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Publicity agent vs social media specialist

The differences between publicity agents 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 publicity agent and a social media specialist. Additionally, a social media specialist has an average salary of $51,584, which is higher than the $45,190 average annual salary of a publicity agent.

The top three skills for a publicity agent include press releases, forum and facebook. The most important skills for a social media specialist are social media marketing, instagram, and digital marketing.

Publicity agent vs social media specialist overview

Publicity AgentSocial Media Specialist
Yearly salary$45,190$51,584
Hourly rate$21.73$24.80
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs25,15347,228
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

Publicity agent vs social media specialist salary

Publicity agents and social media specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Publicity AgentSocial Media Specialist
Average salary$45,190$51,584
Salary rangeBetween $22,000 And $89,000Between $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 publicity agent and social media specialist education

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

Publicity AgentSocial Media Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorBusinessCommunication
Most common collegeStanford UniversityNorthwestern University

Publicity agent vs social media specialist demographics

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

Publicity AgentSocial Media Specialist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 41.0% Female, 59.0%Male, 38.6% Female, 61.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 67.2% 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 publicity agent and social media specialist duties and responsibilities

Publicity agent example responsibilities.

  • Manage for multiple medical clients performing tasks such as medical billing, submitting insurance and verifying insurance including Medicare and Medicaid.
  • Designate social media handler for content and web posts on Facebook to promote study abroad program.
  • Design event flyers, posters, cover photos, event page and club profile pictures on Facebook site.
  • Manage for multiple medical clients performing tasks such as medical billing, submitting insurance and verifying insurance including Medicare and Medicaid.
  • Plan and implement technical and political meetings among senior-level NASA management and foreign government agencies.

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

Publicity agent vs social media specialist skills

Common publicity agent skills
  • Press Releases, 37%
  • Forum, 16%
  • Facebook, 11%
  • License Plates, 11%
  • Magazines, 9%
  • Press Conferences, 8%
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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