Social Media Career Options for Social Media Professionals
Companies are increasingly using social media to reach out to their audience. Social media implies social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Orkut, video-sharing sites like Youtube and Daily Motion and social bookmarking sites like Digg, Mixx and Reddit. Kranthi Swaroop Bloggertricks CEO tweeted that wished to know more on the Taj Mahal. He got a reply from National Geographic about their program ‘Mysteries of the Taj Mahal’ which he could watch on television. He watched the program and was very impressed.He even subscribed to National Geographic website and purchased ’120 years of National Geographic magazine’ in an easy-to-use digital format.
The above is a classic example of how companies are using social media to reach out to their audience. What we see above is not an in-your-face promotional or an irritating telemarketing call, but an unassuming way of engaging a customer.
Social media in India is still in a blossoming stage, but with the number of users estimated to be more than 19 million in December 2008 and growing at over 50 per cent (according to comScore, a digital marketing intelligence firm), things are growing very quickly.
A company will use resources to hire a social media professional only when it is convinced that it is profitable from a return of investment perspective. Studies show that social media revenue spending for Indian companies next year would be close to Rs.50 crores. Who is a social media professional? Explains Daksh Sharma, Iffort Consulting, web strategy and social media consulting firm, “Consumers on the Internet are looking to connect with real humans, thereby creating a huge demand for professionals who can help companies manage diffferent aspects of the Internet. That’s precisely the job of a soc management professional.
Demand for social media specialists:
No data is given on the requirement of social professionals in India. However, Mahesh Murthy, CEO of Pinstorm states that social media should be employing close to 5000 people in the next two years. The figure may be modest, but there is no preventing the fact that social media is a hot career option on the Internet. Looking at how social media is finding relevance in our lives, it could just be the tip of the ice-berg. Let’s check out social media career options
Social Media Job Functions: A social media programmer, though not part of the ‘core social media management domain’, has an important role to play. Smaller companies and start-ups with restricted budgets may have just one or two people to manage their social media presence.Bigger companies could mostly outsource their social media work to an external agency with one or two internal people to oversee the proceedings. In some cases, the companies may have an internal team of their own to manage social media.
How can I get hired? Look for companies that need people to manage social media internally, as a part of their communications team, to handle social media aspects. Second, and probably the main employers, would be social media firms whose responsibility is to enable firms manage their social media presence. Then, there are also marketing services firms who set up social media cells.
What skills do I require to be a social media specialist? It is something most of us reading this article are very familiar with. You need to be savvy with social media, understand social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, Bebo etc and blogs. If you are looking for a course for social media, there is none such but may just begin in the next couple of years.
Mostly, the ones who can befit the title of a social media professional is the one who is good with the written form of communication skills, sufficient traditional marketing/communications experience and deep understanding of brand building and customer relations.
How much will I get paid? Salaries for social media professionals depend on job profiles, skills set and experience. For a social media tracker, who has the most basic or fundamental job, it could be Rs 1 lakh a year or so. With 3-4 years of experience behind him, a person can move up the ladder and can expect a salary of Rs 3 lakh-4 lakh per annum. The social media strategists, with considerable experience in their core area, earn the highest. According to an industry expert, someone with 7-10 years’ marketing communication experience can easily earn Rs 18 lakh or more.
Job profile of a social media professional: V.S.Arunraj, a social media professional with Bollywood Trends, says, “The best thing about my job is that I can get to interact with people, which is both enjoyable and challenging. You can definitely make influence thought leaders or influencers in communities or group in social media channels to share their views about your brand.”
Is Social Media Necessary? Since social media reflects brand perceptions and has plenty of user-interactions, it is good to have social media skills above your core skill sets; they can definitely add value to you and your organization. Marketers can use it as a platform (video, text, audio) to connect, converse and spread the news d about their company’s brand. An example would be a mobile phone manufacturer giving a latest smartphone to a lucky user whose tweets have e company hashtag (which makes the company name easily searchable on Twitter). HR professionals can use the social media as a tool for recruitment to locate the right candidate based on skills and work profile. Social media is certainly the next big thing on the Internet ocean. You can prefer to stay afloat or plunge in and find the treasure buried underneath.
Also read about Social Media in Bollywood
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Posted by Starwin on 16th March, 2010
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