Over 63% of people worldwide are now using social media, juggling between nearly seven platforms each month. This means that your audience is almost certainly spending time on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. If you haven’t already, it’s time to give serious attention to your business profiles. In our guide, discover what professional social media management looks like in 2025, with real-world examples, as well as how to choose the right expert to entrust with content creation, advertising, and other essential activities for connecting with your audience and growing your brand.
*Last edit: April, 24, 2025.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction to Social Media Management
- Social Media Management: What Does it Include?
- How to Choose the Right Social Media Manager?
- What Does It Look Like When We Manage Your Social Media?
“I don’t know what’s worse for a business,” one of our colleagues said recently. “Having a business profile on social media but doing nothing with it, or not having a profile at all.”
This remark perfectly reflects the importance platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and others hold in business today. Once considered secondary, they are now among the top marketing priorities for brands looking to connect with their customers. Not having them or investing in them is simply – bad for business.
Because your customers are there, on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and similar platforms. According to the latest data:
- Over 63.9% of the global population now uses social media.
- The average user logs into 6.8 different social profiles each month.
- And they spend nearly two and a half hours daily scrolling through various social feeds.
But they’re not just scrolling to see what’s new with friends and influencers – they’re also discovering and following brands, researching, and purchasing products and services. To support this:
- 90% of users follow at least one brand on social media.
- Around 75% of them check a business’s social profiles before seeking reviews and recommendations.
- 31% of people worldwide use social media for shopping, with millennials (33%), Gen Z (29%), and boomers (28%) leading in spending.
- Meanwhile, 86% of companies believe greater visibility is an advantage of social media marketing, resulting in a 76% increase in traffic and a 64% rise in leads.
For all these reasons, businesses are increasingly recognizing the marketing and sales potential of social media, investing in profiles on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other platforms. This usually involves hiring an expert social media manager or an entire team dedicated to managing social media.
What Does Social Media Management Include?
In its simplest definition, social media management is the maintenance of one or several brand profiles to strengthen its presence on selected/key social platforms.
In practice, however, the term is quite layered and varies from company to company, depending on the specific goals and needs of the business or the skills and specialties of the social media manager or team responsible for managing them.
At its core, social media management includes content creation and posting, community management, analytics, and reporting. However, some experts offer additional services such as social media advertising, reputation management, and more.
Let’s take a closer look at what social media management can include, viewed in the broadest sense of the service:
1. Strategy Development
Facebook, TikTok, Instagram… each of these platforms has its own unique story, culture, language, and specific features, along with constantly changing rules of the game. It’s impossible to just “jump in” and expect results. The key to success is developing an appropriate social media strategy. This strategy not only informs the business about which platforms are truly worth building a presence on, but also how to do it – using specific tactics to maximize the potential of each platform and their synergy.
Developing a serious social media strategy requires, among other things, analyzing the brand’s business and marketing objectives, its offerings, messages, voice, target audience, customers and clients, competitors, budget, and other resources, industry trends, as well as trends in social media marketing and the specifics of selected social platforms.
Based on this analysis, measurable, realistic goals and methods of measuring success are defined, along with a plan of action on the chosen platform(s). Depending on the agreed scope, the plan may cover tone of voice and communication, content, community building, advertising, and other elements.
A textbook example of a successful social media strategy is the American fast-food chain Wendy’s.
Wendy’s Twitter/X profile is known for its edgy and sometimes brutal humor. “We like our tweets the way we like our fries: hot, crispy, and better than anyone expects from a fast food restaurant” they warn in the profile description, where they often mock competitors like McDonald’s:
The strategic shift towards this approach on social media was made in 2017, led by then social media manager Amy Brown, and stepping out of their comfort zone paid off many times over. It greatly contributed to Wendy’s differentiation and brand recognition, as well as to the overall popularity of the brand.
2. Profile Setup and Optimization
This part of the service covers the basics – setting up and branding the profile itself, which includes designing covers, profile pictures, writing descriptions like Wendy’s, adding key information, appropriate links, calls to action, and the like.
If you already have a profile, it needs to be regularly reviewed and optimized, for example, by changing visuals and/or textual elements, adding links and other necessary data, new content sections, etc.
3. Content Creation and Posting
When people hear “social media management,” this is often what they think of. But in practice, there’s a wide range of service levels in this area, varying greatly from one manager to another.
Some cover everything content-related, including:
- Generating ideas for original posts
- Producing visuals, videos, and writing copy tailored to the platform’s culture and target audience
- Curating, or selecting content from other sources, such as relevant media
- Planning and scheduling posts throughout the week/month
- Publishing according to the agreed schedule, and so on.
Others offer a “condensed version” of the service, for example:
- Posting material provided by the client, without handling production or editing
- Editing raw material sent by the client and adapting it for social media, but not publishing it
- Providing creative guidance for content creation – such as prompts for Reels and TikToks, captions, and hashtags – or collaborating with the client’s in-house graphic designers, videographers, and/or copywriters, but not producing or publishing the content
- Collaborating externally on specific content elements, such as original copy, custom-branded graphics, or videos, but not handling publication
No matter how you create your content, it’s your best opportunity to shine on social media – building brand recognition and driving business results. A great example of quality social media content is Pleasing, Harry Styles’s lifestyle brand, known for its eye-catching visuals on Instagram – like this one:
Another example is rhode – another celebrity venture – this time a beauty brand by Hailey Baldwin Bieber. On Instagram, the focus is also on strong visuals, but what sets it apart are the captions, created by the Los Angeles-based copywriting duo FONZIE. This attention to text shows how to make smart use of every element a platform offers – because every detail matters when it comes to shaping a brand’s impression.
4. Community Management
It’s surprising how many businesses still don’t grasp the core nature of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok – treating them as nothing more than digital bulletin boards. But the ones who do get it use these platforms to show the human side of their brand, spark two-way conversations with customers and audiences, and build an engaged, loyal community.
That’s where community management comes in.
This usually includes providing customer support by monitoring comments, messages, inquiries, and mentions, and responding to them. It also involves encouraging follower engagement (like prompting user-generated content), and organically expanding reach and audience (by tracking relevant hashtags and locations, interacting with users, and more).
How deeply you invest in building your community depends on your resources and ambitions – but community management should, without question, be high on your list of social media marketing priorities.
A powerful example of this in action is Duolingo. With 17 million followers on TikTok, the language-learning app has become a case study in using innovative methods and marketing strategies. One of the key elements behind its social media success? You guessed it – community management. Here’s how.
Zaria Parvez began running Duolingo’s TikTok account in 2021 and quickly grew it from 50,000 to 5 million followers – with what she often jokes was a team of just “1.5 people”. Her secret? She tapped into an area most brands on TikTok were ignoring at the time: the comments.
“[Others] didn’t realize that launching [a presence] on TikTok wasn’t dependent on just video – there was audience attention in so many little corners of the app”, explains Parvez, who took the power of comments and engaging with the audience to a whole new level.
Her commenting strategy revolved around embracing the quirky personality of Duo the owl – already known among users as a bit intense and hilariously passive-aggressive. Parvez brought that persona to life on TikTok. She regularly replied to comments under videos in Duo’s unmistakable tone, and those witty responses often went viral.
The key? Not once did she include traditional marketing language – no “download the app”, no sales pitch.
And it was precisely this natural, human, witty approach in comments and building a community around Duo’s personality (+ viral videos that came later), that helped drive the growth of the Duolingo brand.
5. Social Media Monitoring and PR
Stemming from community management, social media monitoring involves tracking mentions of the brand on platforms, as well as conversations and trends related to it, its industry, and competitors, and, if necessary, timely and professionally responding to them.
Monitoring isn’t just for analyzing public perception of the brand, customer preferences, pain points, and expectations, but also for identifying potential reputation risks, crises, and negative sentiments related to the business.
An example of this is the situation between Booking and Airbnb, where Airbnb skillfully leveraged the power of social media monitoring.
When influencer Alix Earle, one of the prominent content creators on TikTok, traveled to Italy with a group of 11 friends, she discovered that the house they had booked through Booking didn’t actually exist, and they had nowhere to stay. Earle, of course, posted about it, and the post went viral.
But instead of Booking, her post caught the attention of Airbnb, whose social media managers immediately responded. They arranged accommodation for Earle and her group in a nearby villa. Earle also reported this on TikTok, and the post went viral again, giving Airbnb significant positive visibility.
On the other hand, Booking responded later, after the problem had already been resolved, with a standardized response suggesting the group to contact them on one of the social media platforms to address the issue. Due to their slow response and missing the opportunity to act, they appeared unreliable and out of touch with customers.
Here we see how much social media management service can overlap with PR and how important it is for the manager to be adept in crisis and reputation management.
This skill is needed not only to react and communicate on behalf of the brand on social media when a crisis occurs, to minimize damage but also to proactively devise protocols and procedures to address potential issues before they arise, to preserve and/or strengthen the positive image of the business.
6. Tracking Trends
Social media is a dynamic arena, constantly changing its ways of operation. One of the major challenges for business owners trying to DIY their social profiles is precisely keeping up with the constant changes on platforms and optimizing their approach accordingly. They often feel like something is slipping through their fingers.
Annie-Mai Hodge, a social media management expert, has addressed this pain point well. For several years now, she has been providing an extensive overview of the most important changes in the world of social media marketing. Her posts are a valuable resource because they sift through the abundance of information (regularly!), while also illustrating how challenging it is to keep pace with the rapidly changing landscape of numerous platforms:
For social media managers, such data is part of their daily routine. They are constantly bombarded with novelties on social media and always need to keep up: what are the current best practices, trends, the latest features of platforms, algorithm changes, and what all of this specifically means for the client and their social presence.
This monitoring is necessary for your manager to be able to explore and test new technologies, tools, and tactics, thus optimizing the strategy on your social media platforms. Only then can it remain relevant and effective.
7. Social Media Advertising
Advertising is often treated as a separate service, distinct from social media management in terms of content production, posting, and community management. However, some social media managers offer advertising integrated with organic growth.
This approach makes sense, as organic reach on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook has drastically declined in recent years. Now, pay-to-play is almost an unavoidable strategy for targeting specific audience segments and quickly increasing visibility, engagement, and conversions. Ideally, you want a social media manager who can cover both areas, combining organic and paid efforts to get the most out of this synergy.
Whether advertising is integrated or separate from other social media management tasks, it requires prior strategy development. Besides detailed analysis and segmentation of the target audience, the strategy typically involves analyzing advertising trends on the chosen social media platform, optimal ad formats and positions, defining goals, metrics, and budget, as well as planning campaigns and ads.
In addition to the strategy itself, the full scope of advertising services on social media also includes setting up and running campaigns, as well as tracking and optimizing them.
8. Influencer Marketing
A pivotal aspect of growth on social media is undoubtedly influencer marketing, collaborating with selected influential individuals to expand reach and audience. Some experts offer this service independently or as part of advertising, while for others, it’s an integral part of social media management.
Influencer marketing involves tracking and analyzing relevant influencers, selecting compatible ones, and managing relationships with them. This covers everything – from establishing connections with influencers and negotiating contracts to collaborating on sponsored content and promotional campaigns, as well as monitoring and measuring the impact of these partnerships.
An example of effective influencer marketing is the collaboration between Samsonite and TikTok content creator Delaney Rowe, known for her witty videos portraying various personas. In the example below, she offers her version of the “girl on the run” character, typical of Hollywood thrillers:
This promotional content for Samsonite perfectly aligns with Delaney Rowe’s regular content and tone on TikTok, and her audience regularly comments under ads (including this one) that they wouldn’t even notice it’s a promotion if it weren’t explicitly indicated (with the “Paid partnership” tag below the video).
And that’s the key to influencer marketing – promotional campaigns should be seamlessly integrated into what the influencer typically offers their followers. In fact, this should be taken as the golden rule of advertising on social media in general: Good promotional content doesn’t disrupt the usual user experience but enriches it.
9. Analytics and Reporting
Social media management typically involves regular analysis and reporting on the performance of organic content and/or campaigns.
The manager, in collaboration with the client, defines the methods for measuring success, i.e., specific metrics to track and the timeframe. Some of the most common metrics include engagement rate, reach, follower growth, top-performing posts, website traffic, number of conversions, etc.
The most basic reports provide an overview of results based on selected metrics, typically on a monthly basis. However, some managers offer clients more comprehensive reports with additional elements, such as regular analysis and interpretation in relation to trends and industry standards, suggestions for further steps, improvements, and so on.
How to Choose the Right Social Media Manager?
Managing social media obviously involves a whole spectrum of responsibilities and tasks – from strategic thinking, through copywriting and graphic design, all the way to PR. And regardless of whether it’s a full-service or some abbreviated form of it, mastering social platforms and achieving results requires a whole array of skills and abilities – both creative, analytical, and interpersonal.
In practice, individual social media managers are often asked to transition from one role to another in an instant, embodying numerous professions and specialties in one person, as humorously referenced by Hubspot in the video below:
When choosing your social media manager, don’t have unrealistic expectations. You can’t get “everything in one”, and you can’t assume that all social media managers are the same or that every social media management service is a standardized package.
Some social media managers focus on strategy, some are creatives. Some have a background in PR and media relations, while others specialize in marketing. Some excel in graphic design, others in video production, and some in copywriting. Some handle social media advertising effortlessly, while others are masters of engagement and community building. Some understand TikTok perfectly, while others specialize in Facebook or Instagram, or something else entirely.
Many know all of this to some extent, but it’s hard to find one person who excels in all the mentioned areas. That’s why business owners are often reminded that social media has become so complex that one manager is no longer enough for them. They need a whole team.
In any case – whether you’re willing to hire just one person or invest more and build a team – one thing is for sure: you need to entrust social media to an expert. Trying to do all the above-mentioned tasks solo or on the side will cost you nerves, time, and money. After all, the biggest loss will be not being able to firsthand experience what social media can really do for your business.
So, how to decide then who to entrust with your social media? How to find experts who will be the right choice for you?
First, clarify your goals in social media marketing and the key skills you’re looking for in a manager. Once you’ve shortlisted potential candidates, assess your compatibility with them using these questions, based on your focus in social media management:
Experience and expertise
- What experience do they have in managing social media for businesses in your industry/sector?
- Can they provide you with an example of a successful campaign and/or project on social media in your industry?
- Which social media platforms are they specialized in and to what extent – only organic growth, only advertising, or both?
Strategy and communication
- How do they adapt a social media strategy specifically for the business goals and target audience of your business?
- How do they collaborate with other team members or departments to align and integrate social media into a broader marketing strategy?
- Can they provide client references who can speak more about their communication and collaboration skills?
Content production
- What does their process look like for coming up with ideas and producing content for social media?
- Which tools and resources do they use for video, visuals, and copy on social media?
- Can they provide examples of content that has resonated with the target audience on social media and achieved high engagement?
Community management and engagement
- How do they approach community management and audience engagement on social media?
- Can they provide an example of successful community building on social media?
Social media advertising
- What is their experience in planning and running campaigns on social media, including targeting and budget allocation?
- How do they track and optimize ad performance?
Analytics and reporting
- How do they measure success on social media, both organically and through advertising?
- Can they provide an example or template of a client report showing results?
These questions and steps will help you find a person or form a team that understands your specific needs and has the experience and skills to effectively translate them into social media. So don’t skip or rush through this part. The better informed you are about what you’re looking for and getting in a social media manager, the better results and return on investment you can expect.
What Does It Look Like When We Manage Your Social Media?
Our custom strategies consistently achieve above-average engagement on our clients’ social media platforms, specifically:
- On TikTok, on the profile of the iconic animated series and brand, Professor Balthazar, aimed at a global audience, we reached 2.5 million views in just the first three months on the platform.
- Overall, on Baltazar’s profile, we achieve an engagement rate that’s 40% higher than TikTok’s global average.
- In promoting the Croatian comedy “Even Pigs Go to Heaven” on Facebook, our posts had an organic reach and engagement rate seven times higher than average for this platform.
How do we achieve this? And how can we achieve results like these for you too:
Our service of managing your social media always starts with a thorough understanding of your brand, your specific circumstances, and goals. This ensures that the strategy and plan we develop for you are practical, realistically achievable given your specific strengths and resources, with clear frameworks and metrics, ready for you to start implementing immediately.
However, our strategic approach is just part of the story.
After years of experience and work in diverse areas, including digital marketing and advertising, media, editing, copywriting, PR, design, and art, it has become natural for us to combine strategy and creativity. That’s why we can find fresh, original solutions for your content, campaigns, and growth on social media.
Our unique combination of strategic and creative skills means we can cover various aspects of your growth on social media, offering a full-service package that includes the production of original branded content for your profiles, campaign and ad design and management, plus community management.
Depending on your needs, we also offer specific services such as:
- Developing a comprehensive marketing, content, and/or advertising strategy for social media that your team can easily implement on their own.
- Producing creative and branded content for your profiles on demand – including copy/text, visuals, and videos.
- Social media advertising, from developing a strategy for one or more platforms, planning and setting up campaigns and ads, to tracking and optimization.
- Developing your community management strategy and/or strategy for managing your reputation on social media.
Curious to find out more? Read our social media marketing guide, explore our services, or reach out to us to discuss how to integrate social media into your broader business picture.
