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Assistant media planner vs social media specialist

The differences between assistant media planners and social media specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an assistant media planner and a social media specialist. Additionally, a social media specialist has an average salary of $51,584, which is higher than the $38,916 average annual salary of an assistant media planner.

The top three skills for an assistant media planner include powerpoint, media planning and insertion orders. The most important skills for a social media specialist are social media marketing, instagram, and digital marketing.

Assistant media planner vs social media specialist overview

Assistant Media PlannerSocial Media Specialist
Yearly salary$38,916$51,584
Hourly rate$18.71$24.80
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs26,94447,228
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 94%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does an assistant media planner do?

An assistant media planner is responsible for supporting the advertising and public relations team in developing media publications, social platform content, and press releases for campaign management. Assistant media planners maximize resources to boost the clients' brand image to different media platforms and ensure that the advertising efforts reach the target audience. They also analyze the feasibility of campaigns and develop marketing strategies within the clients' budget limitations and timetables. An assistant media planner must be very creative and communicative to recommend media plans and enhance brand recognition.

What does a social media specialist do?

A social media specialist is an individual who is responsible for creating and administering content on all social media platforms to build an audience and ensure customer engagement. By using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, social media specialists must create content that resonates with the interests of the intended audience. They are required to understand social media metrics so that they can use the information to ensure success in their social media strategy. Social media specialists must also work with industry professionals and influencers via social media to create a strong network.

Assistant media planner vs social media specialist salary

Assistant media planners and social media specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Assistant Media PlannerSocial Media Specialist
Average salary$38,916$51,584
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $48,000Between $38,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Hawaii
Best paying company-McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between assistant media planner and social media specialist education

There are a few differences between an assistant media planner and a social media specialist in terms of educational background:

Assistant Media PlannerSocial Media Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 94%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorMarketingCommunication
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Assistant media planner vs social media specialist demographics

Here are the differences between assistant media planners' and social media specialists' demographics:

Assistant Media PlannerSocial Media Specialist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 35.7% Female, 64.3%Male, 38.6% Female, 61.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 5.3% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between assistant media planner and social media specialist duties and responsibilities

Assistant media planner example responsibilities.

  • Manage display and paid search campaigns to specific KPIs.
  • Assist in managing media plans consisting of spot TV, local radio, trade magazines and outdoor.
  • Manage MRI research system generating specific demographic information for media recommendations.
  • Perform market research into media habits of target populations (GfK MRI, Simmons, Nielsen).
  • Present recommendations, POVs and select analyses to clients and account service teams.
  • Develop RFP documents and field vendor inquiries surrounding client campaigns and overarching objectives.
  • Show more

Social media specialist example responsibilities.

  • Develop and manage blogger outreach program and KPIs.
  • Assist in managing the social network pages (Facebook/Twitter) as well as editing the site.
  • Create, curate, and manage all publish content (images, video and written).
  • Develop and help manage online links and search engine optimization (SEO) efforts to drive traffic to sites
  • Manage social media properties (Facebook, YouTube), including daily monitoring, posting, and content development.
  • Manage $15- $75K monthly PPC budget for 90 interactive agencies, totaling $24M annual ad spend.
  • Show more

Assistant media planner vs social media specialist skills

Common assistant media planner skills
  • PowerPoint, 11%
  • Media Planning, 9%
  • Insertion Orders, 7%
  • MRI, 5%
  • Target Audience, 4%
  • Digital Marketing, 4%
Common social media specialist skills
  • Social Media Marketing, 8%
  • Instagram, 8%
  • Digital Marketing, 7%
  • Facebook, 7%
  • Twitter, 6%
  • Social Media Management, 5%

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