Home > Degree Programs > College of Arts, Sciences & Technology > Social Media Design

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Helpful articles and useful tips for adults considering a college degree.

Thank you for signing up for our newsletter!

You will soon receive an email
confirming your request.

Social Media Design

Franklin University Social Media Design degree program banner Program OverviewProgram DetailsWhy Choose Franklin

Move businesses from social simplicity to measurable value

Thanks to social media, it’s easy to invite dialogue, share opinions, and have conversations with virtual strangers. Using it to achieve something measurable, effect change, and influence behavior? Well, that requires something deeper: the skills and ability to advance organizational points of view, grow reputation, and expand the brand base through loyal community engagement.

Franklin University’s Social Media Design Major will give you these skills and more. Our bachelor’s degree program provides a strong foundation in social media communication, as well as design and technology.

Become a bona fide expert in this fast growing new field

You’ll be equipped to not only participate in the social media space, but also create meaningful social media experiences, and evaluate and synthesize critical data to inform both tactical brand and business decisions.

Our Social Media Design Major will move you beyond commonplace social media skills, teaching you cutting-edge practices in the areas of design and development. As a result, you’ll be better qualified for an expanded list of career titles in one of the fastest-growing fields of the future. In fact, Indeed.com, the number one job site in the world, shows social media job openings ranking as one of its top-10 career growth trends.

Learn popular social platforms from industry pioneers

At Franklin, you’ll learn from real-world social media experts and industry pioneers on how to create audience-centric digital content that grows a faithful community of followers and drives key business and conversion metrics.

Plus, you’ll acquire hands-on experience with major social media tools and platforms, including Adobe® Photoshop and Illustrator, WordPress, HootSuite, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.

Gain the skills to effectively leverage the power of social media

Rooted in theory and practice, the Social Media Design Major at Franklin will teach you how to organize and effectively use focused social media strategies to manage the social presence of people, products, and organizations.

You’ll gain the skills employers are actively looking for in social media strategy development, social media and content marketing, community management, engagement and loyalty, and social media monitoring and metrics.

Earn your degree from a university built for busy adults

Earn your degree on your terms by taking classes 100% online, or pursue available coursework at one of our eleven Midwest locations. Regionally accredited and nonprofit, Franklin was built from the ground-up to satisfy the needs of adult learners. Our seamless transfer process and team of academic advisors will help ease your transition to becoming a student, while our flexible course schedules help to balance your education with work, family, and life. Get started on your future today.

Gain The Skills Employers Desire

  • Social Media Strategy
    • Develop a comprehensive and strategic social roadmap that delivers on technical and business requirements
    • Develop a world-class social media infrastructure by cultivating qualified talent, acquiring high-powered tools, and masterfully managing platforms
    • Monitor social media trends, tools and applications, applying fresh insight to keep campaigns ahead of the curve
    • Advance organizational point-of-view on social media technologies and techniques, serving as a subject matter expert and champion for online communities within the organization
    • Oversee strategic initiatives for social media channels, including message mix, scheduling/volume, and channel role in the overall marketing plan
    • Develop, implement, and manage social media strategies that are aligned with brand, business, and departmental goals
    • Create long-range media plans, including a marketing calendar, relevant content, and regular updates to blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and websites
    • Lead the development of organization-wide social media management standards, policies, and rules of engagement
    • Act as a social media integration advocate, influencing website and business strategies
    • Provide guidance on the development of social media processes, roles, and responsibilities
  • Content & Social Media Marketing
    • Create and syndicate viral content, such as infographics, videos, e-books, and whitepapers in order to grow inbound link profiles and increase targeted traffic
    • Leverage social advertising platforms on Facebook, YouTube, and other social sites to drive qualified traffic to brand websites and social spaces
    • Grow communities of followers, friends, and subscribers within social networks, identifying opportunities for growth through emerging social networks and platforms
    • Manage the creation of keyword-rich, SEO-friendly blog content, ensuring propagation across social channels and bookmarking sites
    • Develop and manage social outreach campaigns and strategies to increase conversion across digital initiatives
    • Partner with social media influencers and bloggers, leveraging those relationships to grow social presence
    • Collaborate with partner agencies to leverage marketing and media programs to grow brand community
    • Apply SEO best practices for keyword selection and link building to create social media campaigns that increase brand visibility
    • Develop and manage strategic and tactical social advertising campaigns, aligning media plans with online marketing strategies
    • Use social advertising best practices in executing media buys, developing creative, and optimizing campaign performance
  • Community Management
    • Cultivate new communities and manage branded online communities using Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, and other social media outlets
    • Build and engage online audiences and communities via content development, including blog comments, guest posts, and social networking
    • Respond to comments and mentions, adding value to the customer experience while driving organizational goals and maintaining brand integrity
    • Maintain and refresh content on community portals by creating new content and leveraging content assets from marketing and other teams
    • Manage daily activity on social media accounts, responding to feedback and questions, cultivating relationships with community members, and monitoring dialogue
    • Oversee fan and follower communication, actively listening to conversations and translating them into ideas and strategies
    • Create compelling content that sparks discussion and promotes information-sharing among a broad range of social community platforms
    • Engage community participants in a manner that advances objectives, embodies core values, and maintains ethical standards
    • Collaborate with internal teams and external groups in the development of appropriate responses to customer and prospect comments and questions
  • Engagement & Loyalty
    • Cultivate a highly engaged community in order to build awareness, drive website traffic, and generate interest and buzz
    • Conceptualize and manage the execution of new social media engagement initiatives, such as events, contests, and promotions
    • Create and implement a roadmap of value-added tools and services to enhance customer “stickiness” and improve customer experiences
    • Develop and implement creative communication that drives optimal participation in daily conversation and strategic initiatives
    • Drive engagement on enterprise social platforms by creating and implementing new, integrated ways to serve content
    • Expand brand community base by cultivating a social graph of influencers and loyal community members
  • Social Media Monitoring & Measurement
    • Develop return on investment (ROI) modeling to demonstrate how strategies generate objectively measured return on social programs
    • Use Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and other measurement tools to report on key growth metrics, and recommend performance improvements through test-and-learn plans
    • Follow campaign tagging and tracking best practices to ensure appropriate data capture and measurement and optimization strategy alignment
    • Create and maintain reports on community elements that describe activity and growth
    • Conduct periodic review of platform performance to ensure that engagement levels, content consumption, traffic growth, and e-commerce goals are on track
    • Use social media listening tools to monitor dialogue, providing feedback and learnings that inform strategic decision-making
    • Establish metrics and prepare findings reports on social listening and engagement activity
    • Present community engagement and social media metrics and reports to internal teams
  • Web Design & Development
    • Use Photoshop, Illustrator, and similar software to create visual assets with a pixel-level attention to detail
    • Create and manage digital content to engage target audiences
    • Design web, mobile, and social assets, organizing layout, typography, color palettes, and imagery into highly-functional and visually-compelling user experiences
    • Work with user experience architects, client representatives, and developers to create intuitive interfaces, enabling effective interactions and compelling experiences that drive return on investment (ROI)
    • Create digital concepts for websites, landing pages, microsites, email marketing, digital display ads, Flash media, mobile applications, and style guides
    • Use Dreamweaver and other web development software to create pixel-perfect web pages from static designs, incorporating a variety of interactive elements, assets, and content types
    • Design aesthetically pleasing approaches around data visualization in order to present information in a manner that facilitates user understanding
  • Interaction Design
    • Create game-changing user experiences that redefine how sales channels, customers, and key stakeholders interact
    • Design engaging interactions across multiple platforms, leveraging user characteristics and application goals
    • Develop intuitive interactions to create interface environments that are free from cognitive barriers yet ensure desired outcomes
    • Use wireframes, mind maps, and storyboards to design and demonstrate interactive models

Career Opportunities

  • Social Media Manager

    Social Media Managers direct social media strategies, including developing campaigns and content, responding to dialogue and inquiries, and monitoring activity and interaction.

    View Salary Trends
  • Social Media Project Leader

    Social Media Project Leaders oversee the design, development, and implementation of social media strategies, campaigns, and content.

    View Salary Trends
  • Social Media Designer

    Social Media Designers develop integrated marketing social media campaigns and components in order to build and maintain an organizational following.

    View Salary Trends
  • Interactive Content Specialist

    Interactive Content Specialists develop content and messaging strategies, and write branded, audience-centric content for a variety of platforms including websites and mobile apps.

    View Salary Trends
  • Customer Engagement Manager

    Managers of Customer Engagement develop and deliver strategies to maximize customer engagement and satisfaction by improving the overall customer experience.

    View Salary Trends

Employment Outlook

In 2010 there were 12,535 job openings related to Social Media Design. That same year, 2,061 students completed programs in Social Media Design. 

In 2010 there were 12,535 job openings related to Social Media Design. That same year, 2,061 students completed programs in Social Media Design.
Occupations Job Openings (2010) Expected Growth
(2010-2020)
Multimedia Artists and Animators 6,627 13%
Audio and Video Equipment Technicians 3,825 14%
Broadcast Technicians 2,083 8%

Source information provided by Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI)

Our Recipe For Your Success

Academic & Industry Experts

Classes are taught and designed by credentialed professionals with real-world experience.
 

  • Programs are designed by combining the insight of industry leaders with the academic expertise of our faculty, ensuring what you learn translates into on-the-job success.

  • Academic concepts and theories are brought to life through our teaching faculty’s professional expertise, and can be immediately applied in your career.

  • Faculty with industry experience teach our courses, not graduate students or life-time academics, so you learn not only the theories behind the practice but also how to apply them in real-world situations.

Relevant & Consistent Curriculum

What you learn is a reflection of the program you choose, not the format in which it’s applied.
 

  • All programs are designed for learning outcomes to flow from the program level into actual coursework.

  • This top-down approach allows credentialed professionals to customize assignments based on trending industry topics without deviating from a program’s core outcomes.

  • Regardless of your professor or the format of your class, you receive the same quality education.

Hands-On Learning Experience

Franklin's coursework teaches not only theories and concepts, but also how they apply to practical situations.

 

  • Professional course designers ensure that class activities such as learning simulations, case studies, interactive videos, and group exercises are relevant and appropriate.

  • A curriculum development team is dedicated to making sure all courses are intuitively designed so content is taught in a logical manner that facilitates your success in the classroom and beyond.

Continuously Evolving Programs

Consistent program reviews ensure our programs stay at the forefront of industry trends.
 

  • Survey results and feedback from student and faculty assessments are reviewed regularly so that our programs are always improving and up-to-date.

  • A structured review process helps identify industry gaps that guide curriculum enhancements allowing our academic and industry experts to regularly implement new industry trends.

  • Regular assessment provides hard data that is used to improve student learning and teaching methods.

Get the details

Read course descriptions, learn about degree options, and meet program faculty.

View Program Details