Recently the Career Center hosted two guest speakers, the CEO of BlinkJar Media and the head of media relations for ExxonMobil. The speakers spoke on the influence social media has had on advertising and the possible career opportunities in social media marketing. In case you missed it, here are some of the key takeaways from that seminar:
How Do Companies Utilize Social Media in the Workplace?
Social media breaks down geographical barriers and positively influences promotion and connectivity. This allows companies to network and connect to a larger target audience than they would have been able to using traditional media (i.e. television, radio, and newspaper). Social media is a tool that is utilized by most companies to provide customers with better customer service and fast, accurate information and updates.
Companies use different social media platforms to appeal to their target audiences. For example, companies that use Facebook most likely have a target audience of adults in their late forties to mid-sixties, while companies that use Twitter appeal to a younger demographic.
Jobs in This Field
- Writers: especially creative and expressive writing like blogs
- Video Producers: video editing, filming, etc.
- Marketing: requires marketing or sales knowledge
- Research & Data Analysis: providing demographic breakdowns and data on customer history
- Advertising: requires networking skills
- Customer Service: the fastest-growing set of jobs. People like to complain on social media; these positions are in place to help and appease them
- Event Planner
- Public Relation Manager: managing internal and external relationships and communication, protecting company reputation, and handling emergency and crisis communication
- Private Investigator: uncovering criminal activity via social media
- Graphic Designers
Social Media Drawbacks
On account of social media’s impact on a business’s image, in the eyes of the public, companies have to be careful of what is said on their social media accounts and how their employees represent them outside of work. Thus, companies and their employees have to be careful of what they say and how it represents the company they work for.
Written by Kelly Brown