For one of my projects this week, I had to create a social media job description. I did a quick search on Google and on various job boards, but I didn’t like any of the descriptions that I saw.
So, I wrote my own “perfect” job description which could be viewed almost as a checklist. I think the responsibilities should be stated in fairly broad terms without getting into specific tools or techniques. I also don’t like job descriptions that specify a number of years of experience. Instead, a social media expert should be able to point to his body of work – through his blog, his Twitter feed, his LinkedIn profile or Facebook page – and that should be sufficient proof. Finally, a list of key attributes is essential to get an understanding of the candidate’s personality.
Besides me, does this description fit anyone you know in social media?
Let me know what you think or add your suggestions in my comments.
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Social Media Job Description
The most important part of this job is that the candidate must have demonstrated and extensive social media experience. This means that the person is actively participating in a wide variety of social media activities such as blogging, community development and management, social bookmarking, commenting, etc. and is well-connected with the broader social media world. The second important part is that the candidate must be able to think strategically, but be willing and able to roll up his sleeves to help implement the programs.
Responsibilities – the key responsibilities for this position include:
- Create a comprehensive social media strategy to define programs that use social media marketing techniques to increase visibility, membership and traffic across all XYZ brands and Implement and manage social media programs
- Experiment with new and alternative ways to leverage social media activities (“marketing R&D”)
- Monitor trends in social media tools, trends and applications and appropriately apply that knowledge to increasing the use of social media at XYZ
- Strategize with and educate the management team and others across the company on incorporating relevant social media techniques into the corporate culture and into all of the company’s products and services
- Measure the impact of social media on the overall marketing efforts
Experience – the ideal candidate will have experience in the following areas:
- Social media tools and techniques
- Marketing (traditional, new media, guerilla and ‘word of mouth’)
- Strategy
- Product marketing
- Press and analyst relations
- Business development
- Technology
- Operations
- Sales
- Financial and quantitative analysis
- Project management
Attributes – the key attributes for this position include:
- Creativity
- Willingness to experiment
- Ability to deal with uncertainty
- Ability to contribute individually, and lead, manage or participate in cross-functional teams
- Doggedness and determination
- Ability to synthesize large amounts of data into actionable information
- Excellent writing skills and a willingness to use them
- Excellent verbal communication skills
- Persuasiveness
- Ability to create great working relationships with all levels within the company and across multiple disciplines
- Sense of humor
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: human resources, job description, social media, social media job description


Um, could I apply please?
Great stuff. Going to bookmark the page for reference when I’m talking to clients who don’t know what their social media liaison should be doing or the traits they should have.
Thanks!
Tom,
Well thought out.
Thanks,
Ray Schiel
[...] en esta sociedad de la información en la que vivimos, sino definir de la mejor manera posible el perfil del puesto del experto en social media, con sus responsabilidades, experiencias y atributos (requiere para más adelante, una entrada [...]
Thanks for posting. I was looking for a good job description to use in an offer letter and wasn’t finding anything good.
I might add one point though — drinks beer, or at least wine. ;>)
Manual ping:
http://neilojwilliams.net/missioncreep/2009/social-media-job-interview-questions/
(Pingback failed on my blog for some reason).
I thought this was a great JD, thanks for sharing. Did you go on to recruit into this post and if so, how did your interview Qs compare with mine?
Thanks Tom for helping me better understand Social Media Positions. I am just discovering the incredible potential and depth of the Social Media world. Up until now I’ve just been using SM to stay in touch with friends around the world however I see that there’s a heck of a lot more than that. I have an interview for a SMO position this week and am totally a newbie so I’m taking the next few days to figure things out. Any tips for someone with no prior experience? Should I be intimidated? I feel that I’m a quick learner, computer savy, and creative…
Appreciate the info!
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