What is social media management?
Social media management is the ongoing process of creating and scheduling content designed to grow and nurture an audience across social media platforms. This includes, but isn’t limited to:
- Social media content strategy
- Online reputation management
- Community management and programming
- Paid social media strategy and execution
- Team member management and development
The benefits of social media management go far beyond raising brand awareness and staying current on the latest internet trends. The channel is key to building personal connections with target audiences at scale.
The evolution of social media management
Social media management is constantly evolving. Platforms and trends are continually changing, and so are the responsibilities of managing a brand account.
We’re seeing the creator economy completely transform how we post on social. And the rise of social messaging has brought conversations from public to private, fostering more personal connections between people and the brands they love. This phenomenon has turned social into the number one source of insights for knowing who your audience is and what they want from brands. According to The 2025 Sprout Social Index ™, 90% of consumers use social media to keep up with brands and social trends. As a result, social media management has today become more than publishing and community management—it includes translating social data into actionable insights that impact your entire org.
Similarly, social commerce has revolutionized how business leaders perceive the channel, taking it from awareness-focused to a full-funnel experience. Artificial intelligence (AI) marketing tools empower professionals to support content creation, customer personalization and data analytics.
These developments prove one thing: Social is driving how consumers interact with businesses, making social media roles business-critical.
The role of a social media manager
Social media managers are responsible for developing strategies that maintain and grow a social presence, on top of administrative and team development tasks. A typical day might involve content creation, campaign strategies, career planning, reporting—the list goes on.
Yet, a social media manager’s job doesn’t end there. Apart from having to manage social media accounts, they must also prove the ROI of social. This includes tracking engagement, conversions and brand sentiment to show decision-makers how social drives business growth. This also means translating likes and shares into tangible value, such as increased sales, lead generation or improved customer loyalty.
Being successful in such a fluid role requires a unique set of skills, including but not limited to:
- Adaptability
- Organization
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Critical thinking
Combined, these talents help social media professionals manage the evolving needs of this business-critical channel.
The best ways to manage social media accounts
Here are some of the best ways to manage social media for your business.
Diversify your networks
It’s an art and a science to manage social media accounts. Your data can give you a good idea of how to spend your resources—in terms of both money and time—but social moves fast. The platform delivering results today might take a dip tomorrow.
Diversifying your network strategy is a reliable way to make sure you’re ready for whatever challenges are thrown at you. An algorithm update on one network is less of a shock to the system if you have a well-maintained presence across the social landscape.
A social media management tool makes managing multiple social media workflows significantly more efficient because posting natively (logging into each social network individually to post) across profiles is a huge time commitment. Factor in engagement and monitoring, and it becomes more than a full-time job.
Tools like Sprout help businesses scale social operations sustainably. Publishing workflows support customization by the network while minimizing risk. After all, managing quality control is much harder when your team runs social natively.
These publishing and scheduling features automate and complement existing processes so you can get out of the weeds and into the bigger picture.