what kind of major should I consider if I want to be a social media expert?

[Lexie]

I was considering being a social media expert when I graduate college in three years. They help design websites for companies small and large, and they advertise for the company through social media like tweets and facebook page updates. Their main job is to get people to interested in the company and get them to buy from that company. So its kind of a marketing/advertising degree? Or is it more of an English and Art/Design degree?

[Kim Cunnings]

It really depends.. I've met different social media managers. Some have background in journalism (this is rather good, since you know how to break the news, how to talk to people and can take part in conferences and cover events).
Some have background in marketing/finance, which is also helpful. Usually these people are fond of analytics, planning, results tracking and measuring ROI (return on investment) from social media campaigns.
Then you have tech specialists (who hardly ever end up in social media, but sometimes in SEO and Web marketing in general).
I'd say, getting some marketing or computer science major is better in the long run, but only if you're a tech-minded person.
Otherwise, the most successful SMM managers are just energetic people who think out of the box, are not afraid to try new things and are willing to acquire some technical/marketing skills that help them do social media promotion better.

[eddie]

A communication degree might suffice because they teach you about all kinds of media, especially in journalism.