Career guide
Social Media Manager Job Description: Template and What the Job Involves
A social media manager owns a brand's presence on social platforms and the results it produces. They plan the content calendar, get posts and videos made, run community and creator work, report on performance and handle problems when they happen. Below is a job description template you can adapt and a plain account of the work behind it.
Key takeaways
- A social media manager owns a brand's presence on social platforms and answers for the results it produces.
- The social media manager job covers the content calendar, getting posts and videos made, community and creator work, reporting and handling problems as they happen.
- The social media manager title covers several different jobs, so read each posting closely to see which one it is.
- Strong teams measure social media managers on results tied to a business goal, not only engagement and follower counts.
- When you apply for a social media manager role, lead your resume and portfolio with whatever the posting stresses most, such as creators or video.
What does a social media manager do?
A social media manager decides what a brand says on social platforms, makes sure it gets made and published, and answers for what it achieves. The job sits between brand, content, community and performance marketing, so it touches a lot of the business.
The core responsibilities:
- Strategy. Which platforms matter, who the brand is talking to on each, what it should sound like and what success looks like.
- Content planning. A calendar of posts, videos, stories and live moments, tied to launches, campaigns and the culture around the brand.
- Production. Briefing designers, video editors and creators, or shooting and editing short videos yourself, then approving what goes out.
- Community. Replying to comments and messages, spotting complaints early, and passing customer feedback to the right team.
- Creators and influencers. Finding creators who fit, briefing them and managing paid and organic partnerships.
- Reporting. Tracking reach, engagement, follower growth, traffic and, where it can be measured, sales, then explaining what to do next.
- Issues. Handling a post that lands badly, a complaint that spreads, or a moment where the brand should stay quiet.
Social media manager job description template
Copy this and replace the [brackets]. Delete anything the role doesn’t actually include; a focused posting attracts better candidates.
Job title: Social Media Manager[, Brand / Community / Paid Social] About [Company] [Two sentences: what the brand sells, who its audience is, and what's happening now: a launch, a new market, a rebrand.] About the role We're hiring a Social Media Manager to run [Company]'s organic social channels on [platforms] and grow [the main goal: e.g. engagement with our core audience / traffic to the store / awareness among new customers]. You'll report to [title] and work with [brand, creative, PR, paid media, customer service]. In your first six months you'll [one concrete goal, e.g. relaunch our TikTok with a regular series]. What you'll do - Own the social strategy and content calendar across [platforms]. - Write captions and plan posts, short-form video and stories that fit our brand voice. - Brief and review work from [in-house designers / video editors / agency / creators]. - [Shoot and edit short-form video in [tools]] (if the role is hands-on). - Manage community: comments, messages and escalations with [customer service / PR]. - Find, brief and manage creator and influencer partnerships [with a budget of / within budget]. - Report weekly and monthly on performance in [tools], and recommend what to change. - Watch trends and platform changes, and decide which are right for the brand. - Work with [paid media] on boosting top posts and creator content. What you'll bring - [X]+ years running social for a brand, agency or creator, with results you can show. - A portfolio of posts, videos or campaigns you made or led. - Strong short-form writing and an ear for brand voice. - Working knowledge of [scheduling and analytics tools, e.g. Sprout Social, Later, native analytics]. - Experience managing creators or influencers. - Calm judgment when something goes wrong in public. Nice to have - Video shooting and editing skills ([CapCut / Premiere / similar]). - Experience in [industry or audience]. - Paid social experience. How we'll measure success - [Metric 1: e.g. engagement rate on owned channels] - [Metric 2: e.g. reach among our target audience] - [Metric 3: e.g. traffic or sales from social] Pay and benefits [Salary range], [benefits], [location / hybrid / remote].
Notes for hiring managers using it:
- Be honest about production. If the person will shoot and edit video, say so. It’s a different skill set from managing a team that does.
- Name the platforms. “Social media” is too vague; candidates want to know if it’s TikTok, LinkedIn or both.
- Ask for a portfolio. It tells you more than the resume.
- Say who covers evenings and weekends. Social doesn’t stop at five, and good candidates will ask.
What does a social media manager do day to day?
Day to day, a social media manager checks what happened overnight, keeps content moving and watches for anything that needs a response. A typical week:
| When | What’s happening |
|---|---|
| Every morning | Check comments, messages and mentions; flag anything urgent; look at what’s trending |
| Monday | Review last week’s results; confirm this week’s calendar |
| Tuesday | Brief next month’s content; review creator drafts |
| Wednesday | Shoot or review video; meet with brand or product on an upcoming launch |
| Thursday | Write captions and schedule posts; check in with paid media on what to boost |
| Friday | Weekly report; plan any weekend coverage |
At a small company the social media manager does nearly all of this alone. At a large brand they lead coordinators, a community team and agency partners, and spend more of their time on strategy and approvals.
What are the types of social media manager roles?
The title covers several different jobs. Read the posting closely to see which one it is.
| Type | Focus | Common at |
|---|---|---|
| Brand social manager | Organic content, voice and culture | Consumer brands, retail, media |
| Community manager | Conversations, replies, groups and loyal fans | Gaming, apps, consumer tech |
| Social and creator manager | Influencer and creator partnerships | Beauty, fashion, food and drink |
| Paid social manager | Ads on Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn and others against a cost target | E-commerce, apps, performance teams |
| B2B social manager | LinkedIn, executive voices, employee advocacy | Software, professional services |
| Agency social manager | Several clients’ accounts at once | Social and creative agencies |
What skills does a social media manager need?
A social media manager needs good taste, quick writing and enough analysis to know what’s working. These show up in nearly every posting:
- Platform fluency. How each platform’s feed, formats and audience differ, and how that changes what you post.
- Short-form writing. Captions, hooks and replies in the brand’s voice.
- Video sense. Knowing what makes the first seconds of a short video work, even if someone else edits it.
- Analytics. Reading native analytics and a scheduling tool’s reports, and connecting social to traffic or sales where you can.
- Creator management. Finding the right creators, briefing them clearly and agreeing terms.
- Judgment. When to join a trend, when to reply, when to say nothing.
- Organization. A calendar across several platforms, with launches and approvals, falls apart without it.
Our marketing skills page covers how to show these on a resume.
How is a social media manager measured?
On results tied to the business goal for social, which a good posting states. Engagement and follower counts are common, but stronger teams also look at reach among the right audience and what social does for traffic, sign-ups or sales.
Common measures:
- Reach and impressions among the target audience.
- Engagement rate: likes, comments, shares and saves relative to reach or followers.
- Follower growth, ideally of the right people.
- Traffic and conversions from social, where tracking allows.
- Creator results: reach, engagement and sales from partnerships.
- Share of conversation compared with competitors.
- Response time to comments and messages, for community roles.
If you’re interviewing, ask which of these the team reports to leadership. The social media manager interview questions page covers what you’ll be asked in return.
Who does a social media manager report to?
Usually a marketing manager, a head of social, a brand director or the head of marketing. At small companies it can be the founder. Social media managers often manage a coordinator or two, a community team or agency partners. See marketing job titles for where the role sits.
How do you use this job description when applying?
Match your portfolio and resume to what the posting stresses. If it leads with creators, lead with your creator work. If it leads with video, lead with videos you made and what they did.
- Find the priorities. The responsibilities listed first or repeated are the ones that matter.
- Pick proof for each. A post, a series, a campaign or an account, with a result.
- Put the strongest proof at the top of your resume and your portfolio.
- Study the brand’s own accounts before the interview, and come with one specific idea. How to research a company before an interview shows how.
You won’t have proof for every line in a posting, and that’s normal. Strong proof for the top two or three priorities is what gets you the conversation, and in it, talk about your work in your own voice: on a social team, how you sound is part of the job.
Recon can line your resume up against the posting and suggest rewrites that use only facts already on your resume.
FAQ
What qualifications does a social media manager need?
Most postings ask for a few years running social for a brand, agency or creator, plus a portfolio. A degree in marketing or communications is common but rarely required. See how to become a social media manager.
What’s the difference between a social media manager and a social media coordinator?
A coordinator schedules posts, replies to comments and pulls reports. A manager owns the strategy, the calendar and the results, and often manages the coordinator.
Does a social media manager need to make videos?
More and more often, yes, at least at smaller companies. Even when an editor or agency produces the video, the manager needs to know what makes short-form video work and brief it well.
Do social media managers work weekends?
Sometimes. Someone has to watch the accounts outside office hours, especially around launches and live events. Many teams share a rota.
What does a social media manager earn?
It depends on the company, industry and location. Our social media manager salary page has US government figures.
What does a social media content manager do?
A social media content manager focuses on what gets posted: planning the content calendar, briefing or making videos and graphics, writing captions and keeping everything on brand. Compared with a general social media manager, they spend less time on community replies and reporting, and more on creative production. Postings with this title usually ask for a strong portfolio.
How do you describe social media manager duties on a resume?
Turn the duties in this job description into results: instead of “managed social media accounts”, write what changed because you managed them, such as “Grew [platform] followers from [number] to [number] in [months] by [what you did]”. Use the posting’s own words where they’re true for you. Our social media manager resume guide has bullet examples by level.