Latest Updates: FIU Presidential Search | Healthy Living | Statement of Free Expression
Do Social Media Managers Really Need a Degree?
Have you ever heard this statement from those in the business? From work colleagues? From yourself? Social Media Management is still a new career for people to consider, especially considering some of the oldest professions date back thousands of years. While a higher education blog might seem like a biased source, try to argue with some of the compelling reasons given to get a degree related to this emerging field. Then, go to our website and get excited to learn about our unique Global Strategic Communications program’s Creative Track as part of the MS in Mass Communication from FIU and Miami Ad School.
What Do Social Media Managers Do?
While social marketing and advertising are an integral part of online marketing strategy, at its heart, social media is about people, conversations, and developing leads (and sales) from those relationships.
A Social Media Manager administers the company’s social media marketing and advertising. Doing so includes but is not limited to:
- Deliberate planning, strategy, and goal setting for online social channels.
- Development of brand awareness and online reputation
- Manage content (including website)
- Implement good SEO practice
- Cultivate leads and sales through user feedback
- Reputation management
How Does the GSC – Creative Track Benefit An Aspiring Content Manager?
In our social media course, we study the use of social media for the purposes of brand communication and promotion. Beyond the buzzwords and the hype, the fact is that social media managers are the basis for client communication and distributing content. Some of these conversations take place between consumers and brands while marketers and social media managers talk about content strategy. The most important aspect for an aspiring content manager is to leverage how brands can achieve authentic relationships with consumers and the power of these connections for the benefit of all participants.
Content manager duties typically include:
- Administration, creation, and publishing of high-quality content.
- Recognizing how content can improve the organization’s aims, values, and goals.
- Create a regular publishing schedule and promote content through social advertising.
- Leverage the right online tools, apps, and platforms to manage content.
- Implement a content editorial calendar to plan specific, timely marketing campaigns.
- Help create an integrated marketing content strategy of all channels of marketing such as social media, SEO, content marketing, email, print, and digital marketing)
- Oversee all social advertising campaigns.
The Social Media Sub Track
As you can see, the specific skills needed to be an effective and efficient Social Media Manager requires a diverse set of skills thate span marketing, copywriting, data analysis, content strategy, and research. You can learn all this while gaining a completed portfolio upon graduation to show off at the multiple interviews you will be sure to land.
The Global Strategic Communications Creative Track is a 39-credit program that culminates in a Master of Science in Mass Communications degree awarded by Florida International University and graduation from world-renowned Miami Ad School’s portfolio program. The interdisciplinary program combines graduate-level academic courses with the creative skills-building curriculum taught by the leading portfolio school in the world.
Apply to the GSC – Creative Track and choose Social Media as your sub-track if you want to enter this new frontier of digital careers. You can contact Grizelle De Los Reyes, the program director, at gdelosre@fiu.edu with any questions you have and she’ll be happy to discuss them.
