What’s the Director of Social Media Communications and How to Become One?
With over 3.96 billion active users, social media has now become a powerful communication medium. It has greatly influenced businesses and changed the way people communicate.
Today, innumerable businesses rely on social media to communicate with their customers in order to increase brand awareness, sell products or services, and boost total revenue. Companies hire directors of social media communications to oversee goal-oriented communication processes and promote their mission on multiple social media platforms.
The director of social media communications is a high-level, leading role that is responsible for improving a brand’s image through effective communication plans and campaigns.
This article will describe the responsibilities, skills, qualifications, and salary of a director of social media communications in the US. You will also learn the best ways of improving your social media communication skills.
Director of social media communications
It is a high-level post in which the director forms, executes, manages, and analyzes internal as well as external communication programs to help a company promote its products and services. He works closely with social media relations, marketing and management teams to shape the company’s social media reputation.
He makes sure that social media communication goals align well with the company’s key objectives and accurately represent it on multiple social media channels. He may also act as the spokesperson of the company, communicating information that the public needs.
Responsibilities of the director of social media communications
A director of social media communications performs multiple tasks every day. Some examples of his daily duties include:
Identify the voice of the brand
The brand voice forms the brand’s personality and makes it unique from the other brands. It must stay consistent in all forms of communication, including emails, social media posts, advertising, etc.
The director of social media communications works with other teams to identify the brand’s voice (if it has not been identified before), and then he makes sure his target audience, and the world receives content in the same voice.
Develop communication strategies
The director of social media communications designs communication strategies that outline how a particular message will be delivered to a specific audience. In this strategy, he defines communication objectives, the organization’s mission statement, target audience, key communication tactics, and main communication channels.
The strategy helps all teams gain clarity on how to communicate with customers more effectively.
Manage strategic social media communications
Managing communication across all social media channels is another important responsibility of the director of social media communications. He also handles internal communications to ensure an effective flow of information between different teams.
Evaluate social media communication activities
The director of social media communications regularly checks all the social media business profiles of the company to see how the current activities are performing. He makes sure that his target audience feels heard and valued through all the communication activities.
Measure the success of activities and prepare a report
The director of social media communications measures important metrics and KPIs to see if communication activities and strategies are producing the desired results or not. If the results are not up to the mark, he makes necessary amendments to plans and activities to improve their performance.
He also prepares a well-structured report on the performance of activities and presents it to the upper management. He informs them about the goals of the communication strategy and how different activities have helped the company achieve them.
Internal advice
Although managing social media communications is the key responsibility of the director of social media communications, he also forms an internal communication strategy to create a healthy work environment. He assists both new and experienced employees whenever they need any help. He gives them constructive feedback and values their ideas.
Oversee the production of social media marketing materials
The design and message of social media marketing material should align with the goals of the social media communication strategy.
Therefore, the director of social media communications oversees all forms of marketing materials, including social media post designs, post content, branded hashtags, cover photos, and videos before they are made public.
Coordinate with the social media marketing and management teams
He not only oversees the work of his own team but also checks the content and performance of social media marketing and management teams. This helps him make sure all teams are working on the same product/service/project according to the tactics and plans described in the communication strategy.
Respond to social media communication-related problems on time
Problems are bound to happen in organizations no matter how experienced and qualified their teams are. Companies that resolve them on time save significant time, effort, and energy.
The director of social media communications keeps an eye on all the tasks and activities happening in his department. If a problem arises, his good decision-making and problem-solving abilities help you tackle the issue on time.
Budget development
The director of social media communications creates a spending plan to determine in advance if he has enough money to meet social media communication goals or purchase the resources he needs to achieve monthly goals. It helps him reduce monthly costs and increase returns on investments.
Skills of the director of social media communications
A successful director of social media communications possesses the following skills:
- His oral and written communication skills should be exceptional, so he can compose well-structured and written messages on behalf of the company.
- He needs to have good attention to detail, so he can make social media messages error-free before he sends them.
- He should have the confidence to communicate with all audiences and stakeholders whenever the need arises.
- He should not hesitate to take communication and marketing initiatives.
- He should have strong knowledge of current social media trends, tools, and techniques, so he can use them to maximize the performance of all social media profiles of the company.
- He should have leadership qualities so he can lead a communication team and coordinate with others to achieve mutual goals.
- He should have project management, time management, and planning skills to build winning social media communication strategies.
Become the director of social media communications
Want to become a director of social media communications? Here is what you need to do.
Complete your education: Education is one of the first things employers check during an interview. It shows you have dedicated your years to gain knowledge and become who you are today.
A director of social media communications should be good at his communications skills. Therefore, any field that helps you get better at it will be good to start with. Get your bachelor’s degree in a relevant field. Examples of fields that best suit the director of social media communications post include:
- Mass communication
- Marketing
- Social media marketing
- Business administration
- Advertising
- Public relations
Learn social media communication skills: While completing your degree, start a course to improve your social media as well as communications skills. Google and YouTube have a variety of free resources you can learn from as a beginner. If you want to advance your skills, you can join a paid course that teaches exactly what you want to learn in detail or allows you to have direct communication with the trainer.
Gain some experience: Since the social media communications director post is a high-level post, you need to have years of experience to reach this level. So, it is better to start a job as soon as you get the time and the opportunity.
Start with small firms that don’t really care about the experience and give an equal chance to new graduates or beginners. Help them improve their social media presence with your skills and knowledge.
While working for small firms, keep looking for bigger opportunities as well. Sites like Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and Monster post new jobs almost every day. Keep checking them to find a high-paying job offering more growth opportunities.
Follow the social media profiles of companies where you dream of working. They will update their followers when a vacancy arises.
Apply for the job: Now that you have the required education, skills, and a few years of experience under your belt, you are a suitable candidate for the director of social media communications post.
Keep looking for job opportunities on social media and job posting sites. You will soon find what you truly deserve!
The annual salary of the director of social media communications in the US
The average salary of a director of social media communications is approximately $79,997 per year. It consists of $60,656 base pay per year and $19,342 additional pay per year. The additional pay comes in the form of tips, cash bonuses, and commissions.
Positions similar to the director of social media communications
Many positions in an organization may have similar responsibilities. Some examples of these positions include director of social media relations, director of community, director of social media marketing and branding, and director of digital communications.
Ways to improve your social media communication skills
The director of social media communications should have excellent communication skills to convey the company’s message to his target audience in the best possible way.
These tips will help you advance your written communication skills and become a successful professional.
Be a good listener
Communication is a two-way street. If you want others to listen to you, you must also become a good listener. You cannot just keep expressing yourself without giving others any chance to speak to you. The same goes for social media communication. Give equal opportunity to your audience to share their thoughts and respond to them to indicate you value their views.
Put yourself in your audience’s shoes
While communicating with your audience on social media, it is important to understand them so you can communicate with them using the right words, tone, and formalities. After writing a message, read it and pretend you are the receiver. It will help you write a message that the receiver can easily read and understand.
Read the content/message before you press the post/send button
A small error in your content can significantly reduce its impact. Make sure you check the grammar, punctuation, tone, readability, and fluidity of your content before you publish it on social media. Make the content error-free so that its purpose can become crystal clear for all.
Give a logical structure to your sentences
Your audience should be able to quickly understand your messages. But if your sentences are poorly-structured, they will have trouble comprehending their true meaning. As a result, they may not respond to your messages at all. To avoid this issue, it is important you use a clear sentence structure.
Watch your tone
While talking to your audience, either through direct messages or social media posts, make sure you use a professional tone. Don’t use derogatory words, no matter how frustrating the other person is. Doing so can make you appear unprofessional. It can also ruin your business relationship with that person.
Double check the facts
Many people write excellent social media content but neglect fact-checking; as a result, they end up misleading their audience unintentionally. If this happens, your content and even brand will lose its credibility in the eyes of your audience.
Be brief
In written communication, you need to be brief yet specific. Your message should give all the information that your audience needs. There is no need to add fluff or fancy words to make it seem long and important. Doing so will only make the message boring and complicated.
Takeaway
The director of social media communications is in charge of both internal and external communication. He ensures the company’s messages and all forms of content are engaging, comprehensible, and consistent, so he can improve its communication efforts.
The director of social media communications is a high-level position, so you must have years of experience to get a job as a director. You need to have a strong desire for personal growth and the ability to constantly develop new ideas to be in this role.