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Careers in Online Media
RATIONALE:
This lesson looks at trends in online social networking and explores careers in social media.
Can students blog and tweet into a career? For job seekers who tweet, tag, and text, there's something to "like" about this mostly dreary job market. . . .there is a rise in social media jobs. Social Media is becoming a vital part of what companies do, and that's good news for qualified job seekers.
Jobs with "social media" in the description have more than tripled over the last year, reaching more than 16,000 in November, 2010 compared with about 4,300 during the same month in 2009. That increase in unique jobs—openings posted on several job boards count only once—shows the demand for these skills isn't isolated to jobs that focus on social media.
FORMAT of VIDEOCONFERENCE:
Melanie Moran will discuss careers in online media, including important skills and training required, new developments in the field, and the sorts of career choices available to students. She will also discuss job search strategies, the best aspects of this profession and career progression within the industry. Each session will feature a 25-30 minute presentation and 15-20 minutes of questions from students.
OBJECTIVES:
Students will:
1) Explore Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networking websites
2) Expand question formation skills
3) Increase communication skills
4) Discover the most common jobs in social media and the skills required
INTRODUCTION:
No question about it, social media is here to stay and is increasingly opening the door to a host of new career options in social media. For the new generation of college graduates searching for jobs and internships in the field of communications, this couldn’t be better news. As byproducts of the digital age, hunting for these jobs won’t require a trip down the yellow brick road.
PRE-ACTIVITIES
Hold a class discussion on social media as pre-activity to introduce the lesson.
So what is a social network? It is a way of communicating with other people. Why do we use them? Because we like to communicate with other people, especially our family and our friends. It is a good way to keep in touch. There are many different forms of social networking. Probably the most popular today are Facebook, Skype, MySpace, Twitter, Google chat and ICQ. All are different.
What is Facebook? It is a network that allows users to communicate with others using chat. It also allows you to upload photos, etc.
Skype allows users to audio chat or video chat each other for free. . if both sides are using computers.
Twitter is limited to 140 characters per message. Twitter came into its own during the Iranian election when the current government cracked down on its own
population. It denied them the freedom of communication. Twitter users told the world what was really happening.
LESSON
Social media is an essential medium for transforming knowledge production. This lesson addresses Careers in Social Media. Social media transforms us from knowledge “consumers” into knowledge “producers”. Social media helps overcome several barriers: fear of public presentations, reluctance to express one’s opinion, and time constraints.
A key pedagogical component of social media is identity transformation. When students post summaries on Twitter and Facebook, they are presenting their ideas to broader audiences than their classmates. They are also presenting their ideas to their friends and family. A common problem of traditional education is that students form “oppositional cultures”. Often a student who answers questions is labeled as a “nerd”. Activities on social media will cultivate a “scholarly” identity. Rather than isolating education from a student’s “at home,” “on the bus,” or “with friends” identities, these activities integrate pedagogy into all of these identities.
COMMON JOBS in SOCIAL MEDIA and the SKILLS REQUIRED
The world of marketing has changed with the rise of social-media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Now companies are seeking their customers' attention with tweets, videos, articles, pictures, and anything else that will stir up comments and create a following. Do you know what this means? They're looking for people to hire who know how to create “online buzz”.
A growing number of job hunters are turning their blogging skills or experience setting up Facebook fan pages into new careers in social media. A background in marketing, computer technology, copywriting, or journalism is often a plus in landing Web 2.0 jobs.
Pay rates are all over the place in this emerging field, but good pay is already to be found, with full-time jobs ranging from $45,000 to six figures.
Get paid in social media for what you've already done. A new college grad may make $35,000 as a social-media marketer, but if you already have a marketing job where they pay you $80,000 a year, your employer might move your duties over to social-media marketing and keep that salary.
Many ad agencies that offer social-media help to major corporations are hiring. The majority of the jobs in social media are freelance rather than full-time. On the up side, hourly rates can be high . . .some up to $200 - $250 an hour and more. The lowest rate anybody should charge for social media marketing work is $50 an hour, and many are charging $100 an hour.
Here are some of the most common jobs in social media and the skills required:
1. Social media strategist/digital strategist
This is the “top of the heap" job in social media. These experienced marketing strategists understand how to create social-media marketing campaigns and measure their success. They may oversee a social-media team at bigger companies. They are the people who put together the plan.
2. Community manager
A $120,000-a-year is the going salary for a community manager position with a major company. Community managers oversee company blogs and forums, keeping visitors coming to the site through outreach on social sites, and moderating conversation to make sure nothing libelous or insulting is being said.
The job calls for marketing experience as well as work in Web publishing, copywriting, project management and social media. Qualifications is marketing experience and been heavily involved in social media. Community managers know how to run online symposiums, draw people into the company's community, and keep them in.
3. Blogger
Posting short articles filled with links to related Web sites has become a popular technique for improving a site's rankings in search engines, such as Google. $50 to $75 an hour is typical corporate blogger pay. Many bloggers have journalism training, but others who enter the field have their own personal blogs and use them to audition for corporate blogging jobs.
4. Social Media Marketing Specialist
The virtual-world version of a marketing specialist, this job entails taking existing company marketing materials and circulating them effectively in various social-media channels.
5. Search Engine Marketing Associate
A search engine marketing (SEM) associate works on building a company's results in "natural search," the unpaid results delivered by Google and other search engines.
6. Online Customer Service Representative
A growing number of companies are watching social sites for customer complaints on social media sites – prominent examples on Twitter include Comcast Cares and Best Buy's Twelpforce. There's a lot of work here, because it's so expensive to take calls. Workers with call-center experience who write well are ideal candidates to cross over into this field.
7. Social Media Expert
From car dealers to local boutiques, nearly every business is looking for a social media expert to Facebook, Twitter and blog about their business. If students want to be proactive, they should brush up on their social media knowledge and confront local businesses about hiring them part-time while they are still in school. With more and more businesses pulling away from traditional advertising and unsure how to use social media sites to their advantage, students can easily sell themselves as a new hire, as long as they stay on top of the game.
JOBS OUTLOOK
Since social media is a young industry, there aren't many professionals with years of experience. This is a terrific opportunity for new college grads because they're coming into the workforce for the first time in decades understanding more about something than the people that are hiring them.
But just because you use Facebook on a daily basis doesn't mean you're qualified for a strategist position. In addition to technical skills, companies want a smart communicator—a professional they can trust to be the voice of their brand. Marketing experience is always a plus, and in some cases, a must.
Already social media has changed the face of public relations, with communications and marketing specialists increasingly using online tools to spread the word about their clients' services.
TIPS on LANDING a JOB in SOCIAL MEDIA
1. Build a quality following on popular social networking sites. Not only does it demonstrate your ability to use the tools, a company may see your following as a base for their own network. You will be providing the employer an asset beyond yourself. You will be providing an audience that you're bringing with you.
2. Include social media skills on your resume. Don't make the mistake of thinking everyone knows how to use Twitter strategically or create a video that goes viral on YouTube. Even if you're not looking for a position specifically in social media, using these skills on Twitter and You Tube will make you more marketable. If you have the word “digital” in your resume or job title, people are looking to hire you.
3. Showcase your skills beyond building an online following. Creativity plays a big role in social media, so look for outside-the-box ways to prove your value. Create a video resume and upload it to YouTube. Start a Twitter chat around one of your professional interests. Use Facebook ads to reach hiring managers at companies where you want to work. Using online tools in smart, fresh ways will help you catch the eye of a potential employer.
4. Take on social media responsibilities at your current job or volunteer to gain experience. Brooks Thomas, a former television news producer who lives in Dallas, helped grow his station's social media presence even though it wasn't part of his job description. He realized that he enjoyed doing that more than his actual job. He later used that experience to land a job with Southwest Airlines as an emerging media coordinator, a position he first heard about through Twitter.
POST ACTIVITIES
Students will examine the role and impact of social media on the 2011 revolution in Egypt and how that impact is having far-reaching ramifications throughout the Middle East.
Teacher will discuss:
Social media has played a role in these protests, but has not been the reason for the revolutions’ success. It has allowed opposition groups to present their grievances, communicate with their members, and anticipate changing events earlier and better than their opposition, the government. Combined with traditional media of television and 24-hour cable news, social media has allowed them to tell their story on an international stage.
Students will then research and answer these two questions in an essay:
a. How might social media be used in the future in Egypt to help ensure democracy can be established in the country?
b. What role might social media play in similar circumstances and events in other countries of the Middle East?
NATIONAL STANDARDS
Marketing - Categorize elements of the promotional mix and their applications in a competitive economic environment.
Sales and Promotion Planning - Distinguish among advertising, promotion, publicity, and public relations
Communication and Collaboration
- interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
Digital Citizenship
- advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
- exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.
2.1 Participate in career awareness, exploration, and preparatory activities in school- and community-based settings.
•2.1.2 Career preparatory courses, programs, and activities incorporate contextual teaching and learning.
•2.1.4 Understand the relationship between postsecondary education and career choices, and the role of financial and benefits planning.
•2.1.5 Understand how community resources, non-work experiences, and family members can assist them in their role as workers.
2.2 Academic and non-academic courses and programs include integrated career development activities.
•2.4.2 Complete career assessments to identify school and post school preferences, interests, skills, and abilities.
•2.4.3 Exhibit understanding of career expectations, workplace culture, and the changing nature of work and educational requirements.
•2.4.4 Demonstrate that they understand how personal skills and characteristics (e.g., positive attitude, self-discipline, honesty, time management, etc.) affect their employability.
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