Head of Social job description

What does a Head of Social do?

Part of the digital team, the Head of Social is responsible for building brand awareness across social media channels. They create impactful social media strategies and lead a team of marketers to execute them. Their main goal is to ensure that a business is engaging with their target audience across the right platforms.

Key responsibilities

While the role might vary in different businesses and teams, the main duties of the Head of Social Media include:

• Lead social media activity: Develop and implement platform-specific strategies that maximise audience engagement and revenue growth.
• Influencer marketing: Identify opportunities to maximise partnerships with influencers.
• Ensure cohesive marketing plans: Work closely with the Head of Marketing to align social media campaigns with overall goals.
• Brand management: Create strategies tailored to each platform, while ensuring a cohesive brand tone of voice and messaging.
• Content production: Lead the digital content team to ensure the highest quality of social media content. This can include videos, imagery, text and carousels.
• Stay on top of trends: Keep on top of updates to social media platforms, integrating changes into the strategy. The Head of Social and Content will also ensure the team are reactive to any social trends relevant to the brand.
• Customer engagement: Build and engage an online community, ensuring a positive customer service. Where necessary, work closely with the communications team on crisis management.
• Reporting: Use analytics tools, such as Hootsuite, to track performance across social media accounts. Utilise this data to report on key performance indicators (KPIs), demonstrate return on investment (ROI) and optimise the strategy.
• Team management: Lead and develop a team of Social Media Managers, Community Managers and Content Managers.

Skills and requirements

The Head of Social role requires the following skills and experiences:

• Experience working in a digital marketing job focussed on social media and content marketing
• Proven track record in delivering social media strategies and campaigns to drive brand and revenue growth
• Expert knowledge of social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and Pinterest
• Experience managing internal and external relationships with key stakeholders and agencies
• Passion for the sector, constantly staying up to date with the latest updates
• Strong leadership and team management skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong project manager, with the ability to be reactive with marketing
• Creative and innovative mindset

When to hire a Head of Social?

Did you know that "55% of people prefer researching products on video and social platforms versus traditional search platforms"? A Social Media Strategist will unlock new routes to market, reaching audiences who have never heard of your brand before.

At this point, you should have reached a stage in your growth where sales are steady and you're ready to give them an extra push. You might be looking to expand into new territories, for example. A Head of Social can take you there by:

• Setting and sharing your USP across social media
• Offering a creative approach to your current marketing strategy
• Bringing the brand to life in a human, relatable way
• Identifying the best influencers and brands to strategically partner with
• Measuring the ROI of social media and taking a data-driven approach

Heads of Social Media are incredibly niche specialists. Their creative, data-driven approach will bring your brand to life in a new, exciting way.