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First things first: What does “working in social media” really mean? The job of a social media specialist or manager looks different depending on the size and type of the company they work for.
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Small businesses often have a single person handling all of their social accounts — or even all their marketing efforts, even the ones happening outside of social platforms.
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Larger companies may have a team of people dedicated to managing social channels with more specialized roles, like social media strategist, community manager, or social engagement specialist.
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Here are the main types of roles in social media: – Social media management (includes social media strategy and performance tracking) – Content creation – Community management – Social media advertising
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Daily tasks also vary from company to company—and even from day to day. “In this job, you’re not restricted to anything,” says Trish. “Social media changes every single day, and you need to be able to adapt to that.”
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Here are some common responsibilities that might be expected of you as a social media manager: – Creative copywriting – Graphic design – Social ad setup and optimization – Performance tracking and data analysis
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– Community engagement – Customer support – Public relations – End-to-end planning of social campaigns – Communicating with company stakeholders
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Here are tips you can take to achieve a social media career:
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To use your social media effectively during your job search, the first step should be to create a tailored blog, portfolio website or social media page to showcase your work.
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If you want to be a journalist, for example, you could create a simple website or blog showcasing your articles. This is the ideal way to market yourself online, and you can easily build a basic website in less than 20 minutes.
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There aren’t any hard and fast rules when it comes to qualifications for working in social media (more on that later), but completing a social media certification is an asset.
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By educating yourself using free resources, you’re showing potential employers that you have taken the steps you needed to take in order to proactively build your knowledge base.
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Many social networks also have their own training and certification programs to help social media professionals learn the best ways to use each network’s specific tools—and highlight that proficiency to potential employers on your resume.
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Working in social media is different from working in any other industry — and that means that you might not be “climbing the ladder” in a traditional way. We get into this headspace where we always want to be chasing for more money or a better title. But sometimes there’s value in taking a step back and trying a role you weren’t expecting.
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Especially if you’re pivoting to social media management from another type of work, you’ll likely find yourself at an entry-level job — but you don’t have to stay in it forever. Sometimes taking a step back can open a door that didn’t exist before.
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The best way to find a job in social media? Using social media, of course. LinkedIn, the “smart one” in the social platform family (Instagram’s the hot one, Facebook’s the mom friend, you get it), is one of the best places to nail a new gig.
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LinkedIn has some built-in job search tricks too. Create a search and save notification function on LinkedIn for targeted keywords of jobs you’re interested in.
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That said, LinkedIn isn’t the only option. You can join social media community groups on Facebook or follow social marketers on Instagram for leads on positions.
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The marketing industry is always growing and changing—type “social media manager” into a job search engine and you’ll get lots of hits (a quick Indeed search just yielded 109 jobs just in Vancouver, BC — and that’s only one of many online job boards out there).
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So how can you tell a good job opportunity from a bad job opportunity? Here are some red (and green) flags from our experts.
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Red flag: You can’t tell what the company does. It’s important that you’re managing social media for a company that you actually care about, and if you can’t even tell what the company does from the job description, that’s a bad sign.
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Green flag: There’s a healthy work-life balance. Work-life balance is something you can discuss with a potential employer, or even a LinkedIn connection working at the same company. You can also get a feel for the company culture by taking a look at their social media posts.
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Red flag: The job description is too long. “A really lengthy job description can mean that the employer doesn’t necessarily know what they are looking for or have realistic expectations,” says Trish. “Having five or six specific points shows that the employer knows what their goals are.”
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Red flag: The job description is too long. A really lengthy job description can mean that the employer doesn’t necessarily know what they are looking for or have realistic expectations. Having five or six specific points shows that the employer knows what their goals are.
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Green flag: There are opportunities for growth. Ask about this in a job interview (you know, at the very end when the boss asks “Any questions” and you suddenly forget your own name).
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Red flag: There’s no social marketing budget. To set you up for success, your company should provide you the resources you need—and one of those resources is money to boost ads and pay for subscriptions to invaluable social marketing tools.
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Green flag: You have the support you need. Even if you’re taking on the job of a solo social media manager, you don’t want to feel like you’re completely on your own. “If you’re going to be a one-person team, make sure that you have the tools and mentorship you need to succeed,” says Brayden.
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Your resume is the very first impression that you make on a potential employer, and there’s a lot of competition out there—here are some tips to stand out from the crowd.
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– Include your personal and professional profiles: You can list your user names on social websites so employers can see how you promote your personal brand on social media.
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– Describe your impact: To emphasize your experience in an entry-level social media role, you can describe the impact of your internships. For example, you could say, "Increased engagement by 20% through rebranding initiative."
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– Show your design skills: Many social media jobs require you to have graphic design skills. You can use your resume to show employers that you understand graphic design principles by creating a visually attractive, professional document.
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This is tricky to answer, because really, it depends on the person and the company. We’ve seen stories of people on TikTok who have become very successful social media managers with just high school education.
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With a natural marketing instinct and some luck, you can make it with very few formal qualifications. But that’s not to be expected—here are the social media qualifications that most hiring managers are looking for:
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- A college or university degree. A post-secondary education in the arts is an asset, especially in something writing-related. You need creative copywriting skills. Being able to create content that isn’t generic is much harder than a lot of people think.
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- A certification in social media. Good news: social media certification is a lot cheaper (and takes a lot less time) than a college degree. Completing these kinds of courses gives you a concrete achievement to list on your resume, and to refer to during a job interview.