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The differences between media relations directors and social media directors 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 relations director and a social media director. Additionally, a media relations director has an average salary of $115,268, which is higher than the $70,846 average annual salary of a social media director.
The top three skills for a media relations director include web content, spokesperson and crisis communications. The most important skills for a social media director are facebook insights, instagram, and twitter.
| Media Relations Director | Social Media Director | |
| Yearly salary | $115,268 | $70,846 |
| Hourly rate | $55.42 | $34.06 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 32,391 | 39,016 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 84% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Media Relations Director spearheads and oversees the brand image and overall media relations of an organization. They are responsible for making advertising and marketing decisions, setting goals and guidelines, establishing budgets and timelines, managing and coordinating directors, liaising with internal and external parties, delegating tasks among teams, and developing strategies from planning to execution. A Media Relations Director leads and encourages staff to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Social Media Directors are responsible for the promotion of an organization's brand, services, and products through social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. They are responsible for implementing a social media strategy, tracking social media presence, keeping abreast of social media trends, and adopting new social media channels. Other duties include measuring Twitter activity, analyzing traffic patterns, assessing Facebook comments, and inspecting reception levels of social media messages. They contribute to creating progress reports, providing feedback to management, and contributing to strategy improvements.
Media relations directors and social media directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Media Relations Director | Social Media Director | |
| Average salary | $115,268 | $70,846 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $188,000 | Between $40,000 And $124,000 |
| Highest paying City | Philadelphia, PA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Idaho |
| Best paying company | Phoenix Children's | Accenture |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Internet |
There are a few differences between a media relations director and a social media director in terms of educational background:
| Media Relations Director | Social Media Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 84% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Most common major | Communication | Communication |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between media relations directors' and social media directors' demographics:
| Media Relations Director | Social Media Director | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |