Industry Insider: Social Media Director
By Tenley Sanduski, Fashion Writer
Social media. You spend all day scrolling through it, making sure everything you post is “Instagram worthy.” Surely you’ve thought, “Can I just drop out of school and live on my phone forever?” Well no, you probably shouldn’t drop out of school, but yes you really could make a living with the help of your favorite apps.
Social media marketing jobs are hot in so many industries right now, but especially in fashion. If you’ve dreamed of your job description reading: Instagram, then you’re in for a real treat. While there’s more to it than just posting pretty pics, social media-centric jobs are real and for your taking.
So, how can you go about landing your dream job as a social media guru? It starts here, in college. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to become a social media strategist, manager or sales representative, majoring in communications, journalism or marketing are key to employers. It is also typically required or preferred that you have excellent writing and computer skills. And, above all, a love for content creation.
But, once you land the job, what kind of responsibilities can you expect? After reading social media coordinator job postings on Indeed, you can expect to have a wide range of duties. From assisting with photo shoots and styling, to developing posting strategies, analyzing traffic and response data, to researching the latest media trends and updating the company’s accounts.
Not only do you need to know how to post a photo, analytics are a common skill requirement. The end goal for a brand engaging on social media is to drive a following and increase sales. Keeping track of views, likes and responses to posts can help a brand learn what they’re doing right, wrong, and what they need to be doing more of in order to optimize their promotions.
If you’re hoping to work in this area of any industry as your career, there are a couple things you should be doing now to help set you apart:
Follow accounts that are doing social media right. Whether you follow Vogue, Sports Illustrated or the L.A. Contemporary Museum of Art (who, by the way, has a great Snapchat!), find accounts that are relevant to your interests so you can soak up some inspiration. This will keep you up to trend and give you background knowledge on their social media style.
Build your own personal brand on social media. You hear in the news all the time about people losing jobs because of their social media. But, when you want a job in it, make your accounts are an extension of your resume. Show off your photography, editing, style or whatever your passion to give future employers a living portfolio.
Think about some of your favorite places on campus. Restaurants, clothing stores, fitness studios, anywhere. Have you ever taken a picture there and posted it to your Snapchat or Instagram? If yes, talk to their manager and see if you could be an ambassador for them and post photos on your account as your job. This could potentially give you perks at your favorite places and an easy resume boost!