Have you been wondering what it’s like to be a social media or community manager? I have, and speaking with Dozie satisfied my curiosity.
A few weeks ago, I walk into a workstation on Lagos mainland where Dozie is seated in one of the cubicles. His tools, on this day, are basically his iPhone and a jotter, and two hours in, he already met half the day’s goals. But being a social media manager isn’t as seamless as it looks —sometimes I end up scoring zero on my KPI scoresheet, and sometimes I have an entire workstation of gadgets, the days are different, he says. I have an hour to spare before I jump on the day’s task (writing the following edition of CareerBuddy Daily would eventually take my entire day). He can also talk for an hour while tracking engagements on an IG post he has just made. So I sit with him for a chat, and he tells me about the ins and outs of his job, how he makes money, and everything there is to know about being a social media manager.
I thought you were just chilling or waiting for someone. Is this what a typical workday looks like for you?
Lol. I get that a lot. But no, this isn’t what every day looks like. I’m not creating a video or design or writing any script today. It’s just posting, engaging, and replying to chats. But many people don’t get it and think I’m not doing a serious job
I can imagine
Even employers. I once had a job offer to manage social media for a new startup and the pay was ridiculous. When I tried to negotiate, the recruiter told me they couldn’t pay that much because I will be having fun most of the time and not doing any serious work.
So how do you cope with the stereotype?
It’s not even a stereotype for me, it’s ignorance. And I just look away.
What then does a very busy day look like for you?
Today is busy as well, don’t get it twisted. Lol. But I get what you mean. A very busy day will be the day I have to create content, and even though I like to create in bulk, it’s almost impossible. Shooting a single video takes hours. Merely combining reels and that capcut stuff is equally stressful. One would think doing Canva will be easy but it’s just as time-consuming as a bigger design would be. I also spend time by my desk, scanning campaign performances and taking those results to subsequent strategy meetings with my Head of Marketing. But I'd say the busiest days for me are actually the days spent creating content, although there are other hurdles to cross.
Indulge me
What your employer wants to see is that the numbers are growing. Either you create content or do some magic, all they want is more numbers. So, even as you are creating content for different social channels, if they’re not increasing the numbers, it’s all a waste. The onus still falls back on the quality of the content you make. However, there are evolving social media trends and digital glitches that you still have to battle once in a while.
What are your best work tools?
My Phone, laptop, and a jotter for me. There’s nothing special about the iPhone. Any good smartphone is perfect. A laptop for obvious reasons. And a jotter, because I like to write things down than type them. There’s a mic, camera, and tripod too, but I don’t use those every day. But there are also softwares that I work with; Buffer, ChatGPT, Hootsuit, Capcut, and more.
Let’s talk about money. How well does it come in?
That’s an interesting one. I manage the social media for my company and accounts for three other clients. So, the money for me is quite alright. My main job pays me between 200 to 250 thousand (there are a few bonuses sometimes), and the other accounts fetch me way less than that, but I can manage. Am I okay with that? No, there could be more. But I’m comfortable, so…
If you could make it happen, what would be your ideal income?
Hmm. To be honest, I don’t think my ideal income would come from being a social media manager. I’m looking to make a transition into Product Marketing soon, and probably explore bigger marketing or managerial roles in tech. For now, there’s a range of what I can earn as a social media manager, and my ideal income is not within that range. I deserve to be a baller too now.
So, you’re saying you can’t build lasting wealth from this?
I won’t speak for every other person, but I don’t think I can make a lot of money here. Maybe if I get a big brand to work for (which might be a foreign brand), or if I get to work with a couple more brands. I’m not saying it doesn’t pay well o, but I have high tastes.
What do you think about losing your job to AI in the future?
Oh, it's looking like it, but I don't think it's possible. Social media content is different from what you get on other search engines like Google and as powerful as AI is going to be, I do not think it will ever deliver what humans deliver. It's there to help make our work easier, not take over. However, you'd meet many people who would disagree with me on this sha. But just so you know, many digital users are now turning to social media to get answers for what they would have Googled. The information they'd get may not be as accurate and streamlined yet, but I believe it's getting there.
So, AI aside, what technical challenge threatens your productivity the most?
Well, on one side, there's the issue of Power and internet connection here. On the other hand, the algorithm gets silly sometimes, and as content creators, you may have to do extra to push your content to your followers, or else they end up consuming what the system wants them to. Plus, policies change, trends emerge, and we always have to keep up. Sometimes, it's not always so easy to do.
But on most days, the grind is steady, yes?
Absolutely. Doing this can be challenging, and challenges sometimes are fun.
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