Careers in digital media: Tweeting for MTV
In this occassional series, Future of Media looks at various careers in the digital media field, all across the spectrum. We’ll look at how the jobs of the present may affect workplaces of the future.
Sarah Dawley is paid to watch Jersey Shore and to post her thoughts about it online. The same goes for the MTV Music Awards, the new Degrassi show and other properties of MTV Canada or MuchMusic, both owned by Canada’s Bell Media.
“I was always interested in social media but didn’t know I’d make a career out of it,” says Toronto resident Dawley, 27. She says social media is intriguing because it appeals to her “nerdy side” and also lets people express themselves beyond how they speak and dress.
As the social media coordinator at Bell Media, Dawley is responsible for the MTV Canada and MuchMusic brands, posting on their respective Twitter accounts and Facebook Pages. It’s a daily if not hourly job, as she often updates fans every few hours on upcoming shows or finding out what people like about certain bands or music videos.
Lunch is often eaten at her desk, Dawley admits. And she isn’t kidding when she says she eats dinner in front of her TV and laptop. Running social media campaigns isn’t for the lazy or unorganized.
Her day begins with laying out the priorities for the week: she determines what content requires the most publicity, and finds out what shows or artists should be crowned on top of that priority list. She collaborates with the marketing and PR teams to make sure everyone’s on the same Web page.
Since she handles both the MTV Canada and MuchMusic brands, she has to cultivate a voice for each music news network. MTV Canada is the Canadian branch of the original MTV company in the U.S., and has the voice of “telling stories about young amazing people,” Dawley says. MTV isn’t very focused on music news as it once did, complementing their music video broadcasts with reality TV shows and teen-drama shows.
Much has a more Canadian vibe to it, and looks at both music and pop culture, Dawley says. “Much is like being your friend,” Dawley says, a statement often heard by brand managers who want to extend their company beyond the corporate sphere into the homes of their fans.
Dawley doesn’t cross-post on Twitter and Facebook the same content, usually, because both media offer different online experiences: on Twitter, it’s expected to see many tweets within the hour, while Facebook requires a less bombarding approach. Also, she notes, Twitter limits you to 140 characters while Facebook’s Status Update options are more flexible.
“We want to strengthen the bond the audience has with the brand,” Dawley notes, saying she’s trying to curate more behind-the-scenes footage and insight from shows such as MTV Live.
Her job can get overwhelming, especially when she’s livetweeting shows such as Jersey Shore and Pretty Little Liars. Her feed is inundated with dozens of replies and she only has so much time to answer them. “Ideally, I’d reply to all of them,” she says wistfully.
For those looking for a job in social media, Dawley passes on some advice: the work is hardly nine-to-five, since she often spends evenings live-tweeting shows and replying to Twitter mentions. If breaking news occurs, such as the death of Whitney Houston, she has to be online immediately to share the news. “Our viewers expect us to be part of their social circle, not just during the day.”
Dawley also makes sure she carves time out of her day to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It’s easy to get bogged down in the nitty-gritty of tweeting and Facebook posting, Dawley notes, but she always tries to set aside time to look at analytic tools to see what worked. “Numbers are important but so are anecdotal accounts of what people are saying about us,” she adds.
Running the social media channels for major brands like MTV can be a lot of work, so is the compensation satisfactory? Dawley won’t tell us how much she earns (of course), but says companies who value what you bring to their online division will also “value you monetarily.”
Would you want a job in social media? Why, why not?
Photo courtesy MuchMusic