Over the holidays, people asked me – on what seemed to be an hourly basis – “What do you do?”
“Well, that’s easy,” I would respond. “I work for a marketing firm.”
“Well, I know that,” they would say. “But what do you DO?”
And then I would cringe. You see, I’m very proud of what I do; I believe my job is important and so does GCG Marketing. But the people asking me this daunting question were not in the marketing realm. They had no clue about the advertising world. Their homepage wasn’t Ad Age and they could hardly grasp the concept of this “Facebook” thing.
I felt doomed. Helpless.
But instead of staring blankly and quickly walking away, I responded. “I am the Community Development Coordinator. I specialize in social media and social networking.”
Blank stares.
“Let me explain further,” I say. “I use social networking sites and media for online public relations efforts and online community interaction for the expansion of both the company and our clients.”
Blank stares and crickets.
So it seems as though I’ve failed at communicating – the one job I’m supposed to be an expert on. Or have I?
In the advertising and marketing industry, what happened an hour ago is old news. Therefore, what happened months, if not years ago, (this large switch to digital, Web 2.0 and social media) can seem completely normal and part of our everyday lives.
But to those who are not in the industry – social media is a foreign animal. I get that. And I think Traci Armstrong, director of talent acquisition at Organic and an author for Advertising Age, gets it as well. In her recent article, she depicts the role of a “Community Manager.” Hmm…That sounds eerily familiar…
Armstrong describes the role of a community manager and how copywriters and journalists could make an easy transition into this new position. At the same time, she shares this gem of information:
“Many like to blame ad-industry job losses on the digital shift. As marketers continue to steer their dollars toward a digital approach, traditional workers are left scrambling to transition their skills. And, the truth is, the digital era is creating new jobs that recruiters are having difficulty finding talent for. One such area of job growth is social media and the evolving role of a ‘community manager’.”
Traci Armstrong is speaking my language.
Maybe I needed her to speak to my relatives over the holidays…
This shift toward social media and social networking is becoming more mainstream. It’s inching closer to the “norm” and in some cases, is being considered a form of traditional media.
But let’s not get too wild here. I’ve determined a few simple ways to compare what I do, to a few familiar careers:
1. PR Specialist: I conduct public relations for a marketing firm. But what I do is online, and through specific outlets: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. I have to stay up-to-date on current events, news, the most recent developments and trends – but in the social media world. So, just as you might read a newspaper every morning, I am constantly reading tweets, status updates, blog entries, Facebook developer blogs, etc.
2. Teacher: Just as a teacher would manage a group of students, create an interactive environment for them to learn, keep them updated on the status of current events and participate in discussions – I do these things for the online community. Through status updates, picture uploads, tweets, discussion topics, and creating a stimulating environment for fans and clients online, I have become somewhat of a social media teacher.
3. Journalist: Similar to a journalist, I report the news. I just report it on a different platform – a social network platform. I can report anything from national to local to industry or company news.
4. Spokesperson: And last, (but certainly not least), I am the online voice and a messenger of GCG Marketing. I represent the company through our work and ideas and act to create a noticeable brand online.
So when all is said and done, if these ideas still seem a little hard to understand, feel free to assume I play on Facebook all day and someone pays me to do it.
Problem solved.
