need to keep an eye on them because we want to know their latest promotions, but competitors can also help you learn more about your target audience. 

(You are trying to attract the same audience!)

Here are some key data I like to look at when doing competitor research: 

• What, when, and where do they post (which social media network)
• How often they post content (day/month)
• How do they interact with the audience (replying to comments, answering questions, etc)
• Followers growth (are they gaining or losing followers)
• Engagement rate, CTR, conversions (you can get this data from professional analytics tools like Pallyy)

5. Work out your Social Media Content Strategy

Once you’ve done an analysis of your top 3 competitors and internal audit, the next step is to build your content strategy. Remember to experiment with all kinds of content formats and prioritize posts that offer value for your target audience. 

Example of content:

• Educational posts: These are your quick tips, video tutorials, how to articles, and product demos
• Inspirational/motivational posts: You can share inspirational quotes from industry leaders, personal success stories,etc.
• Live Videos: Weekly livestream updates, educational webinars, answering questions from the audience

For detailed steps to building a content strategy check out my YouTube tutorial where I share my entire content planning process.

6. Optimize Scheduling to Multiple Social Platforms 

One thing that all social media marketers agree is that creating and posting content every day is time-consuming. 

But the good news is that there are apps like Buffer, SproutSocial or Pallyy that help you manage multiple clients and projects from a single dashboard. 

And if you’re serious about growing your social media clients, you need to use tools that help you save time and work more efficiently. Give these tools a try, and see which one suits you best before buying the paid plans. Learn more about which social media scheduler is best for marketers, bloggers or business.

7. Keep Track of What’s Working (& Do More of That!) 

The work of a social media manager is not finished after posting content. Managing social media profiles requires keeping track of what’s working, what isn’t working and finding ways to improve your content over time.

Quick quiz: How often should you track social media analytics? 

1. 1 day after you post
2. 1 week after each post
3. 1 month after posting
4. 4 months/quarterly
5. 6 months
6. 1 year

Correct answer: All of the above. 👆 

Post analytics can help you find gaps in your strategy, and see which posts are getting traction and what topics your audience resonates with. Then, use this info to plan your next month of content and improve your strategy.

PS: Tracking analytics also tells you when it’s time to change your strategy!

8. Engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages

As a social media manager, one of your key responsibilities is to engage with your audience. This means responding to comments and messages in a timely and meaningful manner. I don’t like to see people and brands ignoring messages and questions from their audience. When someone takes the time to leave a comment or send you a message, it’s important to acknowledge their effort and share your response as soon as possible.

Replying to comments, not only shows that you value people’s feedback, but it also helps you to build a sense of community and trust with your audience.

Additionally, engaging with your audience can help to increase your reach and visibility on social media platforms. So, make it a priority to regularly check and respond to comments and messages on your social media channels.

Concluding thoughts – New social media marketer checklist

If you’re a new social media manager, it’s important to have a strategic plan in place. This includes setting goals, conducting an audit of your current social media presence, and developing a content strategy. It’s also crucial to keep an eye on your competitors and learn from what’s working well for them. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other social media managers for feedback and advice. By following these steps and planning your social media content effectively, you’ll be on your way to success in your new role.

With all the tips I shared today, I hope you can start planning better social media content.