A social media specialist develops an effective online advertising campaign with the goal of increasing a company’s online visibility. Creating content for social networking and blogging sites, researching customer online behavior, investigating competitor trends, and performing other marketing tasks are all common responsibilities. Some social media experts also create websites, videos, and graphics for use in their online marketing campaigns. To work as a social media specialist, you’ll need strong writing skills, marketing expertise, and experience with relevant computer programs and websites. A college degree with a focus on communications or marketing skills may also be required.
A bachelor’s degree in writing, advertising, or technology may be required for some social media specialists. Some employers and freelance jobs will not require a degree if you have significant experience in social media. If you do decide to get a degree, concentrating on marketing, communications, or journalism is a good idea. You should also take some web design, advertising, and multimedia courses so that you can handle the technological aspects of social media. A master’s degree in online marketing is often required to become a social media specialist, but it is not required to advance in the field or teach classes about social media.
Additional skills such as web design, search engine optimization (SEO), and graphic design are required to work as a social media specialist. While some professionals specialize in writing content for existing websites, others create website layouts, logos, and graphic advertisements. Knowing SEO is essential for gaining web exposure, and most employers expect you to use websites that analyze keywords to find out what’s hot on the internet. You should also be familiar with the software that allows you to create spreadsheets, presentations, and documents.
Social media experts typically have at least a few years of marketing and online media experience, as well as experience posting content to various social networking, online video, and blogging websites. You may also require prior experience recording and editing videos, as well as shooting and editing photographs. Excellent written and oral communication skills are required to work as a social media specialist, as is extensive experience writing online content using the Associated Press (AP) writing style. Freelance projects are a great way for aspiring social media specialists to gain experience in all of these areas, and they may even help you land a job at a larger company later on.