A recent survey reveals data about the practice of compensation in the social media world.
The survey, conducted by social media consultant Rachel Karten under her Milk Karten blog, aims to disseminate a more generalized sense of information about jobs within the social media world. Even in our current, heavily internet run lives, a social media related job is only vaguely comprehended. Many stereotypes and half-truths surround the field, with many individuals also considering social media PR as a "lesser" job. One that can be relegated to less experienced individuals. After all, how difficult could it be to post something on Facebook? Yet, the survey reveals a lot of interesting information, that people both inside and out of the social media field can learn from. In fact, the survey might end up proving rather useful for dispelling commonly held myths as a whole.
First, let us discuss this study's parameters. Karten published a survey document online, and asked individuals working in social media related fields to fill it out. Over a thousand individuals responded to the survey. The survey collected some basic identification, such as gender, age, and race (which will become relevant in the study), along with the annual salaries the individuals collect. Information regarding job titles were asked as well. Job titles were provided in the form of options, and if a title didn't specifically fit a person's own vocation, they were asked to choose what option matched best. Data analysis was published in the form of graphs and the like, with analysis having been conducted by consumer Insights manager, Anne Gale. With our parameters established, let's get to work.
First of all, the research deals with the "social media pages are run by interns" stigma. As it turns out, of the over one thousand individuals that filled the survey, only 2 interns ended up filling in the details. The confusion has reasoning behind it, perhaps steeped into how bigger businesses still consider social media marketing to be a young man's game, thus handing over their social media profiles to the interns. That much is clearly not true, and the field of social media should be given credit for being more nuanced than observed at a first glance. Right after that, incomes started being discussed.
First of all, social media workers/managers earn a decent amount of money, on average. Males earn an annual income of USD $78,963, females earn USD $71,223, while non-binary individuals earn USD $63,536. Naturally, there's quite a bit to unpack. As it turns out, the notorious pay gap is very much currently present in the social media job world. Non-binary individuals suffer this the most, as their annual income is even lower than that of women in the field. Much of this could be due to the negative stigma and prejudice surrounding women and non-binary individuals cross the board.
By race, it turns out that Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) earn the most, at USD $67,833. Caucasian individuals earn USD $65,000, which is also the case for black individuals. Finally, multi-racial people earn the least, at USD $60,250. Overall, there is less disparity between the numbers as opposed to when they're segregated by gender. Take a look at below charts for more insights:
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The survey, conducted by social media consultant Rachel Karten under her Milk Karten blog, aims to disseminate a more generalized sense of information about jobs within the social media world. Even in our current, heavily internet run lives, a social media related job is only vaguely comprehended. Many stereotypes and half-truths surround the field, with many individuals also considering social media PR as a "lesser" job. One that can be relegated to less experienced individuals. After all, how difficult could it be to post something on Facebook? Yet, the survey reveals a lot of interesting information, that people both inside and out of the social media field can learn from. In fact, the survey might end up proving rather useful for dispelling commonly held myths as a whole.
First, let us discuss this study's parameters. Karten published a survey document online, and asked individuals working in social media related fields to fill it out. Over a thousand individuals responded to the survey. The survey collected some basic identification, such as gender, age, and race (which will become relevant in the study), along with the annual salaries the individuals collect. Information regarding job titles were asked as well. Job titles were provided in the form of options, and if a title didn't specifically fit a person's own vocation, they were asked to choose what option matched best. Data analysis was published in the form of graphs and the like, with analysis having been conducted by consumer Insights manager, Anne Gale. With our parameters established, let's get to work.
First of all, the research deals with the "social media pages are run by interns" stigma. As it turns out, of the over one thousand individuals that filled the survey, only 2 interns ended up filling in the details. The confusion has reasoning behind it, perhaps steeped into how bigger businesses still consider social media marketing to be a young man's game, thus handing over their social media profiles to the interns. That much is clearly not true, and the field of social media should be given credit for being more nuanced than observed at a first glance. Right after that, incomes started being discussed.
First of all, social media workers/managers earn a decent amount of money, on average. Males earn an annual income of USD $78,963, females earn USD $71,223, while non-binary individuals earn USD $63,536. Naturally, there's quite a bit to unpack. As it turns out, the notorious pay gap is very much currently present in the social media job world. Non-binary individuals suffer this the most, as their annual income is even lower than that of women in the field. Much of this could be due to the negative stigma and prejudice surrounding women and non-binary individuals cross the board.
By race, it turns out that Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) earn the most, at USD $67,833. Caucasian individuals earn USD $65,000, which is also the case for black individuals. Finally, multi-racial people earn the least, at USD $60,250. Overall, there is less disparity between the numbers as opposed to when they're segregated by gender. Take a look at below charts for more insights:
