11 social media skills for social media managers

Social media skills have evolved dramatically since AI has come into the picture. To keep pace with these changes, social media managers must develop specialized skills that complement AI-driven advancements in content strategy, analytics and audience engagement. Marketing leaders also need social media marketing skills to help social teams do their best work.

In this article, we’ll explore how AI has reshaped the role of social media managers. Plus, we’ll list the social media skills social media managers and marketing leaders must master to stay competitive.

How have social media manager skills evolved?

How to be a good social media manager has changed. A few years ago, social media managers were responding to social network fragmentation and dynamic changes in search engine optimization (SEO). Today, they're optimizing content creation, managing online communities and providing more personalized customer care—while finding new ways to use AI.

According to The 2025 Sprout Social Index™, the most important functional skills for social media managers are social listening, data storytelling and creative direction. The most valuable soft skills include project management, brand voice development and strategic partnership building.

AI helps scale these skills, but it doesn’t replace them, especially because social practitioners need many of them to produce original content.

How social media manager skills have changed since AI emerged

Skill specialization is the biggest overall change AI has brought on. A 2024 analysis of 50 social media job descriptions found that social media job responsibilities are becoming more sophisticated and data-driven.

According to Sprout’s Q1 2025 Pulse Survey, here are the top three specialized roles marketers would like to add to their team.

Social media analyst OR social media creative directorInfluencer marketing leadSocial media operations/project manager

AI is changing the game, but social media managers are still calling the shots. By leveraging AI-powered tools for tasks like scheduling and writing alt text, they’re streamlining workflows and freeing up time for high-level strategy and creativity. With AI as their assistant, social practitioners can focus on what they do best: creating engaging content that drives results.

Sprout’s integrated AI functionality helps with everything from sentiment analysis to predictive analytics, all in one platform, empowering social media teams to anticipate trends and optimize their strategies in real-time.

If you want to sharpen your skills for 2025 and beyond, watch the video below. We feature our top five skills for the next few years, including AI and data storytelling.