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The differences between community relations specialists 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 a community relations specialist and a social media specialist. Additionally, a social media specialist has an average salary of $51,584, which is higher than the $49,344 average annual salary of a community relations specialist.
The top three skills for a community relations specialist include press releases, event planning and community events. The most important skills for a social media specialist are social media marketing, instagram, and digital marketing.
| Community Relations Specialist | Social Media Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $49,344 | $51,584 |
| Hourly rate | $23.72 | $24.80 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 28,509 | 47,228 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A community relations specialist is responsible for handling the organization's community engagements by facilitating fundraising events, volunteering acts, and charity programs and partnerships. Community relations specialists also write content for public and media promotions to promote brand awareness and the company's mission across the community. They should also be updated with the current events and situations to identify events and strategies that will help stabilize the society's condition. Since this type of job requires interacting with community people, a community relations specialist must have excellent communication skills to respond to their inquiries and concerns.
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.
Community relations specialists and social media specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Community Relations Specialist | Social Media Specialist | |
| Average salary | $49,344 | $51,584 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $70,000 | Between $38,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | Alexandria, VA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | City National Bank | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a community relations specialist and a social media specialist in terms of educational background:
| Community Relations Specialist | Social Media Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Business | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between community relations specialists' and social media specialists' demographics:
| Community Relations Specialist | Social Media Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 25.3% Female, 74.7% | Male, 38.6% Female, 61.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% 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 Percentage | 12% | 12% |