Considering taking on a career in social media? First thing's first -- know what you're getting yourself into. In less than 140 words: PR, brand, content, customer service, advertising, design, project management, creative production, analytics -- all day, every single day.

1. WHAT DOES A
SOCIAL MEDIA
MANAGER DO?
Content by Madison Slinker

2. IN LESS THAN 140
CHARACTERS
PR, brand, content, customer
service, advertising, design,
project management, creative
production, analytics --
all day, every single day.

4. BREAK IT DOWN,
WILL YA?

5. STRATEGY
BRAND
CONTENT
CREATIVE
COMMUNITY
ANALYTICS

6. STRATEGY
WHERE ARE WE GOING?

7. SET VISION
Where do you want to be in
90 days, 6 months, 1 year?
How will you get there? Aim
for "big reasonable dreams."

8. DEFINE SUCCESS
How do you know what you're
doing is working? Think in
terms of goals, KPI's and
metrics (e.g. engagement rate,
follower acquisition,
leads, sales). In other words --
numbers are now your bud.

9. COLLABORATE
Support PR, Brand,
Editorial/Content, Email,
Product, Mobile, Sales,
Customer Service, Events,
Investor Relations, Legal . . .
and everyone else.

10. BRAND
WHO ARE WE?

11. CUSTOMIZE
How does your audience
want to experience the
brand? Tweak your approach
for each channel and
audience -- they like to feel
special.

12. KEEP IT TOGETHER
Here's your police badge, use
it. Maintain brand guidelines
across all channels. Monitor
awareness and positioning
among your core user base.

13. CONTENT
WHAT STORY DO WE
WANT TO TELL?

14. CAMPAIGNS
Your sweet spot.
Work closely with Brand and
Editorial/Content to come up
with supporting content
for major and minor marketing
initiatives (e.g. digital
promotions, advertising, co-
marketing partnerships,
events, sales, product
releases).

15. WORDS
You, yes you, are a
copywriting genius.
Congratulations. Now write
every letter of every social
post for every channel.

16. SCHEDULE
You are responsible for
knowing what to post, when
to post and where to post.
Google Drive, spreadsheets
and Post-it notes don't
stand a chance.

17. CREATIVE
WHAT'S POSSIBLE, WHAT'S
IMPOSSIBLE AND CAN WE
DO IT ANYWAY?

18. INSPIRE
A.B.S. "Always be
BrainStorming." Come up with
new creative experiments to
test, and don't be afraid to
bomb a few.

19. ART DIRECTION
Communicate vision for video,
photography or graphic
production to designers or
agency. You may need to slap
together a creative brief,
collaborate on storyboards
and give on-set direction
or edits.

20. CREATIVE DIRECTION
Understand the basics of
design, video and production
to know what's possible and
how much of an ask you're
making from your team.
Jargon, functionality and best
practices are a great
place to start.

21. WORDS
Did I mention copywriting?
Lots of that.

22. COMMUNITY
WHERE ARE ALL THE HUMANS?

23. CUSTOMER SERVICE
The front line representative
for consumer relations.
Resolve light-weight cases
online, pass off hefty issues
internally and route product
feedback where appropriate.
Think of yourself as the
mediator between consumers
and the rest of the team.

24. ENGAGE
The best communities don't
just speak to the brand, they
speak to one another about
your product. Encourage
those conversations by talking
back where appropriate,
seeding conversation starters
and building potential new
user relationships.

25. GROW
Look for ways to expand your
reach and amplify brand
awareness (e.g. influencers,
co-marketing partnerships,
trending topics, power users).

26. ANALYTICS
SO, IS IT WORKING?

27. COMPETITION
What are your competitors
doing these days? How are
they doing it? Learn from
them, then beat them.

28. PERFORMANCE
Are you making slam dunks or
missing the hoop completely?
Know exactly how you're
performing against your goals,
KPI's and success metrics
(defined during strategy).

29. RESEARCH
Test, test, test some more.
Keep a close eye on new
channel developments and
releases. Instagram FINALLY
allowing hyperlinks in post
descriptions? Better jump on
it!

30. MORE RESOURCES
HUBSPOT: "What the Best Social Media Managers
Actually Do in Their Jobs"