The term social media refers to the various communication platforms available on the Internet, such as Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Linked In. These platforms enable people to form digital communities in which individuals create and share content and with which other users interact. Social media has revolutionized how members of society interact with one another; on any given day, people are able to communicate instantly on a global scale. Furthermore, social media has created a prodigious growth in the job market for social media related tasks. Some of these new jobs include: bloggers, online community managers, and social media strategists, search engine optimization specialists, and media planners.
Writing on the web has lead to a new forum for personal expression that resembles a journal or diary. There is a significant difference between blog and journal writing – the author is writing for the various audiences who may encounter their personal page, making their private thoughts public. The nature of sites like blogs and LinkedIn have created a personality-based style of writing distinctive to the author’s individual style. The author must still use audience analysis in writing depending on who will be viewing their page.
However, blogs and LinkedIn both introduce a new element to online rhetoric that influences the writing- the ability for the audience to respond. The communication channels opened up by the author-to-audience interactive relationship helps strengthen social ties. The author-to-audience relationship also effects audience analysis. For example, an author will shape the content of the writing when taking into consideration their intended audience and expected feedback. Conversations through websites such as these lead to discussion threads which resemble original rhetorical forums similar to those in the Greek tradition. Authors today must use the rhetorical idea of kairos to “assess their audience and adapt their tone and technique to best get their point across” (Thompson). The style of the blogs and LinkedIn sites helps to promote electronic rhetoric and maintain relationships through writing on the web.
History:
Contrary to popular belief, social media was not simultaneously created with Facebook and Twitter, but rather, it has been in existence since the late 1970’s when Ward Christensen and Randy Suess created the computerized bulletin board system (BBS). The roots of social media can be traced back to the advent of the Internet, starting with the use of email, the first platform by which users could digitally communicate. In this initial stage, digital conversation was strictly bidirectional; only two users were able to interact at any one moment. Eventually, this evolved into stable platforms, such as web pages, with which multiple users could engage at the same time. Today, these forums have further expanded into highly advanced networks, that allow for multiple types of content and interaction, such as Facebook and Twitter, on which users can instantly chat, post text, photos, videos, and other media.
Bloggers:
Professional bloggers must be experienced writers who have voice and can communicate well with a diverse audience and know how to capture anyone’s interest. A blogger writes articles and blogs on the web as well as maintaining a website’s attractive appearance through pictures, videos, templates, or links. They must also make sure that every link is up to date. Since technology is always changing, they must keep up with easier and most recent ways to improve their blogging. There are popular websites designed for blogging, such as WordPress.com or Blogger.com
Online Community Manager:
Online Community Managers communicate directly with their audience about their company. In doing this, they answer emails, add comments, and have online conversations about issues or questions a person may have about a product. They should find solutions to these problems through research and good verbal and written communication skills. They will also engage in discussions and create web feeds to promote and keep the audience’s interest in the product or company as well as collecting feedback from users. They should be organized by maintaining live chats and answering questions and must show excellent customer service. They should also monitor user satisfaction and research for more ways to improve their company’s image. They must also be up to date on the latest communication trends and applications.
Social Media Strategist:
A Social Media Strategist develops and maintains a social media strategy and marketing techniques that promote a company’s brands. He must constantly find new ways to increase business enterprise though monitoring and reporting social media performance of customers. Some other tasks for a social media strategist include: integrating social media to business campaigns, guiding communication/management professionals on maintaining strong management and organization in content developments for networks, as well as working with executive level management on certain projects. They also research the latest trends and make sure that their company follows it. A Social Media Strategist must have good oral and written communication skills. They must also know how to work with a team and independently. They should also know how to do graphic design.
Search Engine Optimization Specialist:
A Search Engine Optimization Specialist reviews and analyzes his company or client’s site to make improvements or editing. He also does keyword analysis and research, looking for popular keywords that people may use in search engines to have a better chance of accessing the client’s site. A SEO must also know where to put the copy and the keyword so that it gets the most search engine traffic possible. He must know how to write effective headlines or call-to-action statements for search engines. Also, he is in charge of distributing content on his client’s site as well as using “coding” such as HTML header tags, which will also link to search engine classifying a topic on the client’s website. They must also follow the Search Engine Guidelines. SEO Specialists must have good written and verbal communication skills, be good analytical thinkers, and self-starters.
Media Planners:
Media Planners work with digital advertisers. They must do research and collect data to figure out who their target audience is and when and what they watch, while getting to know the kind of character the target audience is. They must know what the best timings are to schedule the client’s advertisement while also recognizing patterns about the viewers. They try to come up with creative media proposals that suggest what they should be doing with their budgets, and how they can better obtain their target audience. They must constantly monitor advertising ratings and how effective their client’s campaign has been. They also advise other teams working with the client about what they should be doing to increase the ratings. They must have good research skills, work well as a team, have good interpersonal skills, and be good negotiators.
Knowledge, skills, and experience required for jobs in Social Media:
Because Social Media is a relatively new job industry, there is no clearly defined route to obtain a job in the field. The main disagreement between experts regarding a job in social media is the necessity of a bachelor degree over experience.
No particular major is important to a job in social media; however, some of the skills necessary to a career in social media are acquired and improved in some majors, such ranging from communication to Internet knowledge. These skills can be acquired in different majors such as Marketing or Computer Science. Many professors support the idea that an education is necessary in Social Media in order to understand the users of social networking sites.
However, these skills are not exclusive to these majors and can be acquired by working and getting experience. In fact, contrary to other careers, a bachelor degree is not necessary to pursue a career in Social Media. Also, it is important to remember that a job in Social Media relies on initiative and imagination and the other skills necessary can be acquired on the job.
With or without a college degree, in order to acquire a job you must prepare yourself on every social platform and build profiles in different social networking sites. To do so, you have to be familiar with the different social media websites, know how to use them and create a profile for yourself. It is important to avoid certain common mistakes when creating a profile.
Tips for creating and maintaining your own Social Media website:
- Have multiple social media sites and make sure that they are all current, appealing, and busy. Having different sites shows your knowledge in social media networks and gives your employers more information as well.
- Make sure your profile is public and easy to access; this shows that you have nothing to hide and the company will trust you. Also, avoid nicknames that can sound unprofessional.
- Delete (or un-tag) any picture that can be seen as unprofessional or irresponsible for future or current employers, and make sure that your profile picture shows you in a respectable and professional way.
- Upload your interests on your social media site and post links to these interests so your employer can get to know you better. Avoid unprofessional interests or “likes.”
- Keep your profile updated and delete unnecessary information for your employers.