Social media is taking over the marketing world. Every day, people spend an average of three hours on social media and messaging apps. In 2019, 73 percent of marketers reported they felt social media was "somewhat effective" or "very effective" as a marketing tool for their business. If you are interested in putting the power of social media to work as you build a successful career, the right degree is a good starting point. But what degree would put you in the right mindset for this type of career? What skills do you need to work in social media?
While a marketing degree might be the first thing you think of, a better choice might be a degree in psychology. Here are five reasons why a psychology degree positions you well for a career in social media marketing.
1. Social Media Marketing Means Working with People
It may surprise you how much social media marketing professionals actually interact directly with people—current customers and prospects. In fact, 34.5 percent of consumers say they use social media as their go-to point of contact for customer service issues, making it the highest category. Only 5.3 percent will go to the actual store and only 16.1 will call an 800 number. In other words, when you are marketing on social media, you are communicating directly with people.
How does a psychology degree help with this? When you understand how people think and what motivates them, you are equipped to help them with their concerns and problems more effectively. This makes you more effective as a social media marketer.
2. Social Media Marketing Requires Effective Communication
Social media marketers are communicators. They must be able to communicate about a brand and its value to potential and existing customers. When customers visit a webpage, social media marketers are who they interact with. All of this requires good communication skills.
Psychology degrees teach students how people think. When you understand how people think, you can better engage and communicate with them.
Communication goes beyond brand-to-customer communication. You also must be able to communicate with your management and marketing teams. Every stakeholder with a vested interest in the business needs looped in to ensure everyone is effectively reaching for the same goal—the business's ultimate success.
3. Social Media Marketers Must Understand Emotions
When you are marketing for a brand, a significant portion of the goal is to get the customer to make a purchase decision. Often, this requires tapping into their emotions. If you do not understand emotions well and what makes people have an emotional response, this will be challenging.
This is where psychology can help. When you study human psychology, you get a better understanding of what people's emotional responses will be. When you tap those responses, you are able to elicit the decision you want.
Emotions in marketing can be positive or negative. Sometimes, your goal is to tap the "feel good" portions of the brain, causing your reader or customer to trust that your brand's product will make them happy … or at least satisfy a need. Sometimes you want to cause fear or doubt that a problem is more than they can handle on their own, so they need your help. Either way, understanding psychological reactions will help you hone your marketing toward those emotions and encourage the right response.
4. Social Media Marketers Need to Make Connections
Social media marketing is all about building and maintaining relationships with potential customers. This is more about psychology than it is about marketing. Social media marketers can be more effective at making and sustaining connections when they understand psychology and how people operate.
Why are connections so important? Social media is a social platform. This means people go to social media pages to connect with other people. If they connect with your brand while they are there, they want to have that social aspect. Brands that effectively build and foster those connections will more quickly see results from their social media campaigns.
5. With Psychology, Social Media Marketers Have an Edge
You don't have to have a degree in psychology to work as a social media marketer, but it will give you a competitive edge. There are several psychology concepts that you can use to get better results in marketing, including:
These are just three popular psychology concepts that you will learn with a psychology degree. By learning these concepts and applying them to your work, you will have an edge over your competition and be able to effectively market through social channels.
Start Your Psychology Training Today
If you're wondering, "what jobs can I do with a bachelor's degree in psychology?" the answer may be social media marketing. If you have a passion for marketing and a desire to understand how people think, these can work very well together.
To get started, consider a psychology degree from Geneva College. With a Christian focus, our Bachelor of Science in Psychology will help you understand psychology, how it relates to motivation, and how all of this ties into a Christian worldview. Reach out to a counselor today to discuss psychology training at Geneva College.
Opinions expressed in the Geneva Blog are those of its contributors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official position of the College. The Geneva Blog is a place for faculty and contributing writers to express points of view, academic insights, and contribute to national conversations to spark thought, conversation, and the pursuit of truth, in line with our philosophy as a Christian, liberal arts institution.
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