Fancy getting a job in social media? We chat to the experts to find out how you can stand out from the crowd

Spending all day on Facebook may seem like a pretty cool job, but there’s much more to working in social media. It’s a modern career, involving improving company profiles online, interacting with customers, and engaging a community – and it’s incredibly fast-paced and reactionary.

But if you’re already active on social sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn, you’re halfway there.

Jobs come in all guises, from the exciting to the mundane. A couple in the former category include a social media guru for a Californian wine company, which paid $10,000 a month and included free accommodation among hundreds of wineries.

There was also ‘The Best Job In The World’ – a cunning marketing campaign by Tourism Queensland, which employed British man Ben Southall for six months, paid him AU$150,000 and arranged for him to travel, blog and tweet. Not all vacancies are mind-blowing, though.

You could find yourself working in a strategist role, as a community manager, in marketing or as a blogger.

Your potential employer will be looking for your presence on social media – so if your application says you’re active on Twitter, make sure you are.

Andrew Grill, CEO of Kred, a site which measures online influence, says: “When I look to employ people in social media, I only use social media to find them. 

“If they are not using it and can’t be easily found, then I’m not interested.”

Grill, who grew up in Adelaide, but now lives in London, is an engineer by trade. He’s has been active online “since before it was even called ‘social media’”, starting a website in 1994.

“When recruiting, I also look for a broad and growing social footprint that proves they get social; attention to detail – social media runs at such a frantic pace, but you also need to know how be precise in your responses and messaging; and an inquisitive mind – the ability to go beyond the tweet and see what makes a person tick.”

Read the full interview with Andrew here

Setting the tone

When promoting a brand online, it’s important to find a tone that speaks to your audience – there’s no point adopting a cheeky persona if you’re responding to NHS complaints on Twitter, for example.

One brand that has got it right is the Facebook page for Tourism Australia, simply called ‘Australia’.

The page only needs to post an image, before hundreds of thousands of users start to interact.

Jesse Desjardins, Social Media & Advocacy Manager, says: “Keep it simple and do it well; don’t try to make it too complicated.”

Nora Maki, 34, the social media executive for VisitEngland, agrees.

“I want to make sure our social media channels as helpful as possible for visitors looking to explore England. We try to include varied amount of information, to ensure there is something for everyone,” she says.

Maki, from Finland, but who now lives in London, worked in B2B and tech PR before getting involved in social media. She now sources content, posts on Facebook and Twitter, as well as organises activities and campaigns.

“For anyone looking to get into social media, attention to detail is a must, as is great organisational skills,” she says.

“You need curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, as it’s about spotting stories which might be working for your brand and talk about them. And you must have great social skills – it’s all about being social!”

Read the full interview with Nora here

What you need

Although there are no standard industry qualifications for social media, recruiters will expect you to be able to prove your worth, to be able to demonstrate how each of the different social media sites work.
And you can expect a starting salary of about £20,000 a year for a full-time role.
Grill says: “Simply put – to get into a role in social media you need to be doing it and be confortable with the platforms, jargon and tools involved.”

Where to look

The most obvious place to look for jobs in social media is on social media.
Follow brands you would most like to work for on Twitter and Facebook and interact with them – that way, you’ll be one of the first to see if there’s a vacancy.

Websites

bubble-jobs.co.uknma.co.uksocialmediaexaminer.com<span 1.6em;”=””>, which offer creative and media jobs, as well as loads of digital roles.

Make sure you join relevant groups on LinkedIn and update your profile to include your social media presence. Follow companies such as social media site Mashable.

This is an article taken from the TNT Archives.