Brian Mbunde, 21, always loved interacting with his friends on the social media, but never imagined it would make a career, writes SHIRLEY GENGA
What do you do for a living?
I am a social media executive at Gina Din Corporate Communications.
What does your job entail?
I monitor clients’ social media communications. I develop Twitter and Facebook accounts for them, invite users to the pages, control and manage crisis and send the clients screen shots of the ‘shares’ particular posts got. I post press releases and media invites on Gina Din’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. The PR Industry is competitive, so I constantly monitor trends that could benefit our clients and get to learn what people like and dislike.
What is managing social media all about?
It is not all about posting on Facebook and tweeting as many assume. It involves brand and reputation management, customer relations, marketing, brand representation and a whole lot more. I always tell my friends that I am a social media superhero.
What do you love about your job?
It is exciting. Social media is unpredictable and you never know what will come your way. I like the challenge. I am addicted to my job and would never?change it for anything.
What are the challenges of what you do?
Some clients are into numbers, so when they see that they have few ‘likes’, they sometimes get mad. They do not realise that it is the product, which may not necessarily be attractive to the target audience on social media. My grammar, too, has to be perfect at all times. So although I type fast, I have to proofread and ensure the right message is passed. I also have to always maintain my professionalism, so I sometimes choose not to participate in some trending topics that may negatively affect my image.
How did you get this rare job??
