Information in this blog post was obtained from HubSpot, SEMRush, and Sprout Social.
When you see an advertisement on social media, you might think that is the result of one person, who has the job title of social media marketer. That could not be further from the truth. Nowadays in social media marketing companies are dedicating entire departments to help get the best advertisements out on social media to help the company gain exposure and revenue. Since social media has become such a pivotal part of our daily lives, it has evolved into a very powerful tool for all prospering companies to grow brand recognition. As a result, social media marketing has become a lucrative career path for many, because companies know that if they can market their product well on social media, they will get a huge influx of new customers. We will dive deeper into the social media world and the jobs and duties of all the positions in social media marketing.
Prerequisites to Becoming a Social Media Marketer
If you have an interest in becoming a part of a social media marketing team, a four-year bachelor's degree is the way to go, says Allie Decker of HubSpot. She also states that getting a degree in marketing, management, business, economics, psychology, communications, public relations, or journalism can all "teach you the skills and competencies needed to join and excel in the competitive, fast-paced landscape that is the marketing world. They can help with public speaking, creative problem-solving, logistics, sales, and analytics." Next, although it is optional, an MBA, or Masters of Business Administration, is recommended, because it prepares you for jobs at higher levels of an organization, including managing teams and directing projects. Once you have a bachelor's degree and/or an MBA, you can start looking for a job in social media marketing.
Unique Roles in Social Media Marketing
As stated before despite how it seems, there are many careers to choose from when it comes to social media marketing. Each of these roles requires a unique set of skills and personalities, it is all about choosing which one is right for you. Here is a list of jobs in the field of social media marketing that you can explore:
Social Media Strategist- The objective of the social media strategist is to build a social media plan that helps the company achieve its goals. This includes when to post, what to post, and how they interact with consumers on social media
Content Creator- The content creator is the person in charge of manually publishing the advertisements on social media. This job includes posting visual content and interacting with consumers via social media.
Social Media Analyst- The social media analyst follows analytics on social media posts and decides which advertisements perform well and which ads perform poorly. Then, they make changes to the social media strategy accordingly.
Community Manager- The community manager oversees how the public is responding to their ads and products, answering any emails, messages, or complaints about them.
Social Media Copywriter- The social media copywriter writes the captions, tweets, or any ad that is strictly text on social media.
Social Media Manager- The social media manager oversees all production in the social media marketing department, and makes sure every operation is running smoothly and efficiently.
These are just a few examples of careers you can choose in social media marketing. There are endless more jobs depending on the company that you can choose from.
Key Skills Needed to be a Social Media Marketer
Like any job, social media marketing requires a certain skill set that is unique. You mostly learn these skills throughout your degree and MBA, but you also learn these skills from real-world experience and just performing your job. Margarita Loktionova, from Semrush Blog, describes content marketing as, "based on creating, publishing, and distributing content to a specific target audience. Online content marketers are the people who help plan, create, and publish this content." Using this we need to find skills that can help create, publish, and distribute content. Here are some content creation skills based on the article Loktionova from Semrush Blog:
Writing- Most employees on a social media marketing team need to be able to write. Writing is the way you word articles, advertisements, and captions. This is important because if any of those are poorly written, it can negatively affect the performance of that advertisement.
Analytics- Analytical skills help solve problems based on how the consumer base interacts with the company's advertisement. These skills help decipher why ads are or are not performing well and help develop a plan to either maintain the success of the advertisement or fix the problem the ad is facing.
Video- With the rise of TikTok, and short form videos, videography skills are becoming increasingly more important. Knowing how to make an Instagram reel, a TikTok video, or a YouTube short makes you a very versatile employee.
SEO- SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is improving the visibility of your product or website when people search for related topics. This is an important skill to have because it can really positively impact a company when it comes to advertising.
Content Strategy- Content strategy is the planning of when to post ads, what website to post these ads on, creating calendars for when to post, and developing long-term ideas for your ads. These skills can help a company stay more organized and spend more time improving its advertisements.
Content Management- Being able to manage a team is a valuable skill in every career. This can set you apart from the pack when looking to move up to a management role.
Storytelling- Storytelling keeps a company's advertisements interesting and keeps the consumers engaged. If you have an interesting and well thought out advertisement people will tend to watch it longer and more often.
For more information on how to apply and prepare for these jobs, go read my colleague Caleb Zimmerman's post about them here
Challenges in Social Media Marketing
Now that you have gotten a degree, maybe even an MBA too, and decided on which career in social media marketing interests you, I should probably warn you on some challenges that you might face working in the social media marketing department. Here are some issues that might come up during your career:
Algorithm Changes- The world of social media marketing is constantly changing. One day something might be cool, and the next day it might be obsolete. This is also true with an application's algorithm. They change daily to promote new and fresh content and your job as a marketer is to be able to solve the algorithm. Each application also has a different which can create a frustrating and never-ending struggle to stay on top of what works and what does not.
Data Privacy and Regulations- Data Privacy and Regulations change often too, so as a marketer you have to stay on top of new laws and regulations that are made so you do not make anything illegal. You have to be very careful when handling user data because it can become against the law very quickly.
Content Saturation- The amount of content on social media is unbelievable. With so much content, it makes it challenging to stand out from other brands trying to promote their content. Having good creators is vital for sticking out from the crowd.
Negative Feedback- No matter what content you make, there are going to be people who do not like it. It takes a toll on the creators because they worked very hard on the final product just for some random guy on Twitter to not like it. This becomes very mentally draining if you allow yourself to see the negative comments about your product.
Salary of a Social Media Marketer
Here are some facts about salaries in the social media marketing field based on statistics from Ronnie Gomez of SproutSocial:
Salary of a social media marketer in different areas of the US:
New York City, NY: $76,908
Los Angeles, CA: $71,380
Chicago, IL: $66,974
Miami, FL: $80,750
Denver, CO: $65,978
Salaries of a social media marketer in fields other than business:
Technology can expect an average salary of $76,786.
Manufacturing can expect an average salary of $71,841
Finance can expect an average salary of $68,394
Retail can expect an average salary of $68,247
Salaries of a social media marketer based on experience:
Social media professionals with 1-3 years of experience make an average salary of $56,605
Social media professionals with 3-5 years of experience make an average salary of $64,320
Social media managers with 5-7 years of experience make an average salary of $78,129
As you can see, in most areas of the country you are able to start out at a salary that can let you live a comfortable life. I believe this is a fair salary for the work expected out of most social media marketers.
Conclusion
I believe any career in social media marketing can be a fun and lucrative job if you have a passion for creating content and creativity. Since social media is expanding and becoming more impactful in our daily lives, the demand for more employees in social media marketing will also be expanding. Whether you have an interest in being a copywriter, manager, creator, or strategist, there is a job for most interests and skill sets.
Resources
Decker, A. (2022, September 8). The Best Marketing Jobs and careers for you to pursue in 2023. HubSpot Blog. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-jobs
Loktionova, M. (2023, March 13). What’s a content marketer? exploring skills, roles, and salaries. Semrush Blog. https://www.semrush.com/blog/content-marketer/
Gomez, R. (2022, December 12). How much do social media managers make? A salary guide for 2022. Sprout Social. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/how-much-do-social-media-managers-make/
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