Do Brands Consider Social Media Skills Important for Employees While Hiring?

An employee is hired in an organization if he/she is the right fit. Every organization is different when it comes to stating the right fit. However, the few skills which are looked at by every organization when hiring are:

• Communication
• Ability to Prioritize and manage time.
• Works well in teams or alone.
• Organizational Awareness
• Problem creator or Problem solver.
• Self-Awareness: Strengths and Weakness
• Proactivity.
• Ability to Influence.
• Effective Decision Making.
• Learning agility
• Technical savvy.

To this list we can also add Social Media skills.

Now this skill is considered only if the Job description demands it, not every role requires this skill. A marketing manager with social media skill can be an asset but an accountant with social media skill will not get a bonus based on that.

Today most of the brands are online and going beyond Billboards and TV ads to make a name for themselves on the internet. These are the brands who are hiring people with social media skills.

Fashion brands, Restaurants, Entertainment industries, e-commerce portals, IT Companies, Designers, Concerts, Media launches are all going the social media way.

Hence employees, who do have social media skills are becoming an asset to an organization.

Live tweets and blogging for big promotions are the new trends. The Oscars, the Emmys, the Super Bowl are all updated Live on social media sites. You know it is happening, even if you are not watching the TV. Who is updating the same?

A social media enthusiast and getting paid for it as well. Recently HCL, did the Coolest Interview ever campaign on Twitter This definitely required someone with social media skills to do the job. Brands like Starbucks, Coca Cola have a special person only handling their social media forum.

According to LinkedIn 81% of small and medium size businesses use social media,

Social media skills are becoming important as the social world is gaining popularity and reaching out to millions.

What exactly do we mean by Social Media Skills?

Having a Facebook page, twitter account and 1000+ LinkedIn connections is not enough; how you use it to connect with people and brands is what is important.

A person with social media skills should have the following qualities:

Great Communication: Verbal or written. The language used should be simple yet smart to be understood by majority of the people.

Sense of Humor: If you are handling social media for a brand, you will get positive as well as negative feedback. A skilled social media person will handle it with great humor and quick and effective response.

Marketing sense: Social Media skill includes knowing your fans, the best time to interact with them and the kind of posts to share to engage them.

Blogging : A blogger with a regular updated blogsite and large number of readers is the most sought after social media skill today. People are reading and being inspired by real stories and real people. Start Blogging.

Some of the top bloggers like Ramit, Vala Afshar, Chiara Ferragni are ardent bloggers, with great social media skills. Top Jobs that require social media skills:

• Search engine optimization (SEO) specialist: A knowledge in HTML, CSS and blogging is a plus.
• Social media strategist: Social media strategists work on creating a public profile for companies, allowing them to interact freely with customers on social media sites.
• Online community manager: For those who like new social technology and connecting with people
• Social media marketing manager: Design, Execute, Market. Requires digital marketing experience, excellent verbal/written communication skills and a solid understanding of social media platforms.
• Social media marketing coordinator: Write unique content and take photos and videos for the social media accounts they administer. The position involves frequent social media post updates (hours on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, etc.) and use of social media analysis tools.
• Blogger or social media copywriter: Gaining fast popularity and growth. Requires exceptional writing skills and use of right key words to increase readers and followers.

The following graph shows Men vs Women using social media in 2012-2013. It is interesting to see women are more socially skilled users as compared to men. The social media jobs are also mainly women oriented.

Hiring the right employee is essential.

Even though, not all job profiles require a social media facet to it, being a social media enthusiast, and also keeping your personal social media properties up to date creates a great impression, it shows a will to learn and grow. It also show your keenness in current affairs, additionally your hobbies and posts also speak volumes about you.