Okay, maybe you’ve come here not necessarily as a professional in the affiliate or social media marketing world, but you’d like to be. We wouldn’t blame you. Social media marketing can be a very fun and rewarding career path, with outlets for both the creative and analytical of us.
There are four main types of social media marketing roles: social media management, which includes social media strategy and performance tracking, content creation, community management, and social media advertising. In smaller spaces, a lot of these roles might be absorbed into the one position so it becomes a “Jack of all trades” type role, where you’ll be expected to have a lot of different skills.
A lot of common responsibilities that you might see listed in job descriptions include creative copywriting, graphic design, social ad setup and optimization, performance tracking and data analysis, community engagement, customer support, public relations, and social campaign planning.
Unfortunately, simply being someone who uses social media doesn’t make you qualified enough for the job. It’s a competitive market and it is getting more competitive as it becomes more accepted by those that a decade ago would have wept that their child wanted to be an influencer.
You don’t have to be an influencer (although nowadays that’s also a good way to make a living and doesn’t come with the pressures and scrutiny that past influencers have had to suffer), but if you want a job in social media marketing, there are a few things you should know and start working on now. Take a look at our guide to get started.
Grow your own social media presence
There are lots of ways you can go about this, but the point is to make it obvious that you can in fact gather the masses to your cause. So, whether you’re creating a following on Instagram or Twitter, YouTube or Twitch, TikTok or Snapchat, with an affiliate blog, your sparkling personality, a niche or business, etc. As long as your social media channels have the numbers to back up what you’re doing, you’re good. And that number doesn’t have to be through the roof. Let’s face it, if it was, you could go on to be an influencer and you wouldn’t need a job. You just have to prove that you can get results and demonstrate your approach to social media marketing.
Gain a social media certification
But lots of people can make a minor following on social media. Lots of people are. What will make you stand out is a qualification. There aren’t many hard and fast rules to what qualifies a social media marketer, but a good chunk of users can claim that they are self-taught. There are a few avenues you can go down with this. If you took an English literature, or art and design course in university, your degree could allow you to specialise in the writing or graphic design aspect of social media marketing, respectively. But to go more general, you might want to do a course in business management or even journalism, which has a lot of overlap with marketing. Journalism, especially digital journalism, will teach you how to create a blog, start a podcast, and put together a video broadcast, all of which is applicable in marketing.
If university is out of the question, there are plenty of webinars and courses you can sign up for online, such as Hootsuite Academy’s courses.
Search for jobs on social media
Social media isn’t just a marketing marketplace. Getting back to the main point of social media, it’s a good place to connect. Sure, that used to mean gabbing with your friends after school, but now it’s a good networking opportunity. A good first step is to collaborate as much as possible. Someone might not come across your platform, but they might be intrigued by a mention of you in another.
So, that means it’s time to get up close and personal with LinkedIn. LinkedIn, like real world networking, approves of being bold, so connect with anyone in your industry. Be sure that your profile reflects the best of you, and keep it updated with what you’re doing on other social media channels.
Stand out with your portfolio
As much as social media is a creative industry, don’t go mad with creativity on your CV. Yes, employers want originality, but they also want to glance at a sheet of paper and know whether you are qualified for the job. They don’t want style over substance. If you’re going to demonstrate your creativity, do it with a portfolio of work and keep your CV professional.
And as much as we don’t want to tar an entire industry with the same brush, social media marketing is definitely the most likely place where a social media portfolio will be appreciated. The social media portfolio, as created by Gen Z is a separate account that shows off everything you are doing professionally. Although that doesn’t mean you can leave those inappropriate opinions on the latest political issue on your personal accounts. An employer may still check.
Fill this portfolio profile with updates in your career, whether you’re in university and attending a club, are looking up courses to do at home, or are attending a networking opportunity, snap a pic and look busy.
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