  There has been considerable debate about the comparative advantages of
marketing education emphasizing theoretical knowledge and applied skills. The
current study investigated the skills necessary for entry-level marketing
positions, specifically that of Social Media Manager (SMMgr) and Social Media
Marketer (SMMkt). Data was collected from Indeed.com using a web crawler to
extract job postings for SMMgr and SMMkt. A total of 766 and 654 entry-level
jobs for SMMgr and SMMkt, respectively, across the entire United States, was
collected. Independent raters separately analyzed the data for keywords and
categories. Findings suggest that the most desired skills are occupational
digital marketing skills. Other relevant skill categories included
communication, employee attributes, problem-solving, and information technology
skills. This study extends the current literature by highlighting the desired
skills prevalent across the social media industry. The findings also have
relevance in designing the marketing education curriculum, specifically in
isolating core skills that could be integrated into the marketing courses.
