Mike Abasov

A few weeks ago, an infographic came out summarizing how much money can you make working social media jobs in the US. Although the numbers are probably a bit different for Canada, it is interesting to see that the top-paid strategists get over a $100k, while the bottom of the pyramid doesn’t even qualify to be in the middle class. And this got me thinking.

Why We Are Paid So Low

There is a clear notion in the business world that social media jobs pay much less than other more “prestigious” marketing positions. But why?

Some would say that tweeting and blogging can’t be as complicated of a job as making TV commercials or writing press releases, can it? So why would a company pay people more? Though I would strongly disagree, this view of things has 2 real issues behind it.

First, it’s the amount of overhead. Because inbound marketing is much cheaper and is mostly intangible, companies have way smaller budgets for it. The only problem is that many assume that, since the tools are so cheap, the people who use them aren’t worth much either, which is a profoundly wrong assumption.

Secondly, I believe that many companies still have no clue what they want their social media people to do. The industry is too young to be able to show a track record of impressive and lasting ROI. Therefore, we end up having companies that are ready to do something with social, but not ready to pay for it.

Economics to the Rescue

The basic theory in economics is the one of supply and demand. Demand generates supply, and the price for a good or service depends on how much demand and how much supply there is. So let’s apply this to our industry.

On the demand side, we have a low percentage of companies that are buying into social media, as discussed above. This fact by itself lowers the price.

On the supply side, however, we have an abundance of experts, mavins, divas, and other people who are selling their social media skills (or the lack of such) for money. The main reason for this excess is the fact that the barriers of entry are so low — it doesn’t take much to write a Twitter bio with the word “guru” in it and share articles from Mashable on a daily basis.

Now this overflow of supply, again, lowers the price of the service. The result? Social media jobs don’t pay shit. In fact, the infographic I was talking about should really consider including all the unpaid internships that have become so popular among employers. Why pay somebody if there is a dozen people who will do it for free?

What We Should Do

Now that we know why the industry is broken, what can we do to actually start making money doing what we love? Here’s a recipe made out of 3 ingredients.

1. Show the ROI.
You need to educate your employers about how much real value social media is creating for them (assuming that you are creating real value, aren’t you?). Once they understand what they are paying for, they won’t mind paying more. And on a global scale, this will help tackle the demand problem over time.

2. Compete like a boss.
To stand out, you need to know more than others about your craft, as well as be able to communicate this fact to your employers. Focus on learning how to do social media the right way and then do it over and over again until it becomes natural. On top of that, use personal branding to position yourself as the real deal.

3. Let your niche evolve.
Wait, grow your resume, build your brand, don’t mind getting payed less than your friends in consumer packaged goods. In fact, if you nailed the first 2 ingredients, you’ll be payed plenty. Then, when the demand figures itself out, the supply will start dramatically dropping. All the pseudo-experts will have to go back to where they came from, while all the real professionals will have companies competing for their time.

If you apply these principles, then when 2015 comes and the industry finally finishes going through puberty, you will find yourself in a marketplace where you can do what you love and get payed well for doing it. True story.

What’s your take on this?

So Superbowl happened, and one thing that every marketer will be talking about for the next few weeks are the ads. I watched them all, and I have to say that I’m quite disappointed, and not just with the general level of creativity — with Teleflora being most pathetic, — but with how many companies have failed to extend the conversation to social media.

Personally, I expected that this year more businesses would try to drive traffic from their TV impressions towards one of their social media channels. Samsung did a good job with its “Party continues on Facebook,” then Bud Light successfully threw in a dog rescue message at the end of its spot. Yet, most of the companies did the same thing they’ve been doing for decades: show an impressive visual with some music or voiceover and hope that it’s gonna stick.

Why This Is a Problem

Social media is a two-way channel that allows brands to interact with customers on a continuos basis, build relationships and keep the conversation going. This ability to keep marketing to the same people over time is social media’s main and most powerful advantage. That’s why it is upsetting to see how companies are missing out on an opportunity to go beyond a 30-second spot. Why wouldn’t you want to keep engaging with people after the commercial break is over? This type of engagement could make your RIO shoot through the roof, and yet so many keep ignoring it.

Take-Away for Marketers Who Don’t Have $4M to Waste

Always go beyond one-time impressions. Start by crafting a compelling message, be it in the form of an ad, a speech, a landing page, or whatever. Then ask people to continue the conversation on social channels, and if your message is right, they won’t hesitate to follow you. And once they’re connected, use those social media best practices to keep them engaged, entertained and appreciated.

This is the kind of marketing that will make the most money in the years to come. And being among the first to adopt it can prove incredibly powerful for you and your business. I really hope that the next Superbowl will be a better example of how marketing should be done in the digital age.

While many still doubt the importance and power of social media used for marketing, some of the world’s largest corporations start to catch up. Particularly interesting is the decision of P&G to lay off 1,600 of its employees and pay more attention to the cheaper, less traditional media, such as Facebook and YouTube. After the enormous success that Old Spice brand managed to achieve using viral video campaigns with a personal touch in 2010 and 2011, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Procter & Gamble would question the relevance and the ROI of the old-school channels.

Furthermore, I would expect many other large companies to see this as a sign to get on board and start channeling their expenditures into social marketing, which means more job cutting and restructuring.

What Graduating Students Should Consider

I bet a lot of business students looking for a career in marketing for consumer packaged goods companies like P&G are trembling from fear right now. How are we supposed to get employed in this environment of cost-cutting and lay-offs? Are we going to stay without a job? What do we do?

Do not panic! I, personally, believe that this is a great news for everyone who’s young and willing to adopt to the new conditions. As more corporations are looking to utilize the power of the Web, they will be looking for people who feel most comfortable with using the new media, and who have grown up connected to the Internet 24/7. This could be you. In fact, many of the students are already falling into the category of digital natives, and I see an extraordinary opportunity to position yourself as one, develop your e-marketing skills, and be on board when CPG Enterprise Marketing goes 2.0 on a large scale.

“Trust Agents” is a bestselling book written by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith about social media, networking, and… well, building trust for success.

The book explains how the rules of branding has changed not only in terms of HOW you should brand, but also WHY. 

It mixes theory and interesting stories, and showcases with direct practical action plans that will get you on top of the new trends in personal and corporate marketing.

My favorite point in the book is about changing your perception of life and viewing it as a game. To some extent, this point is described by me in one of my latest posts. 

The authors also talk about building your network and leveraging your connections in a good, trustworthy way.

In my opinion, it is a great book for students, because it shows a lot of great timeless tools you didn’t know about before. It also makes you rethink you current activities and start planning your future career with better understanding of the cultural shifts that are happening right now.

Social media influence your business. No matter what industry you’re in.

It’s easy to say that “my business doesn’t need this,” but it’s not true anymore. Any brand, any product, any idea are now influenced by social media. To make a good example, lets look at things that don’t even need branding — commodities.

Commodities used to be unbranded for the longest time, but this changed too. Here are 2 examples.

1. Diamonds. A complete commodity on the wholesale level. But suddenly, the word spreads about blood diamonds, and our perception shifts. Suddenly, Canadian diamonds are better than African. Surprisingly, a commodity turns into a brand and generates more revenues than ever before. All through word of mouth communications, which in essence are social media.

2. Oil. You though you couldn’t care less where it comes from. But suddenly, the word “spill” rings the bell in a much different way than before. Influence from social media? Tremendous! BP failed big time on this particular arena.

So yes, in the world where even commodities can be greatly influenced by social media, you consumer (or B2B, or personal) brand is even more affected. And there is no more time left for hesitations.

Net Squared Camp was really fantastic (pictures by photodreamz). I’ve met lots of interesting people and got some more motivation to crush it. Next time I should totally present something myself, because, apparently, I have stuff to say.

I went to 4 sessions:

1. Social Media Ninja School (Cecilia Lu);
2. Measuring Social Media Success (Darren Barefoot);
3. Being A Community Manager (Andy Baryer);
4. Social Media Monitoring (Tara Robertson).

The key takeaways:

• the concept of movement building;
• infographics can be used as an awesome viral marketing tool;
• custom Google maps can bring traffic;
• use LinkedIn customized friend invites;
• reminder: analytics are extremely important.

Also got some ideas for future posts, so, if it’s your first time here, you should better subscribe ;).