A day In the Life of An Apprentice Social Media and Content Executive at Manchester Airport

Spending a minimum of 7 enjoyable hours a day on social media during the lockdowns of 2020, made me realise that there is a career out there for me that I could truly accelerate in whilst letting my creative soul run free, that being a social media and content executive.

With that being said what does a social media executive actually do? And how do you exactly create content?

Read on to find out more about the job of a social media and content executive and discover what goes on behind the scenes at Manchester Airport.

Meet Me (Meg)- Apprentice Social Media and Content Executive at Manchester Airport

Fresh out of 2020-2022 shenanigans and not having a clue what to do with my life, I took the plunge to go back into education to get a qualification as a Junior Content Producer.

I discovered my passion for producing content around ten years ago, basically as soon as I downloaded Video Star, who remembers that iconic app? I just never realised that you could actually make a career out of it, without becoming an Influencer.

Over the past few months, I have been navigating my way through Manchester Airport as an Apprentice social media and Content Executive and I haven’t looked back.

How do most days pan out as a Social Media and Content Executive?

In a nutshell, my job role is to manage Manchester Airport’s social media channels and create the organic content for them. The channels I manage are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. On here I will respond to any enquiries and problems passengers may have and the content I create ranges from blog articles, copywriting to scripts for videos.

Responding to more than eight hundred enquiries a day whilst creating content requires a lot of company knowledge and preparation. Content preparation includes, content research, audience research, key word research and a content calendar. As a social team, it is essential that we keep up to date with current trends and review our competitor’s content weekly.

To ensure that as a team we are all reaching for the same goals and we are working as effectively and efficiently as possible, we have weekly content catchup meetings to review any scheduled and live content.

Disclaimer, this is all done with the help of caffeine.

What skills do you need to have to become a social media and Content Executive?

There are many contributing factors you need to have in order to become a successful social media and Content executive.

Time management

Manage your time, don’t let time manage you.

Organisation skills

With the help of coffee, a clear calendar and good organisational skills you will be able to take on anything this crazy industry throws at you.

Creative drive

If you don’t have any creative drive, you will simply not enjoy the job you are doing, and this will reflect in your content. Creating content gives you a chance to let your creative side run free

Basic understanding of social media channels and how they operate

It will be a minefield to work in the social media industry without having any knowledge of the channels you will be using. There are many tools and channels you can read, watch and listen to gain a small understanding of social media.

Written and verbal communication skills

As you will be communicating with clients/customers, clear written and verbal communication skills are necessary,

Know your audience

In order to create engaging and exciting content you need to know who you are tailoring and creating your content for.

Product/company knowledge

Having product and company knowledge will make your life so much easier when it comes to creating content including a product or answering any enquiries.

All of the factors above will help you to become a successful and efficient Social Media and Content Executive.

What does a very generic day in the life of a Social Media and Content Executive look like?

One of the aspects of my job that I enjoy so much, is that no day is the same, however, I like to stick to a basic structure to stay on track.

As I’m sure you can guess by now my day always starts off with caffeine. Whilst I sip on my fuel for the day, I will open up my calendar to review any meetings I have throughout the day, write my to do list and answer any emails.

To ensure I remain working with a clear head, I log onto Sprout Social (a social media management and intelligence tool for brands and agencies of all sizes to manage social conversations) to review our inboxes and answer any enquiries.

This is where my day gets exciting, this is when I will begin to plan/create content, attend meetings, schedule posts and do most of the things I spoke about above, whilst also revisiting the Sprout inbox here and there.

I always like to end my day how I start it (minus the caffeine) by reviewing my calendar for the next day and answering any last emails and enquiries.

Watch a recent day in my working life here: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMN9ns1c1/?k=1

Contrary to popular belief, the job of a Social Media and Content Executive is a lot more than just scrolling through social media. The social media industry is constantly evolving and there is room at the table for everyone. You now hopefully have an understanding of what it’s like to work as a Social Media and Content Executive.