Beyond the Scroll: The Reality of a Career in Social Media

Published on Feb. 13, 2025, at 9:26 a.m.
by Katie Black.

A decade ago, social media was a mix of heavily filtered selfies and random status updates. Today, it’s a high-stakes battlefield.

What started as a way to connect with friends has quickly evolved into a full-scale career field. Brands everywhere are hiring social media managers and even entire social media teams.

For many, managing social media for a brand sounds like a dream job. After all, if you already spend hours scrolling and enjoy posting on Instagram, why not get paid for it?

Here’s the reality: Personal social media and professional social media are two completely different worlds. If you love social media, it does not necessarily mean you will love running it for a brand.

For personal use, social media is utilized by many as a creative outlet. You can post what you want, when you want and how you want. Platforms like Instagram strive to inspire creativity through shared media and visual storytelling.

While brands aim to be innovative and develop a unique brand voice on social media, the creative freedom of social media managers is relatively limited. Everything must be meticulously planned to fit within brand guidelines and maintain a consistent tone.

Even elements as simple as responses to users’ comments must be carefully crafted. Replying to comments promotes consumer validation and showcases the human side of a brand, so it is essential for each response to be carefully thought out and reviewed by colleagues before anyone hits send.

Then there’s the analytics side of social media — something that does not matter much for personal accounts (unless you take content creation seriously).

Social media analytics involves collecting and analyzing data from platforms — whether that be engagement metrics, keyword tracking or conversion rates.

It’s a fair amount of data to interpret and apply in order to improve content strategies and optimize engagement. The analytical side of social media for brands takes it far beyond posting just for fun.

Although social media as a career differs from social media as a hobby, there are plenty of opportunities to set yourself and your brand apart as a trailblazer in the industry.

Some popular brands can attribute an overwhelming amount of success to their efforts on social media platforms. One example is Glossier’s Instagram page.

Through its signature aesthetic, minimalistic pink branding and community-driven approach, Glossier has established itself as one of the most influential beauty brands on Instagram and a model for other brands looking to build their consumer base through social media platforms.

In a podcast from Social Pros Podcast, Glossier Director of Social Media and Community Marketing Jamie Dinar talks about the importance of innovation when it comes to establishing a brand’s social media presence. Her efforts in leading the brand have contributed to Glossier’s large success on Instagram.

Content creation is more of an involved career path than most realize, but if you think you are up for it, there’s a lot of potential for a successful and innovative career.

If you have read these differences and still think you have the skill set to take your scrolling from personal to professional, I encourage you to dive in.