Job outlook for social media managers

To be a social media manager, you need to be able to evaluate a company’s position, learn enough about the company to develop an initial online strategy, and then proceed with doing all the steps to prepare a dynamic plan for a quality online presence with ongoing content and relationship development. While the manager may have to handle everything from choosing the account names to loading and editing photos, the more challenging aspect is the overall decision making about the program, how to manage it, how to evaluate performance, how to handle the challenges, where to take it as it evolves.

Social Media related jobs continue to grow. More people need to be trained in social media for business to fill the jobs that are posted, and the many that have yet to be created.

Where do you find social media jobs? You can find them formally posted on on online job board sites like Indeed.com.

Here are a few links:

Indeed.com’s Social Media Strategist positions.

Simply Hired’s social media marketing jobs.

There are also less formal job sites like Craigslist. Look for “social media” in Raleigh Jobs on Craiglist.org.

And, contract job sites, like guru.com and elance.com. Here’s a link: social media marketing jobs on elance.com.

There are hundreds of other opportunities that haven’t been posted anywhere. If you get out and talk with small business owners, they’ll tell you about their challenges. If you want to build your own business doing contract social media management work, these business owners may become your clients.

Although a whole generation of people has been raised on computers, mobile devices and Facebook, this younger generation does not always have the business savvy or know-how to manage a business’ social media and Internet marketing presence from definition to hand-off. It’s not something one is born with, and businesses vary too much industry to industry to be readily handled simply by someone who has “been on Facebook since 2004.”

No semester-long training can substitute for ongoing practice and live experience, a thorough training by people who have current experience, is an excellent way to start.

What kinds of social media manager or management or marketing training is available near RTP (Research Triangle Park) in the Triangle?

One source is Martin Brossman & Associates. Martin Brossman has been teaching social media and online marketing for small business all around North Carolina. Martin and Anora McGaha taught a Social Media Management Certificate Program at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro in the Spring of 2013.

In 2012, Anora McGaha and Martin Brossman developed a specific online training for becoming a Social Media Manager Training Program – covering all aspects of defining a social media program for a business or non-profit and creating and managing it. That specific training had as prerequisites the basics of setting up social media accounts, posting, blogging, basic Google Analytics and photo handling, to name just some of the basics.

The Social Media Manager training program is an advanced training in social media management – even though participants are learning the fundamentals of Social Media Management. So much basic knowledge of social media sites and the Internet is needed before adding on the Social Media Management phases. Then they developed a broader program, the Social Media Management Certificate Program which starts at the beginning and takes you through Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced levels before moving through the Social Media Manager Training.

Although a 14 week course, the pace is fast and requires a lot of independent learning through watching videos and experimenting. Students are required to develop their own project in social media management to demonstrate application of the concepts and practices taught in the course. Find out more by emailing info@martinbrossmanandassociates.com.