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How to Become a Social Media Marketing Specialist

Becoming a social media marketing specialist is one of the best choices if you are starting out on working remotely from the comforts of your own home. However, although it may seem like an easy job, especially if you are already familiar with the uses of the different social media sites, know that this home-based opportunity may not work for everyone. Therefore, before you start sending your applications for this type of work, try to understand first what this job entails and see if you possess the right qualifications and the skill sets required.

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is a process used by businesses to increase their website traffic, build their brand, expand their reach, and increase their sales. This method involves the use of popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. According to the We Are Social website, around 3.8 billion people are using social media as of January 2020, and the number is expected to increase over time. With these high number of users, it is not a surprise why companies now prefer hiring social media professionals to help boost their business.

What Skills Are Needed to Qualify as a Social Media Specialist?

Being a social media specialist does not just mean posting or advertising on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms. It involves a lot more. In fact, if you are planning on becoming a social media manager, you should be ready to allot time for monitoring and updating client pages, checking and answering emails and chat messages, attending to comments left by readers or customers on client’s FB, Twitter, or Instagram accounts, sharing interesting news to followers, and checking with your employers on what other things they need done for their social media campaigns. In a nutshell, here are some important skills that you should possess if you want to become a successful social media specialist:

Excellent Writing Skills

One of the many things that attract people to a particular social media page is the method by which updates are written or how information is presented. Indeed, visual graphics and attractive, funny images have great potentials to attract people, but it is the process by which bits of information are presented that lure people to come back for more. In this regard, excellent writing skills are important. The best social media marketing professionals excel in their work not because they know how to put images on their managed pages but because they know how to use interesting headlines. If you want to excel as a social media marketing specialist, you should have the ability to write engaging introductions and be able to structure your text for easy reading. Remember that online, people usually just skip and scan through information, so getting right to the point and using bullets and subtitles for whatever information you want to convey can help a lot.

Strategic Planning Ability

The primary reason why businesses are hiring social media managers or specialists is because they want their brand to gain more reach and to get ahead of the competition. As a social media specialist, it is your job to make these goals achievable for your client. Clients rely on their social media marketing managers to outline goals for the success of their campaigns, define target audiences, perform competitor analysis, and use the right platforms to achieve maximum results.

Community Management Skills

Social media marketing involves establishing a connection with readers, existing customers, and potential customers. If you are to become an effective social media marketing specialist, you should have excellent community management skills, and this means having the ability to create a healthy environment within the brand community you have created. It also means you should be able to respond to comments on your social media posts, and to engage with readers, regardless of whether they are trolls posting negative feedback or legit customers. Having outstanding people skills is a must in this type of work, even if it is done online.

Understanding What Type of Content Works

There are various types of content that can be published on social media accounts for marketing purposes. These can include videos, infographics, GIFs, memes, and social media posts to name a few. At times, posting videos alone may work for one brand, but it may not work for another. The same is true with other types of content. Therefore, a social media marketing specialist should be able to pinpoint which of these content types will work best for the brand being marketed.

In-depth Understanding of the Various Social Media Platforms and How They Work

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, Snapchat, and LinkedIn are all social media platforms but they may not work the same way for marketing and advertising. Pinterest, for instance, may work more for female-focused businesses while Snapchat is more geared towards an audience comprised of millennials. The point is that these various social media platforms have different target audiences and you need to understand which of these platforms will work best for the brand you are trying to market.

There are many companies looking to hire a social media marketing specialist. If you do not know where to start looking, click here to get some ideas.

Like any other profession, becoming a social media marketing specialist entails a lot of passion and determination. You should love what you are doing if you want to succeed.

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Internet and Technology

Work at Home Jobs for Accountants

In my previous blog, I have listed some work at home jobs that may help displaced workers that have been affected by the threat brought about by the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). I have also discussed where you can possibly find home-based jobs if you are looking for one. However, because the Internet has so much to offer, it makes it impossible for me to include all jobs without making my blog too long. To make up for this, I have taken the liberty to write an article for each type of professional or individual that may be looking for online jobs that fit their skills and qualifications. In this particular article, I have compiled some work at home jobs for accountants and those who have the required skill sets for these job types.

Work at home jobs for accountants are usually offered by virtual accounting firms, although there may be some small non-accounting businesses that also prefer home-based accountants to handle their accounting needs. If you are an accountant or a graduate of accounting looking to find freelance work as an accountant online, here are some jobs that you can check out.

Bookkeeping Jobs

Bookkeeping jobs can be done remotely. If you have experience in bookkeeping and is willing to offer your services to a remote employer, then searching for and applying for bookkeeping jobs online can be your best choice. Bookkeepers working online can earn as much as $50 an hour or more. Of course, you can set how much you want to earn or if you want to charge by the hour or by project.

If you have experience working in an office as a bookkeeper, you probably already have an idea on the type of jobs virtual bookkeepers do as they are essentially just the same. Some of them are the following:

  • Keeping a record of cash receipts
  • Issuing invoices to customers
  • Maintaining petty cash funds
  • Analyzing company financial statements
  • Processing payroll
  • Keeping track of accounts receivables and accounts payables
  • Noting inventory of purchase requests
  • Monitoring the company’s financial standing and financial debt level

Virtual bookkeepers may also be tasked to help with administrative support jobs and to conduct monthly and/or annual account reconciliation.

Auditing Jobs

There are a number of remote auditing jobs that offer good compensation. Remote auditors are often tasked to do the following:

  • Gather information about the company
  • Speak with various departments as necessary
  • Double-check the accuracy of information reported on financial statements and make sure they comply with the generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP
  • Develop and recommend action items for the organization

Payroll Accounting

Payroll accounting may be done by bookkeepers for companies that do not have a full accounting team. However, some businesses may require a payroll accountant to handle payroll in their organization. Some of the main responsibilities of a payroll accountant include but are not limited to the following:

  • Calculating net wages
  • Issuing salary checks or depositing wages payable in employees’ bank accounts
  • Keeping a monthly record of payroll details
  • Conducting payroll audits
  • Report payroll-related issues to direct remote supervisor or employer
  • Performing other related tasks

To qualify as a payroll accountant online, one must have knowledge in accounts payable, tax laws, deposits, budgeting, billing, and computation of salaries. Good computer skills and knowledge in using accounting software, such as Quickbooks are also a plus.

Accounting Jobs

For certified accountants who wish to work at home, they can apply as a freelance accountant to online businesses. Some of the main responsibilities of accountants that work remotely include:

  • Keeping a record of assets, liabilities, and capital account entries
  • Documenting any financial transactions made by the business
  • Researching and making a thorough analysis of accounting data so as to make accurate financial report to management

Accountants who work from home can communicate with their clients or employers by phone or email, and in some other times through Skype.

Looking for companies that offer remote jobs for accountants? Click here.

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Internet and Technology

COVID-19 Pandemic: Work at Home Jobs You Can Do During Lockdown


Are you among the many people suffering from the effects of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)? Are you losing income because of community quarantine or lockdown in your area? With COVID-19 wreaking havoc across countries, many companies, even large corporations have closed their doors and stopped operations in an effort to fight against the proliferation of the virus. Consequently, many are losing their jobs and their means of living.

Some companies have offered work at home arrangements for their workers, but others are not as lucky. If you are one of those who have not been given the work at home opportunity by your employer, believe that it is not the end of the world. There is hope for you just yet. The Internet offers a number of opportunities for those who are willing to work from the comforts of their homes.

Wondering what type of jobs you can do while under home quarantine? Here are some ideas that you might want to try and get your hopes up a bit.

Be a Search Engine Optimization Specialist

Search engine optimization (SEO) specialists are individuals whose main line of work is analyzing client websites and performing necessary protocols that will help make the website become more visible to search engines.  You do not have to work full time for this type of work at home job as many employers seeking for the services of such professionals may require only a portion of your time. Most website owners may also offer flexible working hours for this type of job.

To become a search engine optimization specialist, you must have the following skills and qualifications:

  • Knowledge and understanding of search engine optimization (a quick run-through across Google can help you obtain the required knowledge)
  • Ability to perform keyword research
  • Familiarity with on-page and off-page optimization
  • Deep understanding of marketing and human psychology
  • Knack for writing information-rich content for a digital audience

If you are wondering where you can find jobs for search engine optimization specialists, feel free to check out Appen. I learned they are looking for individuals to fill the position in their company.

Disclaimer: I do not work for Appen as of this writing. I only came across their listing at craigslist.com.

Apply as a Proofreader Online

If you have excellent English language skills, have a knack for finding faults in grammar and correcting them, keen to details, and have no problem reading loads of grammatically wrong content, then you might as well use your talent and apply as a freelance proofreader online. There are many online companies and even individuals who are constantly looking for professionals to proofread documents for them. If lucky, you might even find a long-term proofreading job that will be enough to cover all your monthly expenses while on lockdown.

A good example of such companies is Scribendi. They are constantly looking for qualified professionals to fill the positions of proofreader and copyeditor in their company. They also provide good compensation, so you might want to check them out.

Work as a Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistant jobs are among the more lucrative work-at-home jobs you can find online. If you work as a customer service representative before the lockdown, then this work-at-home job is perfect for you. Virtual assistants mostly deal with customer service as well, but they are primarily done online and at the comfort of home. The following are some virtual assistant job responsibilities:

  • Answering phone calls and emails
  • Making phone calls if necessary (depends on your job description as per your agreement with the company)
  • Creating power point presentations as required
  • Performing online market research
  • Providing awesome customer service remotely
  • Managing contact lists
  • Scheduling meetings
  • Providing administrative support to a remote team

As a virtual assistant, you should have the ability to work with less supervision. In addition, you should at least have knowledge in MS Word, Excel, and some of the most popular and current technologies, such as VoIP. You should also have excellent phone and email communication skills, as well as solid organizational and time management skills.

Wondering where to find Virtual Assistant jobs? Check out Upwork.com and other online bidding sites. You may also search on Google using the keyword “Virtual assistant jobs” or “wanted virtual assistants”.

Work as a Social Media Manager

Social media marketing has become an important aspect of any growing business. It is a means for them to reach a wider audience without having to shell out a huge budget. The main responsibilities of a social media manager include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Administering social media marketing and advertising for clients or companies
  • Developing brand awareness and enhance the online reputation of a company
  • Generating inbound traffic through the use of good SEO strategies
  • Performing deliberate planning and set goals for the company
  • Gaining more fans for the brand and help turn these fans into customers
  • Cultivating leads and sales

As a social media manager, you are expected to be able to establish a good connection with customers and to be able to attract more buyers. It is important, therefore, that you have good interpersonal communication skills and that you can write good content or be able to promote them in popular social media sites.

You think you have what it takes to become a social media manager? Why not start sending your applications now?

Apply for Data Entry Jobs

Data entry jobs are probably the easiest types of work-at-home jobs you can find online. If you have excellent organizational skills, can type fast, have keen attention to details, and are computer savvy, then you are probably qualified for data entry jobs.

Data entry jobs often include the following responsibilities:

  • Entering data into computer databases
  • Collecting data and verifying their accuracy
  • Managing data and organizing files
  • Maintaining record keeping of all files
  • Gathering and extracting information from various sources

Like many other jobs, starting work in data entry may be a challenge but if you persevere, this type of work-at-home job may prove to be a big help in your finances while you are quarantined at home.

Become a Call Center Representative

You might think that being a call center representative requires working in an office and commuting to and from work. But do you know that some of those call center agents who take your calls when you have problems with your Internet connection, credit cards, or what not are actually taking calls from the comfort of their own homes?

Being a home-based call center representative requires interacting with customers through phone calls, emails, and VoIP. Depending on your agreement with the employer, you may be required to do outbound phone calls or just answer inbound phone calls from clients. You are also required to answer emails from clients. Other main responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Managing and resolving customer complaints
  • Identifying issues and escalating them to remote supervisors if needed
  • Selling products to customers
  • Providing product and service information to customers
  • Placing customer orders in the company’s computer system.
  • Performing follow up calls to customers
  • Completing call logs and reports
  • Routing calls to appropriate resources

If you wish to become a home-based call center representative, you must be proficient in certain computer applications, have excellent typing and data entry skills, and excellent listening, verbal, and written communication skills. You must also have enough patience to handle extremely stressful situations, such as when you get to talk to irate customers.

The jobs listed above are not the only options if you are serious about working from home, pandemic or not. Other online jobs that offer lucrative incomes include online tutorial jobs, voice overs, accounting jobs, copyediting, transcriptions, web developing and programming, affiliate marketing, translations, and many more. Opportunities offered online are actually endless.

If any of the jobs mentioned here do not fit your qualifications and preferences, feel free to use Google to find the best home-based job that will work for you. You may also click here if you want to know where to find work at home jobs online.

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News and Current Affairs

COVID-19 Cases Soar to 193 in Philippines


Manila, Philippines – Despite the enhanced community quarantine implemented by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte since March 17, 2020, the number of new COVID-19 cases continue to plummet in the virus-stricken country. According to CNN Philippines, the number of confirmed cases have risen to 193 as of 11 am today, March 28. This was after six more people tested positive of the new coronavirus disease. Further information about the six new cases is yet to be released by the Department of Health.

As of this writing, fatalities caused by the dreaded virus remains at 14, while seven recovery cases have been reported.

President Duterte has placed the entire Luzon under enhanced community quarantine starting Tuesday, March 17 until April 12, 2020. Other municipalities in Visayas and Mindanao have also placed their jurisdictions under general community quarantine.

In a press briefing earlier today, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the cases can go up to as high as 75,000 in three months if no proper intervention is done to contain the virus. She assures the public, however, that this number can be flattened and that proliferation of the virus can be prevented if stringent measures, such as social distancing, are implemented.

COVID-19 has been described by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic. Since its outbreak in Wuhan, China, the virus has infected around 197, 000 people worldwide, 8,000 of which have been reported to have succumbed to the disease.

Meanwhile, a 48-year old man in Bacoor, Cavite has been reported to have been confirmed positive of the new coronavirus disease as of Wednesday. This is the first reported case of COVID-19 in the said municipality.

Bacoor Blvd. looks deserted as PUJ’s and PUV’s are restricted to operate due to the enhanced community quarantine implemented since March 17, 2020.
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