What is the difference between a social media manager and a content creator?
What is the difference between a social media manager and a content creator?
What is the difference between a social media manager and a content creator?
Social media marketing has evolved rapidly in the last decade to meet consumer demand. Do you remember the days when we were posting on Facebook walls? And who’s old enough to remember the days of Myspace? Gone are the days when social media was so simple…
Social media has brought the world closer together, and for some people, social media has changed their lives. Teenagers have become millionaires simply from sharing their life on Instagram, and now you can create a whole career for yourself simply by knowing how to use social media.
If you’ve ever considered hiring someone to manage your social media accounts, you may have come across the terms ‘social media manager’ and ‘content creator’. But do you know the difference between a social media manager and a content creator? There are many different terms thrown around in the industry, but these two phrases come up time and time again. Often misconstrued as the same thing, a social media manager is different from a content creator. Read on to find out how.
What is a content creator?
Content marketing is used to attract and retain an audience. A content creator is (you guessed it) someone who creates content. But what do we mean by content? Content is what you put out on social media. It can be anything like a video, a picture or a graphic. A content creator focuses on methods of designing and creating content that would fit into the overall social media plan and the brand’s ethos.
Often we describe influencers as ‘content creators’. Influencers have a large following and, therefore, can influence many people through their posts on social media. What they post on social media is ‘content’; consequently, we can refer to influencers as content creators. However, you do not have to be an influencer to be a content creator.
Anyone can create content for social media purposes without a large following behind them. Most businesses do not start with many followers, so the content creator’s job is to create videos, images and graphics to post on social media. Ultimately, you are a content creator if someone pays you to create posts for a social media channel.
What is a social media manager?
Social media marketing is the process of using social media to directly influence people and promote a brand or business. A social media manager will work with a brand to develop a strategy to meet its social media goals. Whether the brand wants more followers or higher engagement, the social media manager will devise a plan for achieving the goal.
A social media manager will plan and schedule content, write captions for posts and engage with other accounts. They may also be responsible for managing ad campaigns. A social media manager is referred to as an SMM for short and ultimately manages your account, so you do not have to worry about it.
What is the difference between a social media manager and a content creator?
Although social media management and content creation are two different vocations, often people will take on both roles.
As a social media manager, you decide whether to take on content creation as part of the job description. The brand or business will also determine if they need someone else to create the content. For example, a brand may already have all the content created by their in-house team, but they need someone to manage the accounts and help plan what content will help the social media strategy. The social media manager may plan how the next month’s worth of social media should pan out; then, a photographer/videographer/graphic designer will create the content that fits in with the plan.
If you get a quote from a social media manager, they may itemise content creation as optional. For example, at iqwerty we make content creation optional depending on the business/brand. If we were doing some social media management for a wedding photographer, they would already have the content or could quickly gather the content themselves. Alternatively, some businesses may want to save money by taking care of the content creation themselves. As long as they can produce high-standard content, we do not have an issue with this.
Ultimately, the two vocations work side-by-side with each other. However, without a content creator, there can not be any social media management. Alternatively, content would still exist without a SMM.
Which do I need? A social media manager? Or a content creator?
Whether your business needs a social media manager, a content creator, or both depends on your business’s needs. To determine which you need, consider the following questions:
- Do you struggle with ideas on what to post on social media?
- Do you have many social media ideas but need to know how to materialise them?
- Are you struggling with everything?
If you answered yes to number one but have the skill set to create content, then you need a social media manager to help create a strategy for you and how to structure the content you create. SMMs are up-to-date with all the latest social media trends, so they will have plenty of ideas for you and know what will work well for your overall goal.
If you answered yes to number two, it sounds like you need a content creator to put your ideas together. Whether that is a graphic designer, a photographer or a videographer, there will be someone who can help. Fortunately, a generic content creator will have a good understanding of all three fields.
If you answered yes to number 3, you should speak to a social media manager and a content creator. You should start by seeking a social media manager and asking them if they offer content creation as part of their package. At iqwerty, our social media managers offer content creation as a part of their package, so do not hesitate to contact us for further information.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a social media manager and a content creator carry different roles in the marketing industry; however, they often overlap. Both vocations are vital to a successful marketing plan, and neither is more important than the other.
At iqwerty we understand that the marketing world can be confusing to someone who has never outsourced their social media marketing before. We offer a free discovery call to discuss your marketing needs and explain how we can help. We will also provide a free in-depth quote for your marketing needs. If you still have questions and want to speak to an expert, do not hesitate to contact us.