If you want to be a social media marketer or work in a role with social media responsibilities don’t let these assumptions stop you:
You need to be young
No, you need a deep and wide experience about how things work in your chosen industry sector. And what makes people tick. And life generally.
You need to forget everything you learnt about marketing and business
No, those core principles apply more than ever: know your market, know your customer, build credibility, engender trust, forge meaningful relationships.
Your need to be technical
No, you need to be articulate and creative and a producer/ publisher of media which is valued by others.
You need permission to start
No, give yourself permission. Start now.
You need to be in a job before you can start applying your knowledge and the theory
No, you need a live project to work on, any project – give yourself invaluable hands-on learning with a focus. Pick a hobby, a cause, help a friend’s business, anything. See above point.
You need to have worked in social media already to get a social media role
No, past job-titles and polished CV’s count for little in this space. Show us what you’ve already created and what you’re currently working on. Start crafting your online portfolio. See above 2 points.
You need money
No, you need time. Time is the new money. Watch less TV.
You need to be big to get noticed
No, you need to find and develop your niche. Quality trumps quantity. Find your groove-thing and ‘own it’.
You need to know exactly what you’re doing
No, you need to constantly experiment and fail and learn and work it out on the fly like the rest of us.
You need to be very serious
Fish.