To Build a Successful Career in Social Media Marketing

It’s effortless. All you need to have is a little flair for writing, a little knowledge of Photoshop and your status has to be ‘online’ always. Simply put, on paper, this is what it takes to be a social media marketer. The popular perception is, social media marketers spend their days just ‘playing’ on various social media marketing channels; quite, in the same way, an individual scroll through the endless newsfeeds of interesting information and engaging updates from their ‘friends’.
However, what if you are serious about it? What if you want to mint money out of social media marketing? The truth is, it is as complicated as any other career and is pretty demanding as well. No doubt, social media marketing is a growing field and offers endless opportunities, and the demand for social media marketers is also high. Nowadays almost anybody and everyone terming themselves as social media experts and competing for the open spots. If you are thinking about building a career in social media marketing, you have to adhere to some rules.
Social Media Marketing
Let’s start with some common myths about social media marketing as a career:
Social media marketing is easy.
No, it’s not. It requires creativity, attention to the details, data analysis, proper research and above all patience.
 Social media marketing is treated as an experiment.
No, it should not. It requires long-term strategic planning and focus.
Social media marketing is objective rather than subjective.
No, successful and engaging campaigns can’t be built on instincts or sheer guesswork. Social media campaigns have to be data driven and made on objective results.
 Social media marketing doesn’t require institutional knowledge.
1. Be A Voracious Learner
Social media marketing as an industry is incredibly fast growing and extremely competitive. Every day you have to learn a new trick, unfold a new chapter. A social media marketer needs passion and desire to succeed.
2. Educate Yourself
The formal qualification is something, which will build the sub-structure on which the superstructure of a successful social media marketing career can be formed. There are several short courses offered by universities and other institutes. You can educate yourself through online classes. Attending conferences, seminars, lectures dedicated to social media marketing can also be a great learning experience.
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3. Always Stay Updated
Be a regular visitor of major digital marketing sites and social media influencers. Remember, major players such as Google, Facebook and Twitter regularly tweak their paid advertising platforms and algorithms. So you have to be a thorough vigilante.
4. Learn the Industry 
A social media marketer should know the digital terminology such as SEO, PPC, SEM to analyse different digital media campaigns and understand what strategy worked and what didn’t.
5. Be A Nerd
A career in social media marketing is often perceived to be quite glamorous, but the truth is, it should be more data-driven and technical. Basic knowledge of HTML and graphic design would help you stand out.
6. Build Your Brand
If you want to be successful in social media marketing, your online presence should be robust. If you’re going to show your client that you are the right person to build their company’s social media visibility, then you need to show that you have already built your brand.
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Engagement on different social media channels is now a top priority for most companies. They want to know how best to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other sites to build their brand and gain market share. Social media, as a business tool, is a relatively recent development. So the employers may struggle to find new employees with a proven track record. Also, that, in turn, will help professionals of this field with an edge. If you are serious enough to build a career in social media marketing, keep the pointers mentioned above in mind and utilise the opportunity lies in front of you.