Publication director vs social media director

The differences between publication 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 publication director and a social media director. Additionally, a publication director has an average salary of $87,824, which is higher than the $70,846 average annual salary of a social media director.

The top three skills for a publication director include website content, press releases and government agencies. The most important skills for a social media director are facebook insights, instagram, and twitter.

Publication director vs social media director overview

	Publication Director	Social Media Director
Yearly salary	$87,824	$70,846
Hourly rate	$42.22	$34.06
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	14,660	39,016
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

What does a publication director do?

A publication director spearheads and oversees the operations of publishing establishments, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They have the authority to make publication decisions, set goals, establish guidelines and timelines, delegate tasks and resources among teams, and develop strategies to optimize operations. They also monitor the workflow and the performance of the workforce, addressing issues and concerns if any arise. Moreover, a publication director leads and encourages staff to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, developing new ones as needed.

What does a social media director do?

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.

Publication director vs social media director salary

Publication directors and social media directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Publication Director	Social Media Director
Average salary	$87,824	$70,846
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $154,000	Between $40,000 And $124,000
Highest paying City	Carson City, NV	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Delaware	Idaho
Best paying company	Biogen	Accenture
Best paying industry	Media	Internet

Differences between publication director and social media director education

There are a few differences between a publication director and a social media director in terms of educational background:

	Publication Director	Social Media Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Most common major	Communication	Communication
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Northwestern University

Publication director vs social media director demographics

Here are the differences between publication directors' and social media directors' demographics:

	Publication Director	Social Media Director
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 44.8% Female, 55.2%	Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.3% 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%

Differences between publication director and social media director duties and responsibilities

Publication director example responsibilities.

Manage media relations, announcements, editorial placement, and speaking opportunities the organizations.
Promote expansion of Medicaid coverage at the federal and state level.
Create & maintain SEAPOWER Facebook page, where all online articles are place, driving page views back to the website.
Serve as representative to senior management team during community events and company spokesperson for division, including to nonprofit sector clients.
Draft pleadings and serve subpoenas.
Complete all investigative reports including incident reports, subpoenas, arrest warrants, and witness statements.

Social media director example responsibilities.

Manage client Facebook accounts to increase their sales/promotions.
Perform administrative duties including ordering photography supplies, managing expenses bookkeeping, updating photography inventory and archives.
Determine KPIs and metrics for success across platforms and develop strategies to meet client ROI expectations.
Create addiction and recovery relate blog posts for fifteen hours each week through a WordPress account.
Negotiate SmartPlus, Arbitron and Nielsen contracts.
Engage and nurture social media communities using HootSuite.

Publication director vs social media director skills

Common publication director skills

Website Content, 12%
Press Releases, 11%
Government Agencies, 9%
Public Policy Issues, 6%
Government Relations, 5%
Pr Campaigns, 4%

Common social media director skills

Facebook Insights, 10%
Instagram, 9%
Twitter, 8%
Social Media Marketing, 7%
Digital Marketing, 6%
Web Content, 5%

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Publication Director
Publication Director vs Social Media Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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