While social media has been central to work and life for some time, it has now become even more essential as “the go-to window to learn, find new career opportunities, and grow our brands.” If you are wondering about the specific benefits of a degree in social media management, look no further. Here are four of the major advantages.
1. THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
If you are interested in Arkansas State’s Bachelor of Science in Strategic Communication with Social Media Management Certification, you are likely keen on learning how social media grows community. Social media can be an engaging and fun activity. If you spend a lot of time on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or TikTok, obtaining a social media degree offers a chance to turn activities you love into a career.
As a social media manager, you’ll shine by creating conversations and expanding your social network. You may be asked to develop an online community around a brand launch using Twitter or to create a series of infographics for Instagram.
2. THE BEST OF MANY WORLDS
As you think about what to choose for a major, you might be torn. On the one hand, you like the idea of communicating in writing. You also like the idea of working with photographs or videos. Moreover, you think working with hard facts and figures for a business degree is a very practical choice.
Social media management combines the best of all those worlds. One of the main purposes of social media marketing is to get a brand message out and build awareness around what an organization is and what it offers. Another purpose is to engage with the social media community.
Businesses and organizations seek to create a buzz around their products or their mission. In addition, if customers or community members have a negative experience, social media is the platform where the company can find out about it, fix it and let them know. In fact, Nikki Little from public relations firm, Franco, suggests in a recent article that a trend in social marketing will be “getting back to the basics of relationship building and customer service. Marketers need to get back to using social channels to communicate and connect.”
Getting messages out to customers or community members and receiving messages back requires a variety of skills. Written communication is essential, whether you are doing informational posts or a steady stream of tweets. Being skilled in making, choosing and managing images is crucial because social media traffic is often driven by dynamic images.
Business skills are also highly important. One of the most critical functions of social media managers is knowing how to use metrics to track the impact of messages on target audiences and strategies to monitor return on investment (ROI). Did a Twitter campaign create excitement around a launch of recycled gift cards connected to Earth Day? A skilled social media manager will be able to tell whether sales rose as a result, if so, how much, and whether it was from the target audience.
3. A STRONG EMPLOYMENT PICTURE
in 10 Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves. The U.S. government estimates that the job category of advertising, promotions and marketing managers will grow 10% through 2030 — faster than the average of all U.S. jobs. Social media is a segment of this category, but it is likely to be on the high end, given the relative decline of print media and rapid rise in digital media.
4. FLEXIBILITY IN OBTAINING A DEGREE
Arkansas State offers a degree focused on social media management that can be completed online. The format is an important consideration for working students who want to earn a bachelor’s degree. You can study at any time or place, making this the perfect program to prepare you for a career in social media management.
Learn more about the A-State online B.S. in Strategic Communication with Social Media Management Certification program.