Marketing Career Focus: Social Media Marketing
The Career Focus posts will cover a specific track or specialty track within the MS in Marketing degree program that can lead to the acquisition of many, if not all, the skills needed to successfully enter the career under discussion.
What does a social media manager do?
Jayson DeMers, a pioneer in social media marketing, summed it up in Forbes:
“Social media management isn’t just about posting content to a business’s social media channels. Social media management has become a complex, multifaceted role that operates to help a business achieve its highest-level goals. It isn’t a job that functions independently or in isolation within the company.”
DeMers identifies five skills that are mandatory for an effective social media manager:
- Graphics Production — the skill to conceive and create effective images for posting
- An aptitude for writing
- A customer-service mindset
- A solid understand of search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing
- Social advertising experience
For more information visit the MS Marketing – Digital Advertising and Marketing specialty track to learn more.
For a manager with three years of experience, salaries range from $35,000 to $80,000.
(Note: students requiring visa sponsorship tend to receive less money and there are fewer sponsorship opportunities in digital marketing for international students.)
What is the job market size?
The phrase “social media marketing” returns 52,957 jobs on Indeed.com; however, there is a wide pay-scale rang in social media because some jobs are mainly customer service roles or low-level blog creation jobs. When you search “social media marketing manager,” some 15,435 jobs with salaries ranging from $35,000 to $80,000 appear.
Typical social media manager job description
(from a JCPenney posting for “manager, social media”)
Description
Core Competencies
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or related field
- 5-7 years of social media marketing, content management and planning
- Proficient in Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and other platform insights
- In the know about emerging platforms, technology and retail advancements
- Experience working with web analytics tools (Coremetrics or Google Analytics a plus)
- Ability to present to executive-level leadership
- Self-starter, with ability to navigate ambiguous data and requests
- Keen understanding of branding and voice via social
- Strong multi-task capabilities, and ability to juggle multiple projects
Typical social media manager job description
From a Universal Studios posting for “social media analyst”Description
- Lead and develop the use of social media data and analytics to tell the larger omni-channel story and empower the Social Media team in the development of future
- Link social at the guest level to other channels such as CRM, paid media, and web to track and enhance the customer
- Leverage social data as a tool to test and optimize creative and
- Determine creative ways to leverage social data and analytics as a means to track awareness, guest feedback, and forecast
- Assist the Social Media team in optimizing platform performance by providing real-time data monitoring and coverage reports for events, launches and
- Provide strong consulting through a deep understanding of business problems, and developing and implementing creative solutions to support social media
- Utilize existing social measurement tools such as Sprinklr as well as identify new or emerging tools to help articulate social
- Act as a storyteller, translating complex analytical work into easy to understand analysis and
- Partner with integrated teams to think outside the box on how social listening can help fuel business
Experience:
- 4-year Degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, Economics, Mathematics or related areas of study or equivalent work
- 3-5 years of social media analytics (preferred) or web, ecommerce, digital product or channel strategy experience.
- Strong analytical skills coupled with the ability to form hypotheses and draw meaningful insights from disparate data
- Social Listening experience a must
- Excellent written, oral communication, project management and presentation
- Must be able to clearly articulate and present findings and recommendations to team members and management, and to technical and non-technical
- Equivalent combination of education and experience is
Typical social media manager job description
From a Circuit of The Americas Venue posting for “social media manager”
Description
Circuit of The Americas (COTA) is the premier destination for world-class motorsports and entertainment in the United States. Set on 1,500 acres in the rolling hills just outside downtown Austin, Circuit of The Americas has hosted the biggest names in racing, action sports, and music since 2012. It is the home of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, The Moto GP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas, and AutoNation INDYCAR Challenge. At its heart is a 3.41 mile racetrack that was designed to challenge the world’s most exacting competitors, and a 14,000 seat Amphitheatre that hosts the hottest musical acts, thrilling audiences throughout the year.
General Purpose:
The Social Media Manager is a multifaceted position responsible for collaborating with the digital marketing team to build brand affinity and fan engagement through content creation for web, social, and email marketing campaigns. The ideal candidate will have prior professional experience maintaining a social media presence for a brand and have a passion for facilitating a world-class fan experience in the online sphere. They also must have exceptional writing and communication skills, with an understanding of rugby, soccer and racing series as well as their fan bases, or the eagerness to learn.
Essential Functions:
- Work alongside digital marketing team to plan, shoot and execute social media content with an emphasis on rugby, soccer and motorsports
- Measure and report performance of social media marketing campaigns
- Identify trends and insights and optimize strategy accordingly
- Bring original and innovative content to all digital strategy
- Maintain and grow the brand’s social media presence through real-time engagement/outreach and through impeccable customer service
- Collaborate with agencies and vendor partners
- Consistently bring fresh, practical ideas that drive sales and fan interest
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Demonstrated excellence maintaining a social media presence for a major brand
- Strong research and analytical skills
- Knowledge of best practices on major social media platforms and how to strategically utilize those platforms
- Excellent communication skills a must
- Impeccable grammar and copywriting ability
- Excellent editorial judgment and a strong creative sensibility
- Must be able to handle multiple projects and tight deadlines
- Ability to work closely and communicate on a daily basis with teammates to share workload and collaborate on projects
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or marketing
- 1+ years of experience in Photoshop/Illustrator and video editing
- 1+ years of experience in social media
- Ability to work evenings and weekends for events as needed
- Thrives in a collaborative, fast-paced event environment
Preferred (but not required):
- Appreciation for and knowledge of rugby, soccer and motorsports
- Eye for great design
- Photography skills
- Photoshop/Illustrator proficient
- Video editing/production skills
- Bilingual English/Spanish
These charts from Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com provide examples for this specialty and average salaries in the career area.
Top skillsMentioned by at least 10 major companies with this job title posting |
Courses of special relevanceSee the syllabus for each course for relevant skills, as not all skills are taught in every course. |
| Customer behavior, influencers, contagion, viral | MKT 6310 Consumer Behavior Science & Practice |
| Social media analytics platforms, content | MKT 6343 Social Media Marketing and Insights MIS 6373 Social Media Business course is mainly high-level strategy and Harvard Business School cases |
| Content creation, creative development, appeals | MKT 6332 Advertising and Promotional Strategy has many key elements used in social media |
| Web analytics | MKT 6352 Marketing Web Analytics and Insights MIS 6344 Web Analytics is structured to cover 1/3 web analytics, 1/3 PPC and 1/3 SEO. This class is good if a student wants a general overview. However, it does not provide depth in any one area. |
| Digital marketing, including basics of social media | MKT 6321 Interactive and Digital Marketing |
DFW Social Media Associations and Meetups
DFW Social Media Marketing Group
Social Media Meetups in Dallas
Social Media Software/Platforms:
Manage multiple social media platforms or add specific functionality
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
- There are over 50 different social media tools. Social Media Examiner has a good list.
- Watson Analytics
- NetBase
- Sysomos
- Brandwatch
- List of top providers from Gartner
Suggested Social Media Events/Conferences:
Social Media Examiner – Events and Conferences
Newsletters and Websites:
Popular Books on Social Media Marketing
The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, & Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, 6th edition, by David Meerman Scott (Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2017)
The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand, by Ekaterina Walter and Jessica Gioglio (New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2015)
Likeable Social Media, Revised and Expanded: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Amazing on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and More,2nd edition by Dave Kerpen, Carrie Kerpen, Mallorie Rosenbluth and Meg Riedinger (New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2015)
Indeed.com is a good job search site because at a glance it shows average salaries, years of experience for many mid-level positions, the number of available jobs and their locations. I looked at 10 to 15 job descriptions from major companies and the skills most frequently mentioned at such employers as AT&T, Citibank, Colgate-Palmolive, The Richards Group, YUM! Brands, and others. However, there is NO substitute for your doing your own searches and analyses.
