In today's world, social media literacy has become essential for companies and individuals to navigate. Based on email, web advertising and SMS, companies are using the power of platforms like Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram to tell their stories, promote their brands, sell products and services and attract new employees to the site.
"Everybody is building a brand on social media," said Lou Lesperance, vice president of strategy and revenue at LifeBrand in West Chester.
Social media literacy is one of the four most in-demand skills in a recent report, "How Skills Are Destroying Business: A Fast-Evolving Transformational Force on Demand," by the Burning Glass Institute, Business Higher Education Forum. and Wiley.
Matt Sigelman, co-author of the report and president of the Flaming Glass Institute in Philadelphia, said there is an interesting development in terms of paying social media users. The Institute works with educators, employers and policymakers to develop solutions that increase mobility, opportunity and talent equity.
An entry-level job launched so employees can instantly communicate their skills to customers and stakeholders, regardless of the social media channel. From there, the role transitioned into analytics, gathering the most engaging messages and using strategies to build customer relationships.
The company's success is based on a consistent brand message, stories and positive customer experience.
According to the report, skilled social media workers doubled their wages in eight years to more than $120,000, slightly less than jobs requiring cloud computing skills.
Jobs related to social media include: social media strategist, search engine optimization, web designer, copywriter, UI/UX designer.
A similar salary trend applies to people with product management skills. These positions include IT project managers, business continuity planners/analysts, data engineers, construction managers.