Social media strategist vs content manager

The differences between social media strategists and content managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a social media strategist, becoming a content manager takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a content manager has an average salary of $75,124, which is higher than the $62,339 average annual salary of a social media strategist.

The top three skills for a social media strategist include instagram, digital marketing and twitter. The most important skills for a content manager are digital marketing, content strategy, and content creation.

Social media strategist vs content manager overview

	Social Media Strategist	Content Manager
Yearly salary	$62,339	$75,124
Hourly rate	$29.97	$36.12
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	43,791	108,058
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	44	39
Years of experience	2	10

What does a social media strategist do?

A social media strategist is primarily in charge of handling a company or an individual's social media platforms, aiming for brand awareness and good public relations through positive online engagement. Their responsibilities revolve around developing and implementing social media strategies and campaigns for marketing, coordinating with content creators and writers, identifying new online marketing opportunities, keeping abreast of the latest trends, and ensuring that all content materials are relevant to the company. Furthermore, as a social media strategist, it is essential to be prepared for any issues by devising damage control plans.

What does a content manager do?

A Content Manager is focused on creating, improving, and maintaining content to achieve the business goals. They lead a team of copywriters and content executives.

Social media strategist vs content manager salary

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

	Social Media Strategist	Content Manager
Average salary	$62,339	$75,124
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $94,000	Between $50,000 And $111,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Utah	Washington
Best paying company	Google	Meta
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between social media strategist and content manager education

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

	Social Media Strategist	Content Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Communication	English
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of Georgia

Social media strategist vs content manager demographics

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

	Social Media Strategist	Content Manager
Average age	44	39
Gender ratio	Male, 39.1% Female, 60.9%	Male, 49.1% Female, 50.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black 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%
LGBT Percentage	11%	10%

Differences between social media strategist and content manager duties and responsibilities

Social media strategist example responsibilities.

Manage social media and content creation for Instagram account of 23k+ followers.
Manage all social agency and vendor relationships, including Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube.
Create, curate, and manage all publish content, including blog posts, website copywriting and design social media images.
Perform administrative duties including ordering photography supplies, managing expenses bookkeeping, updating photography inventory and archives.
Develop creative marketing campaigns to engage current and alumni volunteers including photo and video contests on Facebook.
Crowd source using Facebook, Google and LinkedIn ads.

Content manager example responsibilities.

Manage social media, blogging, SEO strategy, and outreach.
Assign stories to freelancers and manage that editorial process, including optimizing original content for SEO.
Manage, coordinate, and confirm all content updates in the content management system including UI messaging and user assistance.
Manage social media marketing, including Instagram
Manage implementation of marketing automation software and lead integration with CRM to improve tracking and visibility into campaign performance.
Web management responsibilities include WordPress and basic HTML.

Social media strategist vs content manager skills

Common social media strategist skills

Instagram, 7%
Digital Marketing, 7%
Twitter, 6%
Social Media Marketing, 6%
Social Platforms, 4%
Linkedin, 4%

Common content manager skills

Digital Marketing, 9%
Content Strategy, 7%
Content Creation, 6%
Project Management, 6%
Web Content, 6%
Content Development, 4%

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Social Media Strategist
Social Media Strategist vs Content Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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