THE role of a social media specialist in the Caribbean is often one of the most misunderstood in the Caribbean. As businesses are getting accustomed to new roles in the digital space, they haven’t fully accepted the duty of a social media specialist as yet.

Most companies you see believe that because they see their kids or teens using it, you can’t truly be expected to properly compensate someone who has to use these social media platforms on their behalf.

This is why when we see social media specialist roles being advertised, they have usually combined it with a bunch of other duties or specialisations in an attempt to get as much out of that person as humanly possible.

I have seen some of these job postings with duties like helping the waiters and waiting tables in restaurants, being able to lift up to 16kg, fixing computers, handling accounting and so many more unrelated tasks or specialisations to the role of social media specialist.

So let us take a look at some of the duties, education, and experience that the role should have and will also throw in the salary ranges for the role.

The Social Media Specialist

A social media specialist is responsible for planning, implementing, managing, and monitoring the company’s social media strategy in order to increase brand awareness, improve marketing efforts, and increase sales.

This includes creating and publishing content, analysing and reporting on social media metrics, and engaging with users on social media platforms. The social media specialist should have a strong understanding of the target audience and be able to use that knowledge to effectively create and distribute content.

They should also be able to work collaboratively with other members of the marketing team and be able to adapt to new social media platforms and trends as they emerge.

Other responsibilities may include conducting market research, collaborating with external influencers, and creating and analysing paid social media campaigns.

Duties of a Social Media Specialist

• Develop and implement the company’s social media strategy

• Create and publish engaging and relevant social media content, including text, images, and video

• Monitor and respond to user comments and messages on social media platforms

• Analyse and report on social media metrics, such as website traffic and engagement

• Collaborate with other members of the marketing team to ensure that social media efforts align with overall marketing goals

•Conduct market research to stay up-to-date on industry trends and developments

• Collaborate with external influencers to expand the reach of the company’s social media presence

• Create and analyse paid social media campaigns to increase brand visibility and drive sales

• Identify and troubleshoot any issues that arise on social media platforms

• Stay up-to-date on new social media platforms and features, and adapt the company’s strategy as needed.

• Moderating all user-generated content in line with the moderation policy for each community.

• Capturing and analysing the appropriate social data/metrics, insights, and best practices

• Collaborating with other departments (customer relations, sales, etc) to manage reputation and coordinate actions

Qualifications of a Social Media Specialist

• Proven portfolio of work in social media marketing or as a digital media specialist

• 2-3 years of experience in social media management, marketing, or a related field

• Strong writing and communication skills

• Proficiency with social media platforms and analytics tools

• Creativity and the ability to come up with engaging content ideas

• Knowledge of graphic design and photo editing software/apps

• Experience with paid social media advertising

• Familiarity with SEO and web analytics

• Strong organisational and project management skills

• The ability to work well under pressure and meet tight deadlines

Salary Ranges For Social Media Specialists

• United States — US$49,000 to US$62,000 per year

• United Kingdom — US$26,000 to US$56,000 per year

• China — US$24,000 to US$43,000 per year

Industry Certifications

There is a wide assortment of industry certifications that a social media specialist can get to become certified. Here are a few to get you started that you can check out: Social Media Marketing Certification — HubSpot Academy (Free), Fundamentals of Digital Marketing — Google Digital Garage (Free), Social Media Mastery — DigitalMarketer (Paid).

Social media is a powerful tool that can help exponentially scale a business and build a community. Your clients are on any number of social media platforms and your company has unlimited access to a pool of clients.

If you are looking to hire a social media specialist, I would also recommend that you look at their portfolio. Anybody can pass the tests, get a degree, get certifications, make sure you look at their portfolio to see if they can truly help your business.

Keron Rose is a Digital Strategist that works with Caribbean businesses to build their digital presence and monetize their platforms. Learn more at KeronRose.com or check out the Digipreneur FM podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcast.