Social Media Specialist

A social media specialist’s job includes building and executing social media strategy through competitive research, platform determination, benchmarking, messaging, and audience identification. They are to generate, edit, publish and share daily content, such as original text, images, video or HTML, that builds meaningful connections and encourages community members to take action. They also set up and optimize company pages within each platform to increase the visibility of company’s social content, and moderate all user-generated content in line with the moderation policy for each community. Other responsibilities include creating editorial calendars and the syndication schedules. So, in a nutshell, the Social Media Specialist is responsible for the ongoing management and growth of the business’s/company’s social media presence in alignment with their business strategies and direction.

To be successful at this job you will need to have excellent consulting, editing (photo/video/text), writing, and presentation and communication skills. It is important that the individual has social networking experience and social analytics tools knowledge, and working knowledge and real-world experience in planning, managing and executing social media initiatives. You will also need to have real-word experience planning social media programs that span blogs, Facebook, and even sponsored Tweets. Likewise you will need knowledge of Digital Marketing current best practices and an understanding of Digital production processes. You also must be knowledgeable of social media legal guidelines. You must also possess knowledge of strategic planning and processes for brand management and creative development. Adequate knowledge of web design, web development, CRO and SEO. You should also have knowledge of online marketing and good understanding of major marketing channels. You should have a positive attitude, be detail and customer oriented with good multitasking, good organizational ability, and have strong negotiation skills. I found during my research that most if not all the companies require 3+ years of experience and either a BS or BA in Communications, Marketing, Business, New Media, Public Relations, or any other related field.

Since we live in a world where the Internet is important, it is a vital part in our everyday lives. Companies need/want to go where the potential customers are, which is online. So, while doing my research I found a ton of companies, across the United States that are hiring a Social Media Specialist. Companies I found that were hiring individuals for this position include Campbell’s Soup, Micro Solutions, Creative Circle, Meridian Technology Group, and O’Reilly Auto Parts, just to name a few.