If you’ve been researching the topic of social marketing, then you probably already know that it isn’t something that you can learn and master in the span of a week or two. In fact, some of the top marketers in the industry have 1-2 decades of experience, and even they are continually learning new marketing methodologies and strategies as the industry continues to evolve.
You might also know how important social marketing is in influencing the potential success of a brand or company online. Given the complexity and importance of the task, it makes sense that hiring managers would give favor to job candidates who have degrees in related fields. With that said, here are seven degree types that will make you a better social marketer overall:
1. Business Administration
When a company hires a professional to take care of their social marketing campaigns, there’s an understanding that the marketer must be competent enough to manage all of the projects and duties involved. If you were to earn a master’s in business administration, you’d be proving that you’re worthy of being entrusted with the direction of the brand’s social presence. By earning an online MBA degree, you’ll be obtaining a credential that will make you an appealing applicant for managerial jobs in any field. Plus, there’s no shortage of accredited MBA programs online, so it should be easy to get started on this path.
2. Social Media Marketing
While an MBA is a great overarching degree to have because it makes you eligible for so many different high-paying jobs, a more targeted approach geared towards social marketing would be to earn a degree in social media marketing (SMM). With this credential, you’ll be the obvious best choice against the competition in most hiring scenarios. In other words, it’s unlikely that you’ll be up against many competitors who also hold this specialized degree, which is earned fully online and will only take you 1-2 years.
3. Psychology
In many ways, social marketers are expected to act like social psychologists – trying to predict and analyze the behavior of ad viewers and site visitors in an attempt to persuade them to click or take action. With a degree in psychology, you’ll have insider knowledge on how to be more persuasive and how to more effectively assess and adjust to the preferences and needs of targeted audiences. Marketing studies have proven that social engineering is an effective way to boost conversions, so approaching this aspect of marketing from a psychological standpoint often makes the most sense.
4. Communications
A degree in marketing communications will help you as a social marketer because you’ll have a professional understanding of how to use online platforms and interfaces to keep in touch with an audience. Tasks like building email lists, responding to inquiries, creating sales pitches, formulating ad copy, and other crucial social marketing steps will all become easier with the knowledge you’ll obtain from a marketing communications program. You’ll learn tactics that will help you become a more convincing and confident marketer all around. Hiring managers usually look kindly upon this kind of degree because it shows that you know how to take care of correspondence professionally.
5. Public Relations
Of course, every large company has a public relations (PR) department and usually, the social marketing team works in conjunction with PR staff to ensure that they’re following the right direction in terms of brand image and policies. However, the vast majority of other companies that fall under the small-to-medium sized enterprise (SME) category would rather just hire one person who specializes in both PR and social marketing. With this degree on your resume, you’ll be proving that you have a trusty filter when it comes to maintaining a positive brand image online. Since addressing PR issues is sometimes part of the job description for a social marketer, this degree is a good foundation to start with.
6. Market Research Analysis
If you have a rudimentary understanding of social marketing, then you probably know how important it is to conduct market research and analysis on an ongoing basis. Understanding the market and monitoring your campaign progress will keep you from pouring your efforts into the wrong areas while also showing you which working methods should be continued and expanded. As an added benefit, you’ll be a pro at making fancy graphs and charts that you can add to your portfolio to convince prospective clients and employers that you’re the right person for the job.
7. Shortcut Alternative: Digital Marketing Certifications
If a lengthy degree program doesn’t seem like something you’d be willing to commit to any time soon, you might want to consider an online certification in digital marketing instead. While a degree will certainly hold more weight than a certificate, having a certification in any of the above fields will still make you eligible to be hired as a social media marketer, especially when you consider the fact that there are some marketers out there who don’t have any formal credentials whatsoever. However, since many accredited MBA programs will let you earn an actual degree in business in just 18 months, certain degree paths are still worthy of consideration even if you’re trying to rush into a career.
Skills That Will Make You More Hireable and More Likely to Succeed as an Entrepreneur
Ultimately, the skills you’ll earn by obtaining the degrees suggested above will equip you with the ability to not only become a more favorable job candidate but also a more well-rounded entrepreneur. Thus, these are great career paths for anyone who is on the fence about working a 9-5 for the rest of their life and wants to have the backup option of being able to confidently launch their own business. Of course, this is important for any aspiring social marketer because having the power to capitalize on the traffic-generating potential of social media will put you in an ideal position to facilitate the success of your own endeavors.