5 reasons to study a social media marketing course this year

Post by Open Colleges on September 30th, 2020

Are your status updates a thing of beauty? Do you rack up the likes on your Instagram profile? Or are you interested in how brands communicate with thir audiences? If any of these things ring true, why not study social media marketing and enter a career in a rapidly developing industry.

Social media marketing is a rapidly developing career area, driven by the enormous growth of social media as an industry. It’s a great career with bright prospects, lots of creativity and the potential to be promoted and cross-trained within a wider marketing team.

At last count, there were 4.57 billion social media users around the world—making it an unmissable way for brands to communicate with customers. For that reason alone, those who study social media can expect to enter a career that’s in high (and growing) demand. Here are some of the best reasons to study social media marketing this year.

More and more Australians are using social media to source news and connect with friends, family, brands and influencers.

Top reasons to study a social media course

Enjoy enormous opportunities

Social media has continue to grow year after year around the world and in Australia. According to Social Media Perth, there were 18 million active social media users in Australia. Social media penetration in Australia (users compared to overall population) has now reached 71%.

This is a clear call to action for Australian businesses: your audience is online, and they’re using social media. Businesses must start rapidly adopting social to meet demand, which creates new demand for social media experts.

Enjoy a creative, non-linear career

Digital marketing teams are often the most creative and enjoyable in a workplace. If you work in social media, you’ll be tasked with coming up with unique content and ways to promote your business online – which allows you to work from your own initiative and explore your own ideas. This means every day is likely to be different, keeping you engaged and actively interested in your role.

Turn familiarity into real knowledge

Chances are, you already use social media yourself. This familiarity will enable you to quickly grasp the day-to-day duties of a Social Media Manager. However, just knowing how to use social on a personal level is not enough. You’ll also have to have an understanding of growth, engagement and other marketing techniques.

Studying a social media course also doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll enter into it as a career. You could study simply to add social media knowledge and understanding to your wider marketing skillset, or in order to enhance your own small business social media strategy. Whatever you decide, this is your chance to turn your love of social media into something productive.

Salary expectations are attractive

As part of a digital marketing team, not only will you experience being in a growing industry with new job opportunities, but salaries can be attractive too. As social media grows in importance, roles will become more essential. In our how to become a social media professional guide, we found that digital marketers as a whole enjoy an average salary of $1346 weekly, compared to the all jobs average of $1260.

Once you are part of a marketing team, promotion opportunities to positions such as Head of Social or Head of Creative are also possible and will command an even higher salary.

Studying makes you more employable

Social media marketing was once so new that duties often fell to other members of a digital marketing team. In its infancy, social media was not worth creating a unique job role. But things have changed, and quickly – now, almost all businesses have a dedicated social media professional working for them.

Studying social media marketing specifically means you have unique, focused experience in that niche and can, therefore, stand out when compared to applicants with more generic digital marketing experience.

Ready to study?

If you’re ready to take your social media game to the next level, then take a look at OC’s partnership courses with Social Media College. These short online course will give you in-depth insights into different social media platforms, strategy, and how to get the most out of your social media marketing plan.