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Media coordinator vs social media specialist

The differences between media coordinators 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 media coordinator and a social media specialist. Additionally, a social media specialist has an average salary of $51,584, which is higher than the $47,471 average annual salary of a media coordinator.

The top three skills for a media coordinator include facebook, instagram and twitter. The most important skills for a social media specialist are social media marketing, instagram, and digital marketing.

Media coordinator vs social media specialist overview

Media CoordinatorSocial Media Specialist
Yearly salary$47,471$51,584
Hourly rate$22.82$24.80
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs35,28547,228
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does a media coordinator do?

A media coordinator acts as a communications professional in charge of developing and implementing target communications and advertising for various media platforms. Media coordinators plan, implement, and monitor the social media strategy of an organization. They discern the most successful media outreach and establish advertising partnerships and business deals. They aim to increase their respective companies' brand awareness, strengthen their advertising campaigns, improve their marketing strategies, and increase their sales.

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.

Media coordinator vs social media specialist salary

Media coordinators and social media specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Media CoordinatorSocial Media Specialist
Average salary$47,471$51,584
Salary rangeBetween $34,000 And $64,000Between $38,000 And $68,000
Highest paying CityUrban Honolulu, HIWashington, DC
Highest paying stateHawaiiHawaii
Best paying companyThe Joffrey BalletMcKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industryManufacturingProfessional

Differences between media coordinator and social media specialist education

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

Media CoordinatorSocial Media Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorCommunicationCommunication
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Media coordinator vs social media specialist demographics

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

Media CoordinatorSocial Media Specialist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 36.6% Female, 63.4%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, 66.9% 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 media coordinator and social media specialist duties and responsibilities

Media coordinator example responsibilities.

  • Manage social media assets using HootSuite, TweetDeck, and mobile apps.
  • Track generate leads in CRM to better understand trending of events and campaigns.
  • Manage budget for promotional items (CDs, key chains, t-shirts, etc . )
  • Manage and optimize clients' pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, SEO campaigns and affiliate marketing accounts.
  • Manage and distribute inventory of DVDs, CDs, and VHS for educational use by professors and students
  • Manage Facebook and twitter accounts - manage friends, approve and find new connections, network and post relevant blogs.
  • 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

Media coordinator vs social media specialist skills

Common media coordinator skills
  • Facebook, 11%
  • Instagram, 10%
  • Twitter, 9%
  • Digital Marketing, 5%
  • Social Media Marketing, 5%
  • Social Platforms, 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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