Moving Up In the World: How Social Media Marketing Became a C-Suite Position
Is it okay to put your weekly screen time on your resume yet? If you’re in the social media game, it might be.
With the growth of social media from a network novelty to a business essential, companies are increasingly learning that using platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook is no longer optional. In today’s hyper-speed digital landscape, having a strong, consistent presence on these apps is the bare minimum if you want to grow your brand and your business.
As we discussed in our last article, the role of ‘social media marketing’ has traditionally fallen to under-experienced, overworked team members and interns. And while this can have huge results thanks to the advantages of putting a digital native on this job, the truth is that confusing algorithms, increasingly complex and unsettling AI, and the waxing and waning of various platforms make this a surprisingly complex job. With millions and millions of pictures, videos, and text posts published each day, companies are learning that they need to make a real investment to see results from social media.
In this article, we’re diving deeper into the executivification (we’re inventing words now) of social media marketing. How did a good social media marketer become just as important as a company’s financial officer, operations officer, or even the CEO themselves? Let’s explore the role of the Chief Social Media Officer.
The (Re)Birth of the Chief Social Media Officer
Social media marketing has gone from a capital-T time-waster to an absolute non-negotiable for business success, and the professional roles that facilitate it have grown in tandem. To label this phenomenon as social media professionals become more visible and vital, we’re actually looking to the past at a once-popular term that’s since fallen to the wayside: The Chief Social Media Officer, or CSMO.
Yes, this job title makes it sound like you’re running your socials like a navy admiral, which honestly isn’t too far from the truth. But what sets CSMOs apart from other kinds of social media professionals?
In a few words, a CSMO’s job is to lead your brand’s social media strategy and operations from the top down. These CSMOs are in charge of managing a team, either from within the company or with external contractors, rather than doing everything themselves. The duties of a CSMO usually involve:
Overseeing content creation
Managing your presence on various platforms
Engaging community online
Analyzing data and insights to adjust social media strategies
Finding ways to tangibly increase brand awareness and lead generation with socials
CSMOs vs. Your Everyday Social Media Marketers
Ever hired a freelance SMM or content creator to help market your business? You might be wondering how some professionals are working for $30 an hour, while others command salaries in excess of $350,000 a year. The difference between a CSMO and your average social media professional comes down to a mixture of perspective, vision, and leadership.
CSMOs are high-level professionals, and you’ll see them most often in bigger companies with major marketing budgets. These industry professionals work with brands to create policies and personas for socials, keep up with new platforms and tech to stay ahead of the curve, keep an eye on online conversations and communications between the brand and its audience, and create reports to provide updates on social media growth and suggestions for the future.
As the slightly military-vibe name suggests, the Chief Social Media Officer is the big dog when it comes to managing social media marketing. They hold the high-level vision of the brand and its online presence, making full use of their team to keep growth steady and develop new, flexible strategies as needed.
Compare this to the average daily duties of a freelance or entry-level social media pro. To carry on with our army analogy, these experts are the foot soldiers — digging up content and trends, fighting the ever-harder battle for attention, and creating every individual post, graphic, and video themselves. Occasionally, these people may lead a small team, but even then, they’re far more involved in the daily grind of social media marketing.
CSMOs, on the other hand, have the responsibility of maintaining the big picture vision for the company. The CFO doesn’t personally balance the books, and the CEO certainly isn’t mopping the floors. Their job is to lead, guide, and strategize, using the tools and teams at their disposal to get results instead of getting in the trenches themselves.
These overseers bring extensive knowledge of past, current, and future developments in the social media space. They’re always on the ball when it comes to adopting new tech, letting go of outdated systems, and keeping the brand headed in the right direction. And when you find a CSMO who’s truly worthy of the role, you’ll understand why some of these experts are making six-figure salaries.
Rethinking Social Media for Your Brand
We get it. You’re (probably) not Duolingo, Uber, or Netflix. You don’t have a multi-million dollar marketing budget or a spare $100,000 earmarked for a CSMO. By exploring this emerging C-suite role, we’re not saying you need to shell out for a world-renowned expert or face social media mediocrity for the rest of time. Instead, we’re flagging a shift in the way the world thinks about the way they use and prioritize social media.
The facts are there — social media is indispensable when it comes to acquiring new business, reaching new audiences, and growing your presence both online and off. While most of us can agree that social media is important, there’s often a disconnect when it comes to applying that to your daily marketing efforts.
So what’s the answer? While you may not have the budget to hire a world-famous marketing pro, the takeaway is that you need to start thinking of the true value of social media. When done right, your online marketing can transform your brand, helping it grow to new heights that would simply be impossible otherwise. And yes, this probably means spending more on your social media.
How to Invest in Socials When Budgets Are Tight
Sadly, we haven’t figured out how to materialize a bigger marketing budget out of thin air. (Please let us know if you have any ideas!) So how can small and medium-sized businesses give their social media marketing the resources it needs without breaking the bank?
For one thing, it’s time to seriously reconsider all other forms of advertising you’re currently doing. With a few exceptions for certain industries and niches, traditional marketing methods like commercials, web ads, and print spots simply won’t have the returns of a well-crafted social media strategy. Bus banners and radio campaigns might work if you’re after a specific demographic of pensioners, but for anything else, your social media should be doing the heavy lifting.
With (hopefully) a few extra funds freed up, you can turn your attention to how you’re using social media. While paid advertisements and sponsored posts can have great results, these also cost you money every single day you run them, meaning they can be risky when your margins are slim. Instead, we recommend finding a professional who’s skilled at organic strategies.
This means instead of paying Meta to take a spin on the algorithmic roulette wheel, you pay a professional to connect real users with your brand. This can take a few forms, such as finding ways to prompt followers to make user-generated content, expanding your reach through giveaways and contests, or getting creative with repurposing existing content like blogs, podcasts, ebooks, and longer videos. The important thing is finding someone with a knack for problem-solving and creativity — someone who can stretch your marketing budget, use what they’ve got, and earn the results to show for it.
These professionals aren’t necessarily easy to come by. They’re rare, beautiful, majestic. Almost like a unicorn!
At BNL, we’re here to be that unicorn for your business. And when you work with us, you’re not just getting a single expert doing their best. You’re collaborating with a team of diverse professionals, creative thinkers, and expert problem-solvers, bringing together our shared knowledge of platforms, trends, content creation, user engagement, writing, design, AI, and more to stretch your marketing budget further. Under the guidance of our very own CSMO, CEO, and general unicorn-in-charge Megan Shallow, our team is continually thinking, strategizing, and finding new ways to level up our social media practices for both our own brand and those we work with.
If you’re curious to discover how a real CSMO thinks about the social media world as it stands in 2025, you’re about to be in luck! Megan has been hard at work on a presentation for TEDxWestVancouver. Her talk is all about CSMOs, finding her voice in an industry focused on mimicking others, and the value a passionate professional can have when you make them a priority. After the event itself, Megan’s talk will be coming out in video form, so be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be the first to check it out when it’s released!
Plus, if you’re ready for a C-suite-level social media team without the usual price tag, we’re ready to get started. Get in touch with us today to book a discovery call and find out why we’re the unicorns your business needs!