career — Jon-Stephen Stansel Jon-Stephen Stansel

Social Media Shouldn't Be An Entry-Level Position

If I told you that I had a job where I spoke to thousands of people everyday, handled crisis management, customer service, paid advertising, content strategy, and long list of other duties, you’d assume I was pretty high up in my organization, right? You’d ask my title expecting something high-level and when I said social media manager your perception would change. “Oh, I bet you have a lot of fun! Are you just starting with the company?” This is a sad fact of life for many social media managers and something the profession needs to overcome. Social media has matured and with it, so has the position of social media manager. However, it is often seen by most organizations as an entry-level position at best.

Social Media "Guru" is Not a Compliment

Listen, I know you mean it as a compliment and are trying to be nice when you call me a social media “guru.” And while I appreciate the gesture, the terms “guru,” “rock star,” “ninja,” etc are hurtful to my profession; a profession I work very hard at and in which I sometimes struggle to be taken seriously.

Spotting Talent: Social Media Pro or Poser?

There are a lot of folks out claiming to be social media experts and not a lot of them are truly qualified. Simply being on social media does not make one an expert. So when hiring a social media manager, how do you separate the pros from the posers? Having been on several social media hiring committees and being the subject of several interviews myself, here a few questions I find helpful in searching for true social media professionals.

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