What is SMM promotion
The name Social Media Marketing (which is how SMM stands for) already makes it clear that it is promotion in the media. Social networks and messengers are now almost the main channel of online marketing. If you like a popular channel or account and it seems that it is run very sincerely, as if from the heart, then most likely, it is just a well-thought-out content plan and good specialists.
- attraction of attention to the brand;
- increase of awareness;
- involvement of the audience in the life of the brand, interaction with it;
- building the company's image;
- sales growth and attraction of new customers as a result.
The important idea of marketing is to make sure that a loyal audience brings new customers. The more often this happens, the higher the brand awareness. SMM promotion also works for this purpose, but on a smaller scale.
The success of brands (especially local ones) now depends on social media promotion. Have you subscribed to the profile of a company that has a beautiful page? Congratulations, you are already a potential buyer. When you need a product, you will go to the manufacturers that you remember best. 
Good design, usefulness of publications, and style of communication with customers are important. Many companies run social media from an expert point of view, sharing information useful to customers. The work of online marketers in terms of SMM takes very different forms.
For example, some choose to publish information and respond in personal messages, others develop a separate role within which they build brand behaviour and how they address the audience. All of this helps the company grow and attract traffic from new customers.
What an SMM specialist needs to be able to do
If you try to list all the tasks of an SMM specialist, the list will be huge. For example, in the area of management and strategic planning alone, we can name the analysis of the target audience, the choice of tools, and the definition of target metrics for business objectives.
For now, we will not delve deeply into each of the mentioned areas and highlight only the key skills that an SMM specialist needs at the start:
- First of all, you must know the interface of the social networks where you will work, be able to maintain a page.
- Each of the social networks has its own "profile", as well as its own audience and technologies and features of content distribution, as well as certain "tricks" in this regard.
- So, you need to be able to create content for each audience to hook it. Again, this has its own peculiarities.
- A professional SMM specialist works on the style and visual concept of the community, decides how to illustrate information, monitors the quality of posts, works with photographers and designers. He or she should not only know the trends in photo editing, but also understand which ones are best used for a particular brand.
- Not all projects have an in-house designer, and the work with photos and images often falls to the social media manager. In this case, it's important to have at least a basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, as well as Movavi. And with the help of Canva or Crello, you can create stylish images from ready-made templates."
- There are various tools for automating content release or scheduling it in advance, etc. You need to know all this and have the appropriate skills.
- You also need analytical skills in terms of analysing the results and effectiveness of your work in order to make certain changes in time to improve the results.
- Another very important quality is the ability to communicate with people. You will have to communicate a lot in your line of work, and if you are not used to it, it will be quite difficult.
There will also be difficult moments in communication, and you need to be able to cope with them. Social media managers need to respond quickly so as not to miss a customer. Even if customers are waiting for a response outside of business hours, don't leave them alone with you, offer alternatives. For example, the option of calling during working hours.
What are the types and tools of SMM promotion
Let's say you were hired. What can you offer your bosses to work with? In fact, it can't be just PR posts on social media (although you can't do without them).
In fact, there are more methods and they should be used in combination. So, here's a short list:
- First of all, of course, interesting content, because this is the main reason why people subscribe to a page or Telegram channel in general. It can be useful text posts, beautiful photos and videos representing brand products, stories, and so on. The content should be published regularly, so it will keep the audience's attention and make the page appear more often in search results. What and how to publish is decided when you create a content plan."
- Secondly, it is active interaction with subscribers. These can be comments, responses to reviews, contests, emotional posts, and expressions of care.
- Imagine a small coffee shop account that posts on social media in bad weather that it invites everyone to hot drinks at a discount. Or a local clothing brand that launches a campaign to transfer part of its profits to charity, for example, to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Or a store that has provided assistance to the victims of the disaster. All these are not only good deeds, but also a way to attract more positive emotions from subscribers and become someone people tell each other about.
The audience always feels when a brand speaks the same language with them and communicates on topics that are close and interesting to them. Also, a discussion of any topic involving the company or a direct question from the brand to subscribers will gather more reactions. It is equally important to solve customer problems: a quick and adequate response to negative messages shows that customers are important to the company. - Interaction with influencers and collaborations. Influencers, for example, famous bloggers, are opinion leaders in their field. For many brands, local influencers are a great choice, as their advertising costs less and their recognition in their city can be high.
Shared posts, promotions and videos, discounted promotional codes from bloggers, or direct advertising are suitable for this type of promotion. Also, companies use collaborations with artists, musicians, or brands from other fields for social media. Both options will attract a new audience. - Suggest that the company create a mascot if it doesn't already have one. It can be a character, such as the Michelin man or the Energiser bunny. They can make your posts more interesting and increase brand awareness.
- If you are promoting through the Telegram channel, be sure to use guest posts or links with other channels. This way, you place (mutually beneficial) links to each other and get quick advertising. You can even agree on this for barter, meaning it won't cost a penny.
As you can see, all methods allow you to work from home. You do not need to be physically present somewhere, but you will most likely be required to submit reports, including daily ones. Therefore, decide in advance in what form you will provide them to confirm the effectiveness of the methods used.
Salary level of SMM specialists in Ukraine
In general, the average salary for the position of SMM manager is about 25-26 thousand hryvnias per month. The minimum rate is about 21 thousand, the maximum is about 28 thousand, but no more. The highest salaries, of course, are offered in Kyiv, but online work is also possible.
You can also try yourself abroad, where salaries are higher, but you need to understand English at a fairly high level. On average, you can find vacancies there that are at least a third more expensive than Ukrainian ones. But keep in mind that social networks on the English-language Internet work according to similar algorithms, but the consumer there is completely different from the Ukrainian one in terms of priorities.
Yes, it is quite possible, there are many different courses on the Internet, including free ones. But we would advise you to learn marketing skills, because this is your main "base".
As for your career, you will be able to grow as a marketing specialist. Gradually, you can head the entire marketing department of the company, and that is why it is important to understand how marketing works in general. Overall, SMM is a great way to start, especially if you feel like a fish out of water in social media. And if you get your first job, don't forget that the task of an SMM specialist is to follow social media trends and use them effectively to gain a loyal and engaged audience.A good SMM specialist should constantly monitor various resources and be the first to respond to popular topics.
