To celebrate Social Media Day on June 30, the Fox editorial team sat down with Sandra Goodwater, MS ’22 and the Fox School’s social media specialist. Goodwater drives the strategy, content, images and videos for both the Fox School and the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM) social media accounts. Get the inside perspective on what it’s really like behind the posts.
What are some misconceptions of being a social media manager?
Some of the misconceptions I see shared about social media managers/specialists is that we scroll on TikTok or Instagram all day. Sometimes, I wish I had the time to do just that! In my position, I wear many different hats. I manage a community, research and create content, and advise and decipher analytics for frequently changing platforms. No one outside of a social media manager truly understands what I really do—not even my family or friends.
Managing the social media for two schools is more than just posting pretty pictures. Things move fast in this space. Can you provide a snapshot of what happens in your workday?
As the social media specialist for both the Fox School and STHM, my day consists of:
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Community management: Responding and reacting to comments and mentions, looking at what our audience is sharing
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Research: Investigating new trends and platform updates
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Content creation: Planning, creating, executing and reviewing upcoming content
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Analytics: Examining how posts have performed and compiling data
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Offering advice: Utilizing my experience and knowledge to inform decisions and share best practices with colleagues and peers
How do you balance the “big picture” social strategy with “small picture” details?
I approach many of our campaigns as an outline. I visualize the goals we are trying to achieve, and then I map out how to accomplish them. This allows me to break down a campaign with many moving parts into steps that I can execute and check off one at a time. Is the content best communicated as a reel or LinkedIn post? What are we asking our audience to do? I ask a lot of questions and view the content from our various audience perspectives.
As the social landscape is constantly evolving, how do you stay abreast of new trends and platform updates?
It should come as no surprise that I keep up-to-date by following many social media accounts, subscribing to newsletters and reading blog posts. My go-to sites include Later (both its blog and Instagram account) and the Future Social and Marketing Brew newsletters. I also follow social media managers from small and large companies on LinkedIn. They share a lot of easily digestible and useful information.
Why did you choose social media as a career path?
It's actually the other way around—social media chose me! I never envisioned I would be in this field. I thought I would end up in public relations or advertising, but the world had other plans. Almost every job I've ever had—public relations, retail, event production, marketing and brand development—has somehow guided me toward social media and I'm so happy it did.
How has your master’s degree from the Fox School been beneficial in your job?
Photography By: Paige Wagner
In my graduate program, we often worked on case studies, which allowed us to think of ways to handle marketing or advertising dilemmas while using our knowledge, skills and previous work experience to think of solutions. We also learned from those major companies about how they ended up approaching those situations.
For students aspiring to enter the social media field, what steps do you recommend they take to get started?
I recommend putting yourself out there. Consider developing and using your own brand and social media accounts to gain insights. Then, I would start looking for an internship in any field where you can get experience in marketing, communications, public relations, business, etc. I had so many work experiences that didn't start in social media. However, I still gained valuable skills that I still use today. During your time at Temple and the Fox School, join student professional organizations and see if you can assist with managing their social accounts or other communication channels.
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