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Social media content manager vs content writer

The differences between social media content managers and content writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a social media content manager, becoming a content writer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a content writer has an average salary of $58,918, which is higher than the $54,354 average annual salary of a social media content manager.

The top three skills for a social media content manager include social media marketing, digital marketing and instagram. The most important skills for a content writer are digital marketing, wordpress, and web content.

Social media content manager vs content writer overview

Social Media Content ManagerContent Writer
Yearly salary$54,354$58,918
Hourly rate$26.13$28.33
Growth rate10%4%
Number of jobs69,07719,621
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age3942
Years of experience102

What does a social media content manager do?

A social media content manager oversees a company or individual's social media platforms, aiming to enhance its online presence and raise brand awareness. They typically manage a group of content specialists and graphic designers, and together they conceptualize plans and campaigns that align with the brand's purpose and vision. It is also their responsibility to establish guidelines and timelines, monitor every online campaign, research opportunities and trends, and resolve issues promptly and efficiently. Moreover, as a manager, they must lead and encourage teams to reach goals, all while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.

What does a content writer do?

The job of content writers is to create the best possible written or visual content ranging from blog posts to press releases. They produce the content for various types of websites, including social networks, news aggregators, and e-commerce sites. The job of content writers is not limited to writing, but also ensuring that the content connects or is relevant to the website pages. They are expected to set the tone of the website and revise the content upon customers' or clients' requests. They are also responsible for assisting in the creation of style guides.

Social media content manager vs content writer salary

Social media content managers and content writers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Social Media Content ManagerContent Writer
Average salary$54,354$58,918
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $92,000Between $40,000 And $84,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Cisco
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between social media content manager and content writer education

There are a few differences between a social media content manager and a content writer in terms of educational background:

Social Media Content ManagerContent Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorCommunicationEnglish
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Social media content manager vs content writer demographics

Here are the differences between social media content managers' and content writers' demographics:

Social Media Content ManagerContent Writer
Average age3942
Gender ratioMale, 39.1% Female, 60.9%Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage10%16%

Differences between social media content manager and content writer duties and responsibilities

Social media content manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage social media campaigns that increase ROI, build brand advocates.
  • Achieve a following of over 10k on official Instagram profile within 3 months of management3.
  • Manage and build online social platforms (SoundCloud, YouTube, Spotify, etc . )
  • Perform administrative duties including ordering photography supplies, managing expenses bookkeeping, updating photography inventory and archives.
  • Content includes videos and photos on company s website, twitter, facebook, and instagram account.
  • Film and edit YouTube videos.
  • Show more

Content writer example responsibilities.

  • Implement and manage Salesforce and Marketo for client to establish lead nurturing campaigns.
  • Maintain guest blogging strategy and policies to achieve a consistently diverse authorship and to grow readership.
  • Manage the editorial production of the pamphlets, brochures and graphic material to target worldwide audiences including china.
  • Manage proposal process from RFP (request for proposal) receipt to writing and editing various contributions to final RFP submission.
  • Collaborate with overseas team and manage documents using SharePoint to conceptualize and generate new marketing content.
  • Produce a wide array of literature ranging from poetry to short stories.
  • Show more

Social media content manager vs content writer skills

Common social media content manager skills
  • Social Media Marketing, 10%
  • Digital Marketing, 7%
  • Instagram, 5%
  • Facebook, 5%
  • Twitter, 4%
  • Content Strategy, 4%
Common content writer skills
  • Digital Marketing, 10%
  • WordPress, 9%
  • Web Content, 6%
  • Blog Posts, 6%
  • Digital Content, 3%
  • Content Marketing, 3%

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