The Evolution of the Social Media Manager

Social media: love it or loathe it, it’s become a part of our personal and professional lives. Here at PRTNR Recruiting, we’re getting more and more requests for senior-level social media managers. Why is that?

Consider the many hats a social media manager wears daily: switching between marketing, PR, creative, and customer service without skipping a beat. Companies and brands are made or broken by their social media presence, and having someone experienced at the helm is more important than ever.

But first, let’s take a look back at how we got here. Facebook started to hit the mainstream around 2006 (the social media platform debuted in 2004 as a community for college students). Twitter followed in 2006. Founder Jack Dorsey famously first tweeted, “just setting up my twttr”. Instagram arrived on the scene in 2010 as a photo sharing app and has become so much more since.

As social media became more ingrained in our daily lives, traditional public relations, communications and marketing roles all combined to create a new role that spanned across all industries: the Social Media Manager. In the years since, the role of social media professional has evolved from “the intern” to a VP-level position, often with 13+ years of experience.

In 2024, social media managers are responsible for managing Instagram, TikTok, X (RIP Twitter), Meta (still Facebook), Threads, YouTube, YouTube Shorts, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, all while keeping their ears to the ground for the next emerging platform.

While most of us use social media daily, crafting a strategy for a brand or public figure, creating content, writing compelling copy, and nurturing a community all while staying on top of news and trends is a role that requires creativity, organization, fast action, and critical thinking. Your head of social media is often the closest to your customer. Investing in talent you can trust is paramount to the success of your business!

We’d love to help connect you to your next experienced social media professional. Get in touch with us at hello@prtnrrecruiting.com.