In a society where Facebook now has millions of active users and Twitter
has recently come onto the map as a social networking tool, many alumni
and current students from Southern have made a career in marketing and
advertising through various social media mediums.
Some jobs alumni currently have simply did not exist upon their graduation approximately five or more years ago.
On March 28, a panel was held, compiled of Southern alumni whose careers
currently have something to do with social media, as well as a panel of
current students who already get paid somehow for their social
networking experiences. This event was entitled “Nuclear Explosion of
Social Media & Advertising.”
Danielle Consiglio, who is a graduate from Southern with a degree in
communication, now is a social and mobile implementation manager at
Madison Square Garden. She was on the event’s “professional panel.”
Consiglio said, “Five years ago my job didn’t exist. But I made a career out of social media.”
Social media has evolved and changed drastically in past years, from
having websites and services, such as, America Online (AOL), Myspace and
now Facebook and Twitter. Some of the websites and services, much like
Myspace, have become more obsolete in recent years, giving way to other
social networking websites.
For example, in 2011 alone, Facebook reported that it “had 845 million monthly active users at the end of December 2011.”
In other words, social networking has become a daily existence in the
lives of many across the globe, now creating jobs that didn’t exist in
the past five years.
Consiglio said, “Five years ago I would have rolled my eyes and laughed
in your face if you had told me I would make a career in social media.”
Justin Leslie, who is also a graduate from Southern and now holds a
sports and entertainment position at Mohegan Sun, was also on the
“professional panel.” He does press releases, schedules interviews, as
well as monitors clips for the Casino.
“Even in a bad economy, we’re creating positions for this kind of industry,” Leslie said.
Leslie also said how important he believes having a “good, strong resume” is important in today’s economy.
“In the past month we added five new positions to our social media
department,” Leslie said. “That’s in addition to the thirty we already
had.”
On the other hand, Kierstin Pry, also an alumna from Southern,
graduating with a communication degree, was on the “professional panel.”
She is the executive sales planner for TLC for Discovery
Communications.
“In the past month we grew two times the rate of Facebook, keeping up with social media,” Pry said.
Pry also said how in today’s economy, those in the marketing and
advertising departments want to spend “the same or less ‘ad dollars’
with the same or greater bang for their buck.” As a result, those
advertisers will turn to social media.
While Facebook has 845 million users, according to an article on techland.time.com,
“Twitter has finally revealed how many people actively use its micro
blogging service worldwide, and it’s significantly higher than the 21
million estimated by Business Insider earlier this year. According to
CEO Dick Costolo, Twitter has 100 million active users currently.”
http://thesouthernnews.org/2012/04/22/social-media-creates-new-career-opportunities/