This exciting career manual explores the fundamentals of the social media manager’s profession and its endless possibilities. The explosion of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn has created a need for highly skilled practitioners—experts who not only are fluent in social media platforms but know how to use them strategically. Starting Your Career as a Social Media Manager is a must-have for anyone considering launching a career in this growing field, offering useful advice making yourself marketable to potential employers using social media tools, advancing your career, and identifying the “best fit” social media employers and positions for you. Social media specialists are employed by companies as diverse as boutique shops, government agencies, and large corporations, so it can be a challenge to find your niche and land the job you want.

This practical guide also offers tips for establishing an online presence, interviewing, and understanding different roles and responsibilities in the field.   Additional topics include:

• Making the choice to pursue a career in social media
• Enhancing your skill set
• Deciding on an area of specialization
• Developing your personal brand
• Making good job choices
• Knowing what to expect when you get hired
• Maintaining intellectual curiosity
• Keeping an eye out for the next big thing
• Identifying “the next step” 
• And more  

Few paths offer more possibilities, freedom, and growth potential than a career in social media. If you like the sound of that, follow this guide!  

Mark Story is a blogger, guest columnist, and podcaster on the practical use of social media, and the director of new media at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. He is the first-ever person to hold the role and has since 2008. Prior to the SEC, Story was a senior vice president at Fleishman-Hillard in Washington, DC, where he developed online public affairs, media, crisis, litigation and public relations programs for leading companies such as AT&T, Circuit City, EDS, Kroll Fraud Solutions, and Revolution.com and helped shape issue debates through coalition creation and management, grassroots and issue-based web campaigns. Also an educator, Mark has served as an assistant professor at the University of Maryland University College and taught at Georgetown University from 2007 to 2009, where he designed and developed courses on using social media for public relations and public affairs.