When I tell people that I am a social media specialist, the reaction is usually "Oh, so you play on Facebook." My response to that is usually something like, "Yeah, basically." I say this because it easier for people to understand than if I explained what I actually do. In one day, I can do anything from scheduling Facebook posts, creating advertisements, coming up with creative campaigns to increase presence for clients, working on video storyboards and even coming up with radio content. As you can see, that is a lot more than sitting on Facebook.
When people hear the term "social media," most think of it as a distraction or something to pass the time. There is no doubt that social media is both of these things for many people. However, people forget to look at social media as a job prospect.
Social media is something that is only going to continue to grow. More and more businesses and organizations are turning to different social media platforms to increase the awareness of the business. Companies want to reach more customers and social media is a very effective way to do that. However, you need to understand Facebook and other social media more than just being able to upload pictures and post statuses.
When using social media for advertising, you need understand the analytics that go into each media. You need to be able to interpret demographics, see where your likes are coming from, the differences between organic likes and boosted likes and be able to effectively create appealing ad campaigns. That is a lot more than just understanding how to post statuses.
Social media has changed so much over the years and it will only continue to grow. Five years ago, if you were to say you had a career as a social media manager, people would think you were wasting your time. Now, as companies understand the value in using social media to reach a wider audience and how to use to effectively market their products, the demand for competent social media specialists, managers and strategists has increased.
I only touched on one small aspect of using social media as a viable career. Youtubers such as Connor Franta or Jenna Marbles, use social media everyday. Connor Franta's estimated yearly earnings range anywhere from $89,000 to $671,000. The reason for such the disparity is that this is the lowest and highest pay reported at a time. So that means the minimum Connor makes is at least $89,000 while the max he could make is anywhere near $671,000. Either of those sound good to me, and it came from just using social media.
So now you tell me, how is social media not a career?
