Social media marketing in Malaysia is a complex task. With an ethnically diverse population, there are vast differences not only in the language used but also in user behaviour across different cultures.
In particular, Malays have recently been found to be more likely to use Lemon8 while Chinese users prefer Xiaohongshu. This fragmentation of social media usage was unheard of just a few years ago when everyone was on Facebook, Instagram and later TikTok.
To truly excel in your career as a Social Media Marketing Specialist in Malaysia requires more than being a planner, writer, designer and communicator rolled into one – it necessitates a finger on the pulse of global and local trends alike.
The following list outlines five key skills that can help you evaluate whether you have what it takes to make it in this exciting and rapidly changing field.
Content Development
Content development is key for any social media specialist. Not only do you need to be creative when developing short-form content, but you are also required to have an understanding of the brand’s proposition and keep up with the current market trends. Easier said than done, you need to be able to plan and develop content that will engage your target audience.
Photo/Videography
As day-to-day social media content does not always require a creative director, it is important for social media specialists to equip themselves with basic photography or videography skills. Think of yourself as a content creator; producing reels should not be too big of a challenge nowadays given all the tools available on smartphones today. At least, you should have an idea of how visuals should be presented and execute it along with your creative team.
Copywriting
Even though there are formulas on how to produce great copywriting, what’s more important is telling a story and ‘selling a dream’ through your words. So make sure you are comfortable with the language used when writing copies for social media. AI tools can also help in this aspect as they provide assistance in writing compelling content quickly and efficiently.
Digital Advertising
The sheer amount of content being produced means that it can easily get buried within people’s feeds unless you promote them properly via digital ads. This makes it crucial for any social media specialist to understand how digital ads work and know how to execute them efficiently. This involves mastering advertising features of social media ad platforms, producing great ad creatives, targeting the right audience, evaluating performance metrics, and lastly delivering measurable results to the brand.
Communications
A social media specialist needs not only to be a good communicator on social media but also excel in communicating well with stakeholders such as employers, brand team members or clients from planning, operation to reporting. It is important to manage the expectations of your stakeholders and it means nothing if no tangible results are delivered after all the efforts.
