What does a Social Media Manager do?

Social media managers grow a brand's audience and engagement on social platforms and turn that attention into customers and community.

Open roles now: 34
Median pay (7 posts): $133k
Remote: 44%
Most-requested tool: TikTok

The job

Social media managers run the company's presence on platforms like LinkedIn, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. They plan what to post, make or direct the content, engage with the community, and report on what works. In many companies they also run creator and influencer programs and support executives' personal accounts.

Good social managers know each platform's culture and formats and move fast on trends without losing the brand voice. Short-form video is now the default on most platforms, so editing and on-camera skills matter more every year.

The best social managers connect social to the business. They track how social drives traffic, signups and brand search, use social listening to feed insight back to product and marketing, and know which platforms deserve the team's time.

A typical week

Plan and schedule the week's posts across platforms
Film and edit short-form videos
Respond to comments and DMs and join relevant conversations
Brief creators or partners for a campaign
Report on reach, engagement and traffic, and adjust the plan

How they're measured

Audience growth on priority platforms
Engagement rate and saves or shares
Traffic and signups from social
Creator and partner campaign results
Response time and sentiment

Skills that matter

Short-form video: Most platforms reward video first.
Platform fluency: Each platform has its own formats, culture and algorithm.
Writing for social: Hooks and captions decide whether anyone stops scrolling.
Community management: Replies and conversations build loyalty.
Creator partnerships: Creators often reach audiences brand accounts can't.
Analytics: Knowing what drives business results, not just likes.

Tools employers ask for

Share of 35 social media and community job posts on HeyMarketers in the last 12 months that name each tool.

TikTok23%
Generative AI17%
Sprout Social11%

Pay

The median base salary on full-time social media and community posts is $133k, and the middle half pay $133k to $136k (7 posts with published pay, last 12 months).

Career path

1
Social media coordinator
Schedules, engages and creates content.
2
Social media manager
Owns social strategy and its results.
3
Senior manager or head of social
Owns social and creator programs with a team.
4
Director of social or brand
Owns social as part of brand and content.

Open social media and community roles by level right now: entry level 15%, mid level 56%, senior 12%, lead or director 18%.

How to stand out

Show accounts you grew with before-and-after numbers.
Bring a post or video that took off and explain why.
Show you can make content yourself, not just schedule it.
Tie social to traffic, signups or sales.

Preparing for interviews? See the questions social media managers get asked, or read a typical job description.

Let companies find you

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Open social media and community roles

Community Manager, Experiential Marketing · Vercel
Social Media Content Coordinator Co-op - Corporate Marketing · Later
Social Media Team Lead (Overnight) · Lyft
Influencer Marketing Services Co-op · Later
Influencer Marketing Coordinator (US) · Later
Influencer Manager, Social & Culture · Lyft

Hiring now: Later, Harvey, Reddit, Airbnb, Lyft, Adyen.

See all 34 open social media and community jobs

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