Managing social media for companies is the latest hot job

BENGALURU: Gone are the days when browsing Facebook or Instagram plainly meant goofing around. Many social media-savvy Bengalureans are earning a living out of it today.

Social media explosion and its relevance as a marketing tool have given rise to a 'cool' new career profile -- the social media manager. These professionals strategise for social media and upload content aimed at acquiring and retaining customers for their clients or companies. And which better city than startup hub Bengaluru to do that, say the rising number of social media managers here.

Many of them have previously been content writers or marketing and advertising professionals. Like Helen Issar, who founded social media management agency Pennylane Social after working for an ad agency. "The profession has emerged popular among fresh graduates, women and new mothers... College freshers live and breathe social media. They don't look at it as a job," says Issar, whose clients list includes Veneta Cucine and I & Monkey restaurant. Writing with a personality and being clued in are the priority skills, she said.

Anita Kapoor (name changed due to client confidentiality) is a freelance social media manager for e-commerce and other companies. "I work on three-to-six-month contracts with companies. The job is fast-paced. It is not rocket science but requires you to stay connected with patience," says the MBA graduate who earns Rs 15,000-50,000 a month.

Companies believe customers don't trust a brand unless they see people talking about it on social media. "Every company, including Google, has social media presence," says Aditya Jayaram, a social media manager with an IT firm in Whitefield. "There has been a dynamic shift from call centre to social media space. Customer complaints made on Twitter handles and Facebook are intimated to us through social marketing platforms like Radian6."

Nishant Choudhary, assistant vice-president, marketing at online office supplies venture Zoffio, says customers post reviews and grievances on the firm's social media handle before talking to customer care. "This shows that the brand has built credibility on social media where customers feel that they are personally attended to and their issues are resolved faster," he says.

To which seasoned digital marketing professional and IIM alumnus Hemant Soreng says, "With the advent of smartphones and computers, companies want to target customers through social media besides TV, radio and outdoor. They need somebody to effectively feed these channels. Digital is the future. Thus, this specialised job will stay in demand."