Post job

Digital media assistant vs social media specialist

The differences between digital media assistants 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 digital media assistant and a social media specialist. Additionally, a social media specialist has an average salary of $51,584, which is higher than the $40,528 average annual salary of a digital media assistant.

The top three skills for a digital media assistant include digital marketing, video production and powerpoint. The most important skills for a social media specialist are social media marketing, instagram, and digital marketing.

Digital media assistant vs social media specialist overview

Digital Media AssistantSocial Media Specialist
Yearly salary$40,528$51,584
Hourly rate$19.48$24.80
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs25,67847,228
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does a digital media assistant do?

A digital media assistant primarily performs support tasks to assist designers and artists in completing projects and programs. They usually adhere to directives and requests, communicate with clients, conduct research and analyses, facilitate communication between different teams, and participate in planning and preparing digital materials. Moreover, a digital media assistant has clerical duties such as handling calls and correspondence, gathering and organizing files, managing schedules, processing documents, monitoring supply inventories, and reaching out to external parties to order supplies.

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.

Digital media assistant vs social media specialist salary

Digital media assistants and social media specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Digital Media AssistantSocial Media Specialist
Average salary$40,528$51,584
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $60,000Between $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 digital media assistant and social media specialist education

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

Digital Media AssistantSocial Media Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorCommunicationCommunication
Most common collegeStanford UniversityNorthwestern University

Digital media assistant vs social media specialist demographics

Here are the differences between digital media assistants' and social media specialists' demographics:

Digital Media AssistantSocial Media Specialist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 48.5% Female, 51.5%Male, 38.6% Female, 61.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.4% 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 digital media assistant and social media specialist duties and responsibilities

Digital media assistant example responsibilities.

  • Participate in brainstorming sessions, proofread and edit marketing materials, manage magazine inventory.
  • Establish the gallery's Instagram account.
  • Film and edit videos ranging from 15 second Instagram shorts to three minute promotional videos.
  • Research, edit, and code in HTML to produce WesConnect, Wesleyan's weekly online alumni newsletter send to ~34k readers
  • Develop skills in HTML, working independently and responsibility.
  • Create and replace advertisements for a digitally interactive tool using in-house and stock photography to represent the current inventory.
  • 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

Digital media assistant vs social media specialist skills

Common digital media assistant skills
  • Digital Marketing, 10%
  • Video Production, 8%
  • PowerPoint, 7%
  • Digital Content, 6%
  • Instagram, 6%
  • Twitter, 5%
Common social media specialist skills
  • Social Media Marketing, 8%
  • Instagram, 8%
  • Digital Marketing, 7%
  • Facebook, 7%
  • Twitter, 6%
  • Social Media Management, 5%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs