At Rippling, the social media role is elevated from a simple scheduler to a strategic creative partner. This person acts as a "gatekeeper" for quality, collaborating with various internal teams to transform their requests (e.g., for a webinar promo) into engaging, high-performing content that fits the brand's human-first voice.

The "Social Media Manager" title is a relic from an era of simply posting links and doesn't capture the role's modern complexity of content creation, production, and brand strategy. Retiring it for titles like "Head of Content" or "Brand Marketer" can help secure proper resourcing and executive respect.

A B2B influencer manager's role is not just external relationship management. A critical function is acting as an internal 'gatekeeper' and advocate for the creator. This means pushing back against internal teams who want to impose restrictive scripts or creative direction that would harm the content's authenticity and effectiveness.

The title "Social Media Manager" is impossibly broad. To set realistic expectations, leaders must force founders to specify what "great social" looks like (e.g., viral videos, educational carousels) to define the role's actual focus.

In today's algorithm-driven landscape, excellent content is the price of entry. When starting a social team, prioritize hiring a skilled content creator over a social media manager. You can build a strategy around great content, but a great strategy can't save mediocre content that won't get seen.

The role of a social media manager comprises two distinct functions: 'media' (content creation and production) and 'social' (community engagement and conversation). Brands often prioritize the 'media' aspect, focusing on output, while neglecting the 'social' part, which is essential for building and retaining an audience.

To combat being undervalued, social media managers should proactively market their impact internally. This means sharing positive customer feedback (even if it feels boastful), holding educational training for other departments, and using high-stakes situations like crises to demonstrate strategic value to leadership.

To foster creativity while staying on-brand, HubSpot provides "creative guardrails" instead of rigid mandates. They define the audience persona, taste profile, and content verticals, then trust their expert creators to operate freely within those parameters, balancing creative freedom with strategic alignment.

StubHub's social lead left a director role because it moved her away from content creation. She argues that leaders in creative fields must stay "in the weeds"—creating alongside their team—to maintain trust, lead by example, and sharpen their gut instinct for what is culturally relevant.