Student Author: Rahman Almousalli ’20
Did you know social media can be pursued as a profession? The MICDS Marketing Club learned all about it at the club meeting this week. We were paid a visit by Ms. Caitlin Kerfin-Smith, the Social Media Community Manager at Bayer. Caitlin puts out content for Bayer, a multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company, across many platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn daily. Thanks to Caitlin, members of the MICDS Marketing Club had the great opportunity to gain insight into the real-life marketing world.
When thinking about posting a piece of content, Social Media Managers must consider much more than the relevance of the post; they must consider the tone and must ensure that it aligns with the company’s social responsibility. Along with this, it is crucial to think about the platform being used. An ad campaign on Instagram should be very different than one on YouTube or Twitter due to the framework of the platform along with the user base. Each social media platform has its own unique opportunities and challenges, and each platform is used by different groups of people—varying in age, gender and location to name a few demographics. As a company, if you’re targeting a younger audience, you might allocate more ad funding to Instagram or TikTok rather than Facebook where there is a larger presence of the adult population.
Community Managers are the tone, voice and human element behind a brand, and effective engagement with a company’s community can form a positive personal connection between the consumer and the brand. A business can’t just post on social media; they need someone engaging with its audience too.
It was an honor to welcome Ms. Caitlin Kerfin-Smith to MICDS and the Marketing Club, and we hope to have her back again!