The social media industry has grown massively over the past few years, and the number of roles within it has grown right along with it. Social media manager, social media strategist, content creator, community manager; it can feel like a lot to navigate, especially when you’re trying to figure out what kind of support your business actually needs.
At TaSa Creative Co., we provide both social media strategy and full social media management services, which means we can support clients at every level, from the big picture planning all the way through to the day to day execution. But we still get asked all the time what the difference actually is, so we’re breaking it down for you.
You’re probably reading this and thinking:
- What’s the difference between a social media manager and a social media strategist?
- What does each role actually do for my business?
- Do I need a strategist, a manager, or both?
- What budget should I have for social media support?
Let’s get into it.
The Difference Between Social Media Management and Strategy
The simplest way to explain it is this: a social media manager handles the day to day, and a social media strategist handles the big picture.
A social media manager takes care of the ongoing tasks that keep your accounts active, consistent, and growing. They follow the plan and make sure everything gets done.
A social media strategist creates that plan. They zoom out, look at your overall business goals, and build a social media roadmap that’s designed to get you there. It’s less about the daily to do list and more about making sure everything you’re doing on social actually has a purpose behind it.
What a Social Media Manager Does
A social media manager handles all of the day to day tasks that keep your accounts moving. That includes scheduling and posting content, writing captions, creating graphics, editing photos, and producing short form video content for reels and TikToks.
Beyond content creation, a social media manager can also handle community engagement, DM management, inbound and outbound engagement, and keeping your accounts free of bot followers.
All of these tasks work together to support your visibility, growth, and sales from social media. Which is why we’re all on these platforms in the first place.
We generally recommend social media management for businesses that have established branding, have been on social for a while, and have a clear sense of what they want to achieve.
What a Social Media Strategist Does
Think of your social media strategist as the visionary behind your accounts. They’re the research, the planning, and the strategic thinking that gives everything else direction.
Support from a strategist typically includes:
- Creating social media goals that align with your overall business goals
- Building out a content plan that supports those goals
- Getting clear on your ideal client, their challenges, and how your content can speak to them
- Monitoring analytics and performance to adjust the strategy over time
- Staying on top of platform trends and industry shifts to keep your strategy relevant
At TaSa we build out a full social media marketing strategy for every new client during onboarding. This gives us a strong foundation to work from and ensures that every piece of content we create has a clear intention behind it.
Strategy support is a great fit for newer businesses that want to understand the plan before diving into full management, or for brands that want to be more hands on with execution but need expert direction to guide them.
So Which One Do You Need?
Here’s a quick way to figure it out. Work through the following questions and tally up your answers.
Do you have your visual branding sorted?
- Yes
- No
Do you have an ongoing budget for social media support?
- Yes
- No
Has your business been operating for at least a year?
- Yes
- No
Do you have someone in house who can help manage your socials day to day?
- No
- Yes
Do you want to be hands on with the daily social media tasks?
- No
- Yes
If you answered mostly Yes to the first three and No to the last two, full social media management is likely the right fit for where you are in your business.
If you answered mostly No to the first three and Yes to the last two, starting with a strategy is probably the smarter move right now.
No matter where you are in your business journey, TaSa Creative Co. is here to give you honest, experienced guidance on what kind of social media support will actually move the needle for your brand. We would love to chat.
