In today’s shaky economy, with unemployment numbers rapidly rising, launching a career in social media marketing can be a great movie with many opportunities for a bright future. Traditional businesses are laying off employees because they are unable to pay their monthly wages. According to essaywriterfree, newly graduated students will have a difficult time finding a good job – or any job at all. At the same time, social media is gradually becoming a massive force to be reckoned with, one that we cannot afford to ignore.
Businesses have begun to use social networking platforms as part of their regular marketing campaigns, and while larger corporations can afford to train their employees in the ways of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, smaller start-ups are now opening a new set of jobs for people who have deep knowledge in this very aspect of online marketing to help their business.
This is a fantastic opportunity for many unemployed people, as well as those looking for a meaningful career change that allows them to do something creative, interesting, and fun while also being well compensated.
Why Should You Job In The Social Media?
Social media marketing has grown in popularity. It is so large that more people than ever before are aware of how to at least briefly navigate social networking platforms. I know an elderly couple who are only vaguely familiar with the fundamentals of using the internet to check their emails, but they both have a Facebook account to stay in touch with family scattered around the world. They understand how to update their timeline, upload family photos, and add friends.
Hanging out on various social networking sites is a hobby for many people. The majority of their friends are on Facebook and Twitter. For them, it is simply a dream come to a true situation when they can get a job that allows them to do exactly what they enjoy doing – and get paid for it!
Prominent bloggers have built some really strong networks on various social media platforms, and businesses are actively looking for them because they know these networks can help them with their regular marketing and promotion, not to mention that these bloggers often require no additional training in their new role at the organization.
While several experts offer social media marketing training as part of their curriculum because they recognize that there is currently a shortage of relevant skills in the workforce, proper training is quite expensive and time-consuming.
So, if you know your ways around platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest, are familiar with current IM chatting software like Skype, AOL Instant Messenger, and Google Chat, and have done an online webinar or two, you could be the ideal candidate for a company looking for people with extensive knowledge in this area and who have built a following in this o.
What Are Some of the Best Social Media Job Titles I Could Pursue?
If you believe you have what it takes to enter the social media job market, the next step is to be aware of everything that is available and how to navigate the maze that is the collection of social media job titles that are currently available.
When you browse various social media job boards, you’ll notice that many job titles are extremely similar to one another, and it appears that there is an infinite number of job titles available today with no streamlined criteria. While everyone knows what a plumber or a banker does, there appear to be few guidelines for what the various job titles for social media marketing positions mean.
So, here are a few brief explanations of various job titles. While we can’t possibly go over every title added at random by every company, the ones listed here are pretty much standard everywhere.
Blogger on the internet
An online blogger is typically in charge of adding and maintaining content online that revolves around the company, as well as promoting it through their blogs and various social media outlets. The blogger will be familiar with most blogging platforms and will have an engaging style that draws visitors in.
Manager of the Community
A community manager is typically someone who has knowledge and experience in various social media channels, understands how to interact with company customers, and is active on online social platforms such as online forums. He or she will be responsible for defending the company’s brand from slander and acting as the organization’s eyes and ears when necessary.
Analyst for Social Media
A social media analyst is generally responsible for tracking and analyzing social campaign data as well as tracking their success. Based on their analysis of the company’s social presence, he or she will have insights and make recommendations to the organization’s managers.
Specialist in SEO/SEM
This is the person in charge of search engine optimization and online marketing using competitive keywords and meta tags. They will assist the brand in establishing a strong organic search presence in major search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Will have a solid understanding of Adwords and PPC, as well as Google Analytics for measuring and tracking progress. This person will typically have a strong presence in the social media community as well as the various online SEO forums.
These are just a few of the most popular job titles available on social media job marketing boards; there are many more that overlap in terms of description and required qualifications. Titles such as social media expert, social media manager, digital product manager, social media strategist, and social media specialist are examples of such jobs.
The most important thing to remember is that, regardless of the various job titles listed, there are only so many things that a social media position will require – and the majority will revolve around the need to bring the company’s brand online recognition and market the brand through the various social media channels using the tools readily available online.
Positions in Social Media Marketing Have a Wide Range of Responsibilities
As previously stated, there are hundreds of different job titles in the field of social media, but there aren’t that many job responsibilities typically associated with positions in this field, and many of them overlap quite nicely. You can use this to your advantage if you understand what kind of responsibilities are expected. Some of them are listed below.
- Create relevant social media strategies that advance the company and brand.
- Create social media profiles for the organisation and make it a well-known brand online.
- Create and/or manage the brand’s positive online reputation.
- Create and distribute daily content to various online platforms and social networking sites, such as blog posts, articles, and tweets.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for the various interactive online platforms.
- Make recommendations to managers on how to proceed with increasing brand awareness online in order to expand the existing customer base.
Some Basic Guidelines for Landing a Job in the Social Media Industry
When all is said and done, how do you go about finding a job on social media and landing a high-paying position?
Here are a few pointers that should help. No article can provide as much information as an entire book devoted to the subject, but these pointers should get you started in the right direction.
- To begin, ensure that social media marketing is a field in which you are interested. It’s fun to hang out on Facebook and tweet your heart out to friends every day, but can you imagine doing that at a 9-5 job every day?
- If the answer to the preceding question is a resounding YES, you should begin your research. There are many companies actively looking for qualified employees, so how do you find the right one for you? Searching the various online job boards for positions in your area is one of the best ways to get started. Indeed.com is one of the most popular job search websites. There are numerous jobs available on a daily basis, and navigating the site is simple. You can also look in your local newspaper for job openings. And don’t forget about the various social media platforms that have job postings, such as some of the popular employment LinkedIn groups.
- Once you’ve identified a few companies where you’d like to work, begin researching them. Examine their websites and go through each page (trust me, this will come up at your job interview anyway, so better get familiar with the organisation right from the start). Look up these companies on the internet by typing their names into a search engine and seeing what results you get. Look for any news or rumours about the organisations on the various social media platforms. Remove those that do not meet your requirements.
- Conduct more in-depth research by reading relevant business-related online magazines, publications, and journals. Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune are excellent places to begin. Is your favourite company mentioned or listed anywhere in these journals?
- Make use of social media to your advantage. Many of these businesses will already have a Facebook page, so start following them. Do they have a presence on Twitter or LinkedIn? Examine how frequently they tweet and post. You may even find an entry point during the interview if the company lacks a strong social media presence by proposing to assist with and this and this (all learned through your careful research from before).
Even If You Do Not Want To Work In Social Media,
Even if you decide that working in social media is not for you, having a working knowledge of the various social network platforms can greatly assist you in landing any job anywhere. You can use social media for self-promotion as well as job research.
Knowing how to research the right company, how to find the few gems among the many that aren’t worth bothering with, how to prepare for a great job interview, and how to use social media sites to your advantage can mean the difference between being unemployed/having a boring job that just pays the bills, and having a fulfilling position that you enjoy, one that you found simply because you know how to use social media sites to your advantage.
Remember that knowledge is power, and the more knowledge you have, the better your chances of finding the dream job that not only pays well but is also fulfilling in and of itself.
Learn more from Marketing and read more about Five Business Skills That Companies Seek for in Job Candidates.
