Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between digital media strategists and social media managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a digital media strategist, becoming a social media manager takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a social media manager has an average salary of $70,287, which is higher than the $62,947 average annual salary of a digital media strategist.
The top three skills for a digital media strategist include digital marketing, client facing and search engine marketing. The most important skills for a social media manager are instagram, twitter, and digital marketing.
| Digital Media Strategist | Social Media Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $62,947 | $70,287 |
| Hourly rate | $30.26 | $33.79 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 31,387 | 105,475 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 87% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 10 |
Digital media strategists assist in building ad campaigns outlined to catch potential clients' awareness and keep existing customers' fealty. Their responsibilities include determining the campaign's target demographic, assessing the best time to run the campaign, and figuring out which medium to use. Also, they analyze data from surveys, develop a budget-friendly ad campaign media, as well as assessing the effect a campaign's online presence will have on its selected audience. Skills required include strong critical and analytical skills, creativity, and excellent communication skills.
Social media managers are responsible for representing the company's business through social media channels. They help the company grow by enhancing its presence via social networks. Primarily, they need to implement marketing plans and identify their target clients and create a content schedule. Their duties include implementing and strategizing digital marketing campaigns. They support the development of brand identity and promotional strategies. Candidates for the job must be excellent in communication skills, have in-depth knowledge of how social platforms work, and easily understand the target audience.
Digital media strategists and social media managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Digital Media Strategist | Social Media Manager | |
| Average salary | $62,947 | $70,287 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $89,000 | Between $50,000 And $98,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | |
| Best paying industry | Media | Technology |
There are a few differences between a digital media strategist and a social media manager in terms of educational background:
| Digital Media Strategist | Social Media Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 87% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Communication | Communication |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between digital media strategists' and social media managers' demographics:
| Digital Media Strategist | Social Media Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.2% Female, 57.8% | Male, 38.9% Female, 61.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 10% |