There’s a longstanding debate on the monetary value of what social media management should cost. Social media influencers have called out fellow folks who work in the space for claiming that their jobs are “hard.” While they acknowledge that the vocation is time-consuming and there are a lot of tasks associated with generating a beefy online presence, there’s a lot of debate around whether or not the work could necessarily be considered difficult.
Despite this disagreement, there’s less controversy when it comes to using various social media platforms to heighten brand awareness for companies. A single online post can, and has, time and again, completely changed the course of a business’ trajectory.
One TikToker, Amir Ings (@amirings), has uploaded a recent clip that adds more to the “value of social media” debate, after claiming that he was bait-and-switched by L.A. Fitness. He says he received an offer letter stating he’d earn $2,500 a month working as a social media specialist for the company—howeveer, he later found out the hourly wage was $7.25.
Ings says he ultimately ended up quitting his job after learning that he’d be earning minimum wage despite having a college degree and that the work was commission-based.
@amirings Straight up bamboozled…..#socialmedia #pay #misleading #lied #lafitness #socialmediaspecialist ♬ Princess Diana – Ice Spice & Nicki Minaj
“So I basically had to quit my job today,” Ings begins the video.
“And I was like really excited about it. I thought I was gonna be making so much more money,” the TikToker says of his job at Planet Fitness. “I was told that my pay was gonna be $2,500 a month, and I saw that in the offer letter.”
However, his supervisor later clarified that he would be earning minimum wage.
“Because I was told I was gonna make base, and when I looked at the offer letter, I thought that the base was $2,500,” he recalls. “Oh no, oh no, no. The base pay was $7.25 an hour. Minimum wage.”
Ings says he then told his manager that his experience and expertise is worth significantly more than minimum wage.
“I basically told him like, ‘Listen, I understand this is probably what you pay your usual sales counselors, but I’m a social media specialist.’ Social media specialists get paid way more than $7.25 an hour. Like, that’s actually ludicrous.”
Ings and his supervisor attempted to reach out to the L.A. Fitness district manager in an attempt to work out a fixed salary for him, however, it was to no avail.
“The district manager was not budging on my pay, because apparently it’s supposed to be commission-based, so the harder I work the more money I’ll get. No. No,” he says. “I basically told him like, ‘Listen, I’m a college graduate. I have a degree. I can’t live off of $7.25 an hour, I’m sorry.’”
Ings expressed his disbelief at the company’s expectation of him to provide all of the services of a social media specialist at an hourly rate of $7.25.
“Especially as a social media specialist, the amount of work I’m doing is not matching the pay,” he reasons. “It’s, it’s simply not. So then I finally just like had to quit because like I just, I wasn’t gonna stay there and work minimum wage.”
According to Zippia, the average salary of a social media specialist varies from state to state, with the median pay coming in at $51,584. Even in the bottom lowest 10% of Social Media Specialist positions listed on the site, which clocks in at $38,000 per year, that is significantly higher than hourly minimum wage. The outlet states, “The average hourly rate for social media specialists is $24.8 per hour.”
Commenters were shocked at the low rate of pay being offered by L.A. Fitness for the role, with one person writing that it would be better for Ings to work at “Starbucks,” which the TikToker seemed to agree with.
Another user on the platform wrote that the position was being severely undervalued by the gym franchise. “Social media coordination is a lot a lot of work I can NOT believe they were paying you amount. I hope you find someone who sees your worth,” they said.
A further user mentioned that even the initial figure Ings was excited about earning for the gig was an already low amount. “SMH! $2.5k monthly was on the low end itself if it’s FT,” they wrote.
Others argued that this was a recurring theme at L.A. Fitness, claiming that the company has a poor track record of employee retention.
“That’s ridiculous!!! No wonder they always have new people working in there,” one user wrote.
A Glassdoor review of the company seems to supplant this idea, citing the brand has a “high turnover rate.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to L.A. Fitness via email and Ings via Instagram direct message for further comment.
