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The differences between social media representatives and media relations 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 social media representative and a media relations specialist. Additionally, a social media representative has an average salary of $52,252, which is higher than the $50,856 average annual salary of a media relations specialist.
The top three skills for a social media representative include facebook, instagram and twitter. The most important skills for a media relations specialist are patients, compassion, and press releases.
| Social Media Representative | Media Relations Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $52,252 | $50,856 |
| Hourly rate | $25.12 | $24.45 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 42,287 | 44,665 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Social Media Representatives are responsible for promoting a product or service and growing targeted user communities through social media platforms. Their duties include developing social media strategy, writing digital copies, facilitate crisis management, and publish daily multimedia contents. They are responsible for managing an organization's social media profiles and pages, creating community dialog and conversation, moderating user content, and creating an editorial calendar. Social Media Representatives also produce analytics reports, increase customer reach, and assist in coordinating marketing promotions.
A media relations specialist's role is to help a company maintain good public relations through various forms of media, ensuring to convey their brand's purpose and message. Their responsibilities typically revolve around developing strategies and opportunities, producing newsletters and press releases, remaining updated with the latest trends, and even managing the company's social media platforms. A media relations specialist may also delegate tasks to writers and graphic designers, arrange schedules, and ensure that all goals are met within the expected deadline and budget.
Social media representatives and media relations specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Social Media Representative | Media Relations Specialist | |
| Average salary | $52,252 | $50,856 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $78,000 | Between $36,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Edelman Financial Engines |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a social media representative and a media relations specialist in terms of educational background:
| Social Media Representative | Media Relations Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Communication | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between social media representatives' and media relations specialists' demographics:
| Social Media Representative | Media Relations Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.4% Female, 60.6% | Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |