Getting a Social Media Job For Dummies

Getting a Social Media Job For Dummies

Released April 2015
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781119002666

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Book description

Your no-nonsense guide to getting a job in social media

Looking to snag a social media position? This fun and practical guide shows you how to stand out from the competition and land your dream job in social media. Inside, you'll find expert and easy-to-follow guidance on where you should look for a job in social media, how to research companies to target, the social media sites where you should be active, and much more. Plus, you'll get resume and cover letter writing tips, answers to tricky interview to woo potential employers, and advice on creating a valuable social media position within your current company. You will also benefit from sample resumes, resume templates, and videos available to download and view online.

From SEO specialists to online community managers, social media positions are the latest buzz in the job market. As businesses have come to value the competitive edge that a strong social media presence can offer, these jobs have quickly evolved from short-term, peripheral positions to highly sought-after careers. With the help of Getting a Social Media Job For Dummies, job candidates in the social media sphere can hone their skillsets and stand head-and-shoulders above the crowd to not only land an interview, but to score a job in this exciting field.

  • Position yourself wisely in a crowded and rapidly growing field

  • Be active on key social sites

  • Write a winning resume that gets your foot in the door

  • Create a social media position in any company

    • Packed with expert, authoritative information—and with a dash of humor thrown in for fun—Getting a Social Media Job For Dummies is your go-to handbook for landing a social media position.

    Table of contents

      1. Cover
      2. Introduction
        1. About This Book
        2. Foolish Assumptions
        3. Icons Used in This Book
        4. Beyond the Book
        5. Where to Go from Here
      3. Part I: So You Want to Work in Social Media
        1. Chapter 1: The Big Picture of Social Media Jobs
          1. Defining Social Media
          2. Demonstrating the Value of Social Media
          3. Finding an In
          4. Knowing Who Does the Hiring
        2. Chapter 2: Seeing Yourself in a Social Media Job
          1. Preparing to Prove Your Worth
          2. Checking Your Daily To-Do List
          3. Trading Off Between Bigger and Smaller Entities
          4. Jobs Coming from All Sides
          5. Eyeing the Trends
          6. Understanding the Social Media Department
          7. Measuring Your Results
        3. Chapter 3: Key Social Media Concepts You Should Know
          1. Knowing Your Value
          2. Ensuring Success with Social Media
          3. Reaching Beyond Social Media
          4. Defining Your Social Media Talents
          5. Creating Remarkable Content
      4. Part II: Getting Your Social Media Education
        1. Chapter 4: Roles in Social Media Revealed
          1. Honing Your Skills
          2. Knowing Your Type (or Someone Else’s)
        2. Chapter 5: Foundations of Social Media Education
          1. Surfing the Learning Curve
          2. Investigating Certification Programs
          3. Getting a Degree
          4. Going Online for Education
          5. Attending and Participating in Conferences
          6. Bushwhacking Your Own Path
        3. Chapter 6: Making Your Own Way
          1. Reflecting and Adjusting Your Sails
        4. Chapter 7: Knowing Your Social Media Tools
          1. Strapping On Your Tool Belt
          2. Digging In to Your Tools
          3. Tapping into the Big Five and Further
      5. Part III: Finding Your Fit with the Right Organization
        1. Chapter 8: Life as a Social Media Consultant
          1. Seeking Out Social Media Consulting Opportunities
          2. Offering Your Services to Local Consultants
          3. Looking at a Typical Day
          4. Clearing a Career Path: Consultant to Executive
          5. Pros and Cons of Being a Consultant
        2. Chapter 9: Working as an In-House Social Media Specialist
          1. Typical Social Media Team Roles
          2. Knowing Your Role’s Expectations
          3. Getting Assigned Projects
          4. Being Part of a Business Unit
          5. Communicating Across Business Silos
          6. Delivering Results
        3. Chapter 10: Living on the Edge with a Start-Up
          1. Knowing Whether You Have What It Takes
          2. Start-Ups with Social Media in Their DNA
          3. Bootstrapping a Social Media Team
          4. Pros and Cons to Start-Up Life
        4. Chapter 11: Starting Your Own Social Media Company
          1. Giving You a Heads Up
          2. Establishing Your Offering
          3. Making It Clear How You’ll Compete: Your USP
          4. Handling Legal Matters
          5. Banking
          6. Accounting Best Practices
          7. Graphic Design
          8. Developing Your Company’s Website
          9. Client Acquisition
      6. Part IV: Becoming a Top Social Media Pro
        1. Chapter 12: Building Your Network and Your Brand
          1. Have We Met?
          2. Networking Effectively
          3. Using the Big Five to Your Best Advantage
          4. Contacting People You Know
          5. Going with the Pros
          6. Meeting Face to Face
          7. Tapping Into Groups and Associations
          8. Keeping Tabs
          9. Building a Professional Brand Presence
          10. Building Your Personal Brand
        2. Chapter 13: Creating a Winning Résumé
          1. Knowing the Basics
          2. Defining Résumé Types
          3. Spotting Résumé Content and Layout
          4. Crafting the Perfect Cover Letter
          5. Valuing Professional Recruiters
        3. Chapter 14: Preparing to Nail Your Interview
          1. Using the 7-3-1 Principle
          2. Learning About Culture
          3. Taking on Applicant Relationship Systems (ARS)
          4. Preparing for an Assessment
          5. Valuing Types of Interviews
          6. Mastering Interview Basics
          7. Asking Questions
          8. Etching Out Areas of Focus and Executing
          9. Tracking and Managing Submissions and Contacts
          10. Negotiating an Offer
        4. Chapter 15: Becoming a Star Employee
          1. Satisfying Your Heart and Mind at Work
          2. Planning for Three Years from Now
      7. Part V: Your Day-to-Day Social Media Responsibilities
        1. Chapter 16: Creating Reasonable Expectations
          1. Working: No Average Day
          2. Typical Social Media Deliverables
          3. Explaining Social Media Metrics
          4. Measuring Your Impact
          5. Establishing Your Secret Social Media Weapons
        2. Chapter 17: Getting Ahead
          1. Following the Steps
          2. Telling the Right People
          3. Earning It
          4. Developing Additional Social Media Skills
          5. Keeping Current
          6. Building Freelance Work
        3. Chapter 18: Getting a Job Even if You Have One
          1. Making Opportunities
          2. Approaching with a Social Media Plan
          3. Concentrating on the Company
          4. Closing the Deal
          5. Social Media Reporting
      8. Part VI: The Part of Tens
        1. Chapter 19: Ten Social Media Best Practices
          1. Defining Your Mission, Vision, and Purpose
          2. Developing a Listening Strategy
          3. Formulating a Highly Functional Decision Tree
          4. Establishing Proactive Rather Than Reactive Goals
          5. Serving Customers and Prospects
          6. Developing Engagement Standards
          7. Abiding by Your Engagement Standards
          8. Organizing Accountability
          9. Conducting Continuous Improvement
          10. Remaining Transparent
        2. Chapter 20: Avoiding Ten Common Social Media Job Mistakes
          1. Setting Unrealistic Goals and Expectations
          2. Forgetting to Consistently Promote
          3. Talking and Never Listening
          4. Focusing on Yourself Rather Than Community
          5. Updating as Part of a Schedule
          6. Engaging Too Little
          7. Branding Inconsistently Across Platforms
          8. Failing to Establish a Lead-Generation Strategy
          9. Concentrating on Too Many Social Media Sites
          10. Getting Too Personal
        3. Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd
          1. Standing Out Positively
          2. Thinking for Yourself
          3. Taking Chances That No One Else Will
          4. Being Willing to Fail
          5. Strictly Defining Your USP
          6. Thanking Stakeholders Genuinely
          7. Under-Promising and Over-Delivering
          8. Building Context with Every Connection
          9. Demonstrating Experience, Knowledge, and Influence
          10. Choosing to Be Different
        4. Chapter 22: Top Ten Social Media Resources
          1. Technorati
          2. Quantcast
          3. Social Media Examiner
          4. Mashable
          5. Alltop
          6. Digital Trends
          7. Social Media Today
          8. Reddit
          9. Twitter
          10. Social Times
      9. Glossary: Talk the Talk
      10. About the Authors
      11. Cheat Sheet
      12. Advertisement Page
      13. Connect with Dummies
      14. End User License Agreement

    Product information

    • Title: Getting a Social Media Job For Dummies
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: April 2015
    • Publisher(s): For Dummies
    • ISBN: 9781119002666