How does one decide what career they will have? Do you look for a dream job or just any old job? What are your talents and strengths? All of these questions factor into deciding what job you take and what direction your career will go. So how do you know if you should be social media manager?

Let’s look at career choices a little more closely. Could you be an accountant? A mechanic? A politician? A doctor? A bartender? Sure, you could probably do any one of these or any other career. But you didn’t… why? Because of a number reasons, likely. You probably didn’t have a natural inclination to pursue one of these careers. You probably didn’t pursue any education in these fields. You could probably list a variety of reasons why you don’t “like” those fields – maybe you don’t like numbers, or you don’t like public speaking, or you don’t like blood.

So why are you managing social media? Were you thrown into it by your boss? Or maybe you are a small business owner and you’re the only one who can do it. Or do you do it because you love it? Because you think about things in terms of whether they would make great Facebook posts?

Even if you were thrown into it or you’re doing it because you have to, you can be successful. I’m not trying to tell you won’t be. You can get plenty of training and practical application and probably succeed just fine. I know plenty of people who are doing jobs just because they ended up there. They do just fine and may even get promoted, but they’re not happy and they never excel at those jobs.

People who excel, love their jobs. They eat, breathe, sleep, and live their careers. This doesn’t mean that they don’t have personal time or that they don’t take breaks. They do. But, inherently, they are constantly thinking about things in terms of their position.

With social media managers, that involves thinking about what types of posts to generate. Determining the content that resonates with their audience. Assessing which analytics will allow them to interpret their postings. This isn’t a 9-5 mentality. This is a 24/7 mentality. It’s sitting in front of the TV, watching the evening news, and finding a segment that your audience would appreciate. It involves going to dinner and witnessing an interaction that inspires a blog post. It’s scrolling through your Facebook page and finding a post that should be shared with your fans. It’s talking to your customers and fans and finding out what they want more of.

If these behaviors describe you, great! Then you are probably going to be a very successful social media manager.

If these behaviors don’t describe you, that’s ok. If you are a social media manager and you want to continue to be one, then keep working at it. Learn more, practice more, and keep at it. You can do it.

If you are a social media manager looking for a new job or you’re reading this and thinking, yes, you want to do this for a brand, be sure to check out the Jooble job board to take the next step in your career.

However, if you don’t want to do this and you don’t fathom being able to live in a world of online interactions, then it’s time to find someone to do it for you.

You may think that you’re the best (or only) person to do your social media management. But if you’re not living, breathing, and loving it, you aren’t the best person for it. And you’re probably doing your audience a disservice by continuing to manage it yourself. Find someone who will love it and who will represent your brand with the same passion you do. I’d be willing to bet that you’ll find your online engagement increases and that your resulting sales and conversions will also increase.

I realize that this post may upset some people. But take a good long look at what you really want. If you want your business to be a success, would you not want to hire the best people for the jobs? Would you not want the best accountant or bookkeeper? The best sales people? The best receptionist or admin? So if you’re willing to hire qualified, eager, and enthusiastic people for these positions, why don’t you do the same for your social media strategy?

Social media is a real part of everyday business now. It’s not just throwing up a Facebook page and looking at it once a month. So if you’re not the best person for the job, find someone who is. Find someone who is passionate about the career path and who will help you to succeed.

If you agree with this post, please share it! If you disagree, feel free to leave a comment below. I’d be happy to discuss further!