Social media strategist vs specialist

The differences between social media strategists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a social media strategist and a specialist. Additionally, a social media strategist has an average salary of $62,339, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.

The top three skills for a social media strategist include instagram, digital marketing and twitter. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.

Social media strategist vs specialist overview

	Social Media Strategist	Specialist
Yearly salary	$62,339	$58,013
Hourly rate	$29.97	$27.89
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	43,791	358,433
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	44	42
Years of experience	2	2

What does a social media strategist do?

A social media strategist is primarily in charge of handling a company or an individual's social media platforms, aiming for brand awareness and good public relations through positive online engagement. Their responsibilities revolve around developing and implementing social media strategies and campaigns for marketing, coordinating with content creators and writers, identifying new online marketing opportunities, keeping abreast of the latest trends, and ensuring that all content materials are relevant to the company. Furthermore, as a social media strategist, it is essential to be prepared for any issues by devising damage control plans.

What does a specialist do?

Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.

Social media strategist vs specialist salary

Social media strategists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Social Media Strategist	Specialist
Average salary	$62,339	$58,013
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $94,000	Between $32,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Jersey City, NJ
Highest paying state	Utah	New Jersey
Best paying company	Google	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between social media strategist and specialist education

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

	Social Media Strategist	Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Communication	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Stanford University

Social media strategist vs specialist demographics

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

	Social Media Strategist	Specialist
Average age	44	42
Gender ratio	Male, 39.1% Female, 60.9%	Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between social media strategist and specialist duties and responsibilities

Social media strategist example responsibilities.

Manage social media and content creation for Instagram account of 23k+ followers.
Manage all social agency and vendor relationships, including Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube.
Create, curate, and manage all publish content, including blog posts, website copywriting and design social media images.
Perform administrative duties including ordering photography supplies, managing expenses bookkeeping, updating photography inventory and archives.
Develop creative marketing campaigns to engage current and alumni volunteers including photo and video contests on Facebook.
Crowd source using Facebook, Google and LinkedIn ads.

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Specialist example responsibilities.

Create, manage, and assist users with SharePoint sites.
Manage an on-site IRB and company good clinical practice (GCP) inspection.
Manage SharePoint sites by creating, editing, and customizing company sites, libraries and security.
Manage the building of accounts, assigning of static IP's, and scheduling of business class installations.
Convert servers from UNIX to Linux, all hardware diagnostics and repair including printers/plotters/desktops etc.
Follow safety procedures such as maintenance of all equipment (Telxon scanners, terminals and ladders).

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Social media strategist vs specialist skills

Common social media strategist skills

Instagram, 7%
Digital Marketing, 7%
Twitter, 6%
Social Media Marketing, 6%
Social Platforms, 4%
Linkedin, 4%

Common specialist skills

Patients, 15%
Customer Service, 11%
Work Ethic, 5%
Patient Care, 4%
Exceptional Client, 4%
Troubleshoot, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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