Social Marketing: Mark Schaefer on What Students Must Know

Mark Schaefer

What are the most important skills for graduating college students if they want to have a future in social marketing?

I put three questions to some leaders in the field of social media marketing and this is what I learned.

Today: Mark W. Schaefer, author of Return On Influence and The Tao of Twitter:

"A competency in math and writing is crucial, especially for entry-level jobs," says Schaefer because "the real future of marketing is in content creation and data mining."

He says it goes without saying that college grads need to grasp the basics of marketing, but beyond that math and writing will be the keys.

When asked: "What separates a successful social marketer from the others?" he says any social marketer needs to show measurable results that align with the organization’s strategy. 

"In this day and age, there is no excuse not to measure what you do and constantly improve," he says.

And just how important is social marketing for business?

"That is totally dependent on the structure of the industry in which you compete," Schaefer says.

"The place of social media in the marketing mix for a brand like MTV would be quite different than a company that sells coal or lumber, for example."

What do you think? How important will social marketing be in the future and what MUST students know?